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Silvopasture systems combine trees, livestock (ruminants like cattle, sheep and goats) and grazing. Ranchers and pastoralists plant trees or manage the land for spontaneous tree growth. The trees provide shade, timber and food for livestock. In most silvopasture systems, the carbon captured in soil and trees more than makes up for the greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide) that ruminants emit through belches and flatulence. One study of intensive silvopasture in Colombia found that emissions from livestock were equal to a quarter to half of the carbon sequestered in soil and biomass.

Eric Toensmeier is a lecturer at Yale University and a senior researcher with the climate change-focused nonprofit Project Drawdown. He is the author of “The Carbon Farming Solution.”



  1. 2015-07-23 Carbon Farming: Building Soils and Stabilizing the Climate Farmer Engagement in Agriculture Extension Echoes from our Network: Negotiating two seemingly contradictory understandings of cooperatives From ECHO’s Seed Bank: Naranjilla
  2. 2016-11-15 This presentation will focus on the potential use of silvopastoral systems (SPS) in Brazil to fight the increasing of land degradation and will describe the specific characteristics of SPS in the different ecological regions of the country. We will also consider management aspects, ecosystems...
  3. Abstract :Traditional agrosilvopastoral systems have been an important component of the farming systems and livelihoods of thousands of ethnic minority people in the uplands of Mainland Southeast Asia. Drawing on a combination of qualitative and participatory inquiries in nine ethnic minority...
  4. Key Resource 2013-06-03 With Practical Information on Landshaping, Water Security, Perennial Crops, Soil Fertility, Nutrient-dense food, and more The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk...
  5. Eric Toensmeier is a lecturer at Yale University and a senior researcher with the climate change-focused nonprofit Project Drawdown. He is the author of “The Carbon Farming Solution.” Silvopasture systems combine trees, livestock (ruminants like cattle, sheep and goats) and grazing. Ranchers and...