In the previous two posts in this series on riparian health, I covered the importance of riparian systems to agriculture, and the need for measuring and monitoring their health.
In this post I’ll share some pro-tips on setting up and conducting an assessment. These include:
Riparian health is a key concept for agricultural stewardship. In my last post I discussed the value of riparian areas in agricultural settings. I also described the benefits of maintaining riparian zones to avoid on- and off-farm environmental impacts. In this post I will cover the importance of measuring and monitoring riparian areas.
Riparian health refers to the overall condition of the green zone. This score expresses how well the current structure functions relative to its full potential.
Continue reading “Riparian Health Part 2”To manage riparian health, one first must understand what you are managing. Riparian zones, sometimes referred to as ‘green zones‘, are critical areas for stewardship in the agricultural landscape. They are a transition between aquatic areas (streams, lakes, wetlands, etc.) and the terrestrial (upland) zones. They typically flood on a regular basis, or have persistently high water tables. And this means they have features that reflect their part-aquatic, part-terrestrial nature.
The ecological importance of the green zone cannot be overstated. Riparian areas are highly productive. And they support vegetation and other life that thrives because of the abundant water, nutrients and organic matter that accumulates.
Continue reading “Riparian Health Part 1”Climate change is already influencing, and will continue to influence, the dynamics and impacts of agricultural pests in the Cariboo region. During the Cariboo Adaptation Strategy planning process of the BC Agriculture and Food Climate Action Initiative, stakeholders identified a number of agricultural pests of concern. This process also highlighted a significant gap in regional monitoring.
Continue reading “Priority Agricultural Pests of the Cariboo Region”This week saw the release of the 2016 Census of Agriculture data. It provided an opportunity to check up on the use of trees on British Columbia (BC) farms for production and conservation. Unfortunately, there are no statistics gathered to help us determine what management systems are employed. Hence, the numbers presented here represent the use of trees in a blend of conventional horticulture, farm forestry and agroforestry.
Continue reading “Trees on Farms in British Columbia”
