Agroforestry is an alternative to traditional monoculture farming and involves integrating shrubs and trees with crops and animals. It creates economic and environmental impacts by diversifying income streams and creating sustainable food production. However, it has not been widely adopted. Four University of Michigan School for the Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) master’s students, who are advised by SEAS Lecturer Shannon Brines, are working to make agroforestry accessible to Michigan farmers.

Their capstone project, “Visualizing Agroforestry,” utilizes mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology with drone imagery to better understand the benefits of agroforestry. They are working with Kenneth Asmus and Nathan Ayers on behalf of the Michigan Agroforestry Working Group to create an interactive digital map to give farmers the tools they need to implement agroforestry on their own farms. Unlike monoculture farming that focuses on a single crop, agroforestry offers what Brines calls “a fusion of diversity and resilience.”

The team includes Yuxuan (Warwick) Gao (MS ’26), Geospatial Data Sciences; Ruilin Meng (MS ’26), Ecosystem Science and Management; Milan Anderson (MS ’26), Ecosystem Science and Management; and Qian Xu (MS ’26), Ecosystem Science and Management and Geographic Data Sciences. The primary field site is Asmus’ 14-acre farm, Oikos Tree Crops, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which has utilized agroforestry since the 1980s to produce a variety of crops including pawpaw, chestnuts and persimmons. 

The team faced a significant challenge early in the project as all of the publicly available satellite imagery for the farm was out of date, and did not have the resolution needed for the precision of the project. “We had some data from the internet about the farm, but it was several years old,” Gao explained. Their solution included visiting the farm to collect their own data using SEAS’ drone. They flew the drone over the site multiple times to capture the high-resolution imagery needed for mapping. 

The drone data the team collected has been instrumental in creating models of the farm. They processed the drone imagery using ArcGIS Pro and other software. “Our goal is to identify the most suitable place for the crops to survive,” explains Meng. 

Visiting the farm was not only crucial for data collection, but helped the team understand how the agroforestry system works. “During the site visits we saw which fruit trees grow well and the environmental conditions of different areas, which we can’t get from the internet,” Meng said. The team measured the heights of trees to understand the spatial relationships of the crops, and saw how trees planted around boundaries protect adjacent crops, an agroforestry technique called a “windbreak.” They learned firsthand from Asmus how the system works, and tasted the farm’s persimmons.

Beyond the interactive map of the farm, the team is creating educational materials and organizing events for Michigan farmers with similar land structures. Anderson has organized tasting events for agroforestry crops like pawpaw, chestnuts and persimmons to help farmers understand how to sell these crops.

“Farmers are important,” Gao emphasized. “If we want better food, we need to help farmers produce higher quality crops.” That principle has remained central as the team has worked towards deliverables, which will be made accessible through the Michigan Agroforestry Working Group as it works to increase agroforestry across the state. The SEAS master’s project team’s efforts demonstrate how geospatial technology and ecological science can make agroforestry tangible and replicable for farmers in Michigan and beyond.