Black Walnut Alley Cropping Is Economically Competitive with Row Crops in the Midwest USA

Row crops dominate the Midwest USA and degrade many ecological functions. Black walnut (Juglans nigra) forestry and alley cropping are alternative land‐uses that can enhance productivity and restore ecosystem services. To test whether profitability could drive adoption of these alternatives, we used a high‐resolution spatial analysis to identify where they can outcompete row crops. We show that alley cropping could be more profitable than row crops on 23.4% of Midwestern cropland. Contrary to the common assumption that agricultural alternatives should be adopted on “marginal” cropland, results suggest that integrating trees could increase profitability on both marginal and productive cropland. These photographs illustrate the article “Black walnut alley cropping is economically competitive with row crops in the Midwest USA” by Kevin J. Wolz and Evan H. DeLucia published in Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.182