BioRegional Agroforestry Suitability Analysis (BRASA)

This blog is first of four in a series on BRASA, a new tool developed by Terra Genesis International and TK Designlab.

The Connecticut River Watershed

If we want to do more than create stop-gap solutions, we need to think bigger than those gaps. We need to design for the health of whole systems. Terra Genesis International and TK Designlab co-created BRASA (Bioregional Agroforestry Suitability Analysis) to do just that.

What is BRASA?

BRASA is a methodology for mapping a landscape’s suitability for specific agroforestry practices and tree crops. With this analysis, we can identify the most economically and ecologically viable crops, practices, and systems for a specific watershed. This creates a scientifically-backed framework for projecting the ecological, economic, and social impacts of investing in agroforestry in such areas.

First and foremost with BRASA, we consider our clients’ questions and challenges at the watershed level. As we design solutions responding to our clients’ concerns, be they food security, stormwater management or carbon drawdown, we consider the role of trees in that watershed’s health and how the implementation of appropriate agroforestry systems can respond to both our client’s needs and the needs of the whole watershed.

We ask a lot of questions…

• Where should trees be growing in this watershed?
• What species of trees should be growing there?
• How can these trees serve human needs?

But fear not. We are not suggesting that we replace humans with trees.

No, this analysis is based in an understanding that humans are within nature, and that our buildings, infrastructure, and agriculture must be designed accordingly.

This is not a new frame for human design, but in this time, it is a radical one for many. In the U.S. particularly, we are largely failing to include trees in productive landscapes — but with BRASA, we seek to remedy this. This work is inspired by three truths:

1. Agroforestry practices represent some of the most potent solutions to reverse global warming. (Project Drawdown)
2. Perennial vegetation and its evapotranspiration contributes to as much as 57% of the rain that falls over land. (Rain for Climate)
3. To contribute to regenerating the planet, humans must design for the health of whole systems — not just fragments. (Regenerative Business)

Standing atop Mount Sugarloaf in Deerfield, MA, Russell Wallack (left) shows Luke Smith a recent chestnut agroforestry planting in the Connecticut River valley below.

By mapping the appropriate integration of trees into agricultural systems, we will use BRASA to illustrate watershed by watershed how planting trees can increase economic stability, heal our hydrologic cycles, and drawdown greenhouse gases. For more information on how we have begun to explore the opportunities for productive riparian buffers and catalyzing commercial chestnut production in Massachusetts, you can view our first case study here.

More to Come

In future blog posts, we will go into greater detail on the three premises above, and then explore examples of what this work looks like for specific watersheds. Please comment below to let us know where you’d like us to go deeper, or if there is a particular watershed that you would like to explore.

Learn More

Read our first case study, learn how to get involved, and receive access to the full BRASA report on our website.