Tree/Shrub Establishment  (NRCS #612)

Permanent vegetative cover, surface litter and roots help to reduce soil erosion.

Trees and shrubs elevate levels of microbial activity, organic matter, and improve soil structure.

Helps stabilize highly erodible and degraded soils.

Trees and shrubs intercept precipitation, increase water infiltration and reduce runoff.

Increases soil water-holding capacity.

Improves water quality by filtering pollutants and nutrients.

Can reduce evapotranspiration by buffering high temperature.

Reduces nutrient loss.

Improves nutrient cycling through litter decomposition and by capturing excess nutrients.

Improves microclimate in agroforestry systems.

May increase crop resilience to drought and extreme weather.

Provides shelter for livestock.

Can provide additional products such as fruits, nuts, biomass, timber and other specialty crops.

Competing vegetation needs to be managed at least until the desired plants are established.

May reduce nearby crop yield due to competition for light, water and nutrients if not well managed.

Restores and/or maintains native plant communities.

Improves habitat for wildlife, pollinators, and other beneficial organisms.

Provides ecological corridors across agricultural landscapes.

Increases carbon sequestration and storage in aboveground biomass, roots and soil.

Reduces atmospheric CO₂ through continuous biomass accumulation.

Activities during initial establishment can be a source of emissions.

Management practices such as thinning can remove carbon from the system.

Depending on the species and management, trees and shrubs generate additional income sources to farming systems.

May qualify for USDA conservation financial assistance programs.

High initial costs related to seedlings, planting, site preparation and protection.

Periodical maintenance costs associated with weed and disease control, supplemental watering, occasional nutrient inputs, and fire protection.

Opportunity cost from land removed from annual crop production.