Coffee agroforestry systems capable of reducing disease-induced yield and economic losses while providing multiple ecosystem services

SUMMARYThe extent to which coffee agroforestry systems provide ecosystem services depends on local context and management practices. There is a paucity of information about how and why farmers manage their coffee farms in the way that they do and the local knowledge that underpins this. The present research documents local agro-ecological knowledge from a coffee growing region within the vicinity of the Aberdare Forest Reserve in Central Kenya. Knowledge was acquired from over 60 coffee farmers in a purposive sample, using a knowledge-based systems approach, and tested with a stratified random sample of 125 farmers using an attribute ranking survey. Farmers had varying degrees of explanatory knowledge about how trees affected provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. Trees were described as suitable or unsuitable for growing with coffee according to tree attributes such as crown density and spread, root depth and spread, growth rate and their economic benefit. Farmers were concerned that too high a level of shade and competition for water and nutrients would decrease coffee yields, but they were also interested in diversifying production from their coffee farms to include fruits, timber, firewood and other tree products as a response to fluctuating coffee prices. A range of trees were maintained in coffee plots and along their boundaries but most were at very low abundances. Promoting tree diversity rather than focussing on one or two high value exotic species represents a change of approach for extension systems, the coffee industry and farmers alike, but is important if the coffee dominated landscapes of the region are to retain their tree species richness and the resilience this confers.

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Interactive effects among ecosystem services and management practices on crop production: Pollination in coffee agroforestry systems

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1210590110 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 110 (21) ◽

pp. 8387-8392 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

V. Boreux ◽

C. G. Kushalappa ◽

P. Vaast ◽

J. Ghazoul

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Production ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Coffee Agroforestry

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Ecosystem Services and Importance of Common Tree Species in Coffee-Agroforestry Systems: Local Knowledge of Small-Scale Farmers at Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10110963 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 963 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sigrun Wagner ◽

Clement Rigal ◽

Theresa Liebig ◽

Rudolf Mremi ◽

Andreas Hemp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Tree Species ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Small Scale ◽

Group Affiliation ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Coffee Agroforestry ◽

Shade Tree ◽

Coffee Yield ◽

Coffee Farmers

Research Highlights: Global coffee production, especially in smallholder farming systems, is vulnerable and must adapt in the face of climate change. To this end, shaded agroforestry systems are a promising strategy. Background and Objectives: Understanding local contexts is a prerequisite for designing locally tailored systems; this can be achieved by utilizing farmers’ knowledge. Our objective is to explore ecosystem services (ESs) provided by different shade tree species as perceived by farmers and possible factors (elevation, gender, and membership in local farmers groups) influencing these perceptions. We related these factors, as well as farmers’ ESs preferences, to planting densities of tree species. Materials and Methods: During interviews with 263 small-scale coffee farmers on the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro, they ranked the most common shade tree species according to perceived provision of the locally most important ESs for coffee farmers. We asked them to estimate the population of each tree species on their coffee fields and to identify the three ESs most important for their household. Results: Food, fodder, and fuelwood emerged as the most important ESs, with 37.8% of the respondents mentioning all three as priorities. Density of tree species perceived to provide these three ESs were significantly higher for farmers prioritizing these services compared to farmers that did not consider all three ESs in their top three. Albizia schimperiana scored the highest for all rankings of regulatory ESs such as coffee yield improvement, quality shade provision, and soil fertility improvement. Influence of elevation, gender, and farmer group affiliation was negligible for all rankings. Conclusions: This study shows the need to understand factors underlying farmers’ management decisions before recommending shade tree species. Our results led to the upgrade of the online tool (shadetreeadvice.org) which generates lists of potential common shade tree species tailored to local ecological context considering individual farmers’ needs.

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DynACof: A process-based model to study growth, yield and ecosystem services of coffee agroforestry systems

Environmental Modelling & Software ◽

10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.104609 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 124 ◽

pp. 104609 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rémi Vezy ◽

Guerric le Maire ◽

Mathias Christina ◽

Selena Georgiou ◽

Pablo Imbach ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Coffee Agroforestry

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Linking deforestation scenarios to pollination services and economic returns in coffee agroforestry systems.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1087776.542465 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Taylor Ricketts

Keyword(s):

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Economic Returns ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Coffee Agroforestry

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Agroforestry systems in the Colombian Amazon improve the provision of soil ecosystem services

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.103933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 164 ◽

pp. 103933

Author(s):

Leonardo Rodriguez ◽

Juan Carlos Suárez ◽

Mirjam Pulleman ◽

Lised Guaca ◽

Adrian Rico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Soil Ecosystem ◽

Soil Ecosystem Services ◽

Colombian Amazon

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Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms in Coffee Production: From Isolation to Field Application

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11081531 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1531

Author(s):

Narcisa Urgiles-Gómez ◽

María Eugenia Avila-Salem ◽

Paúl Loján ◽

Max Encalada ◽

Leslye Hurtado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽

Agroforestry Systems ◽

Field Application ◽

Coffee Production ◽

Coffee Agroforestry ◽

Plant Growth Promoting ◽

Growth Promoting

Coffee is an important, high-value crop because its roasted beans are used to produce popular beverages that are consumed worldwide. Coffee plantations exist in over 70 countries and constitute the main economic activity of approximately 125 million people. Currently, there is global concern regarding the excessive use of agrochemicals and pesticides in agriculture, including coffee crops. This situation has motivated researchers, administrators, and farmers to seek ecologically friendly alternatives to decrease the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In the last decades, multiple studies of the rhizosphere, at the chemical, physical and biological levels, have improved our understanding of the importance of beneficial microorganisms to plant health and growth. This review aims to summarize the state of the use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) in coffee production, where the most extensively studied microorganisms are beneficial plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). This review also contains information on PGPM, in regard to plantations at different latitudes, isolation techniques, mass multiplication, formulation methods, and the application of PGPM in nurseries, monoculture, and coffee agroforestry systems. Finally, this review focuses on relevant research performed during the last decade that can help us improve sustainable coffee production.

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