Ramps, also known as wild leeks, and their unique garlic-onion flavor profile, are a popular foraged seasonal food but that demand could drive overharvesting of the native forest plant. In response to excess harvest worries, an interdisciplinary Penn State research team has studied how to grow and harvest ramps as a potential forest crop since 2017. In their latest study, published in the journal Wild, they characterized ramp habitat for the first time in Pennsylvania, offering guidance for the agroforestry practice known as forest farming.
The researchers gathered field site data such as soil, topography and neighboring vegetation at 30 thriving wild populations across Pennsylvania and paired it with geographic information system site-level data for more than 100 additional populations to determine "ramp habitat" in the state. Plant species associated with ramps in natural settings were recorded as "indicators" for on-the-ground assessments of potential forest farming sites.
