Agroforestry coffee production increased by native shade trees, irrigation, and liming

Abstract

Agroforestry systems usually include a high density and diversity of shade trees. Such systems often have a large diversity of fauna and flora and provide local and regional ecosystem services. Shade trees are, however, being removed to increase crop production in many tropical regions. There is little knowledge on the effect of shade trees on crop production in the context of trade-offs with other management practices. We therefore compared the benefits of exotic versus native shade trees on coffee production. We evaluated the importance of shade tree management for crop production in the context of management practices. Management practices included fertilization, liming, coffee pruning, weeding, and irrigation in 113 coffee agroforests in Kodagu, India, over a wide range of shade tree density, tree species diversity, and shade cover. We studied, in particular, Grevillea and nonGrevillea shade trees, the latter including mostly native tree species. Results show that a rise of 100 non-Grevillea shade tree per hectare increased production of berries by 5.6 % and larger beans by 6.25 %. Irrigation and liming increased berry production respectively by 16 and 20 %. These management interventions are likely to offset the relatively small negative effect of reducing shade density of non-Grevillea trees on coffee production. Recommendations based on an understanding of shade tree management alone can be misleading with regard to crop production.

Sistema agroflorestal cafeeiro-abacateiro e seus efeitos na qualidade do solo (Agroforestry system coffee-avocado and its effect on soil quality)

“…Os valores de qCO2 estão relacionados à estabilidade ambiental, sendo os menores para situações de menor estresse microbiano (Liao & Xie, 2006;Zhou et al, 2017), conforme se observou para os sistemas cafeeiro-abacateiro SM e SI (Tabela 1), mesmo apresentando menor teor de matéria orgânica em relação ao cafeeiro SP. Assim, pode-se supor que a qualidade do material depositado pelo abacateiro seja diferente daquele depositado somente pelo cafeeiro, o que pode conferir maiores serviços ecossistêmicos ao ambiente (Boreux et al, 2016).…”

“…A sustentabilidade da produção de café em SAFs requer compreensão das práticas de manejo, avaliando-se as interações dentro do contexto agroecológico local e seus possíveis impactos nos serviços ecossistêmicos (Boreux et al, 2016). Os atributos relacionados à qualidade do solo apresentam-se melhores em SAFs, quando comparados a sistemas de manejo do cafeeiro em sol pleno (Oliveira et al, 2016;Melloni et al, 2018).…”

“…Os atributos relacionados à qualidade do solo apresentam-se melhores em SAFs, quando comparados a sistemas de manejo do cafeeiro em sol pleno (Oliveira et al, 2016;Melloni et al, 2018). Além disso, Cerda et al (2017) demonstram que os SAFs apresentam maiores serviços ao ecossistema, como controle de doenças e pragas, aumento da produtividade, melhoria da fertilidade do solo e maior sequestro de carbono, além de proporcionar maiores taxas de polinização do cafezal (Nesper et al, 2017;Boreux et al, 2016). Quanto à estrutura do solo, o cultivo do cafeeiro em consórcio com espécies arbóreas demonstra uma maior porosidade e saturação da condutividade hidráulica pelo solo quando comparado ao cultivo convencional, o que garante maior resistência a processos erosivos e produção mais sustentável (Gaitán et al, 2016).…”

Potentials of the Underutilized Kei-apple (<em>Dovyalis caffra </em>L<em>.</em>): Beyond its Nutritional and Functional Value

“…Home /domestic uses a. Kei-apple for aesthetic and fencing: Kei-apple has strong aesthetic and landscaping potential, which is intensive tree management/ornamental use, its attributes seldom being exploited, and mainly used to beautify. As a boundary, barrier or support, Kei trees can be spaced close together to form an impenetrable hedge around homesteads, gardens and croplands to keep out unwanted animals due to it long thorns [27,11,28]. Kei-apple plants in home gardens are an important part of some traditional/subsistent farming systems, which should be encouraged in developing countries that are characterized by high population densities and the decreasing availability and accessibility of arable crop farming lands.…”

Impact of tree shading on the microclimate of a coffee plantation: a case study from the Peruvian Amazon

“…Also, low temperatures might cause decreased growth and development in Coffea arabica (Garab, 1998), so that as mentioned above, in cooler, marginal coffee-growing areas, increased temperatures might be beneficial to the crop. Finally, effects of changing climate on coffee crops should take into account not only temperature changes, but shifts in precipitation because, for example, rainfall on the flowering day has been found to have a negative influence on coffee production too (Boreux, 2016).…”