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农村牧场上的树木不仅可以为放牧的羊提供阴凉——联合国大学的一项新研究表明，在这些牧场上保留一些树木, rather than cutting them all down, farmers can help reduce the impacts of climate change.

When a forest is cut down to make way for agriculture, it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Silvopasture, a method of preserving trees in pastures where livestock graze, 可能会提供一个中间解决方案:研究人员发现，与完全清除的, tree-less, open pasture, 综合森林放牧方式释放的二氧化碳和氧化亚氮水平较低，土壤碳储量保持不变, 为农民提供了一种可能的替代方案，对气候影响较小.

“我们与东北部的许多对森林放牧方法感兴趣的农民进行了交谈，但没有很多数据来帮助指导他们实施, and responsible and strategic management,” said Alexandra Contosta, research assistant professor at UNH’s Earth Systems Research Center. “我们想看看森林牧场是否有所作为，并发现这种方法对农民和地球都有好处.”

“我们想看看森林牧场是否有所作为，并发现这种方法对农民和地球都有好处."

In their study, published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & 环境方面，研究人员在新罕布什尔州和纽约州进行了土地利用变化实验. In both locations, the land was divided into plots with a reference forest, open pasture and silvopasture. 在森林放牧样地，树木减薄50% ~ 60%，保留树桩. Orchard grass, white clover and other foraging sources were planted. After the seeding, either dairy or beef cows were introduced. The team set up meteorological stations in each of the experimental areas, known as treatments, and monitored emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and soil carbon storage. 研究人员发现，森林牧场减少了典型的森林开阔牧场对气候的影响, 林草的气候调节效应扩展到土壤温室气体排放. However, 他们没有发现不同地块之间的气温有任何差异，也无法记录不同土地利用变化处理之间土壤碳储量的任何变化.

“新英格兰有很多树木，这可能会减少我们农业的选择和我们生产自己食物的能力,” said Contosta. “So, 这项研究令人兴奋的地方在于，它表明森林放牧可能是一种可行的替代方案，而且更有气候意识.”

研究人员说，他们的研究最终强调了需要更好地了解森林牧场如何改善森林砍伐对农业的负面气候影响，以及对东北和其他温带地区的影响, forested regions across the globe.

这项研究得到了美国农业部国家粮食和农业研究所的支持. Additional funding was provided by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.

The UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS) is UNH's largest research enterprise, comprising six centers with a focus on interdisciplinary, high-impact research on Earth and climate systems, space science, the marine environment, seafloor mapping and environmental acoustics. 大约有100名主要研究人员管理着400多个个人补助金, and with annual expenditures exceeding $45 million, EOS营造了一个知识和科学的环境，在世界一流的研究生教育中推进了有远见的奖学金和领导力.