Energy flows in the coffee plantations of Costa Rica: from traditional to modern systems (1935–2010)

Abstract

This article addresses energy flows in the coffee agro-ecosystems of Costa Rica within the context of the socio-ecological transition, between 1935 and 2010, accounting for the shift from traditional to modern tropical agriculture. Estimating indicators of energy efficiency in crop management makes it possible to analyze the changing productive rationality of growers by studying end uses of all biomass appropriated from coffee agro-ecosystems. Coffee land and labor productivity, as expected, multiplied (by factors of 2.01 and 1.56, respectively). However, considering total biomass produced in coffee agro-ecosystems, productivity did not display such a significant increase. In contrast, all other energy efficiency indicators declined. Final energy return on investment (FEROI) fell from 1.02 in 1935 to 0.51 in 2005. External final EROI fell even farther, from 18.90 down to 1.86. The socio-ecological transition brought about the loss of multifunctionality in the final use of products derived from coffee agroecosystems, as new products replaced traditional ones.Keywords Energy return on investment . Coffee . Agroforestry . Energy efficiency . Socio-ecological transition IntroductionThe study of energy flows in farming, understood in a broad sense, represents an effective and versatile way to describe the major changes that have taken place in agrarian systems during the transition from traditional to modern management approaches, as well as to analyze the environmental problems generated in this process. Scholars have used a variety of methods, from traditional energy balances (Leach 1976) to energy return on investment (EROI) (Tello et al. 2016) and life cycle assessment (LCA) (Haas et al. 2000) to analyze energy flows in farming. One aim, from the perspective of environmental and energy sustainability, has been to compare the energy efficiency of traditional and modern systems (Cleveland 1995; or organic vs. conventional management (e.g., Smith et al. 2015). Another approach, from the social sciences and humanities, uses energy flows to study the material foundations and dynamics by which traditional societies were sustained, endeavoring to overcome perspectives that focus exclusively on cultural or monetary concerns. Such studies have assessed hunter-gatherer societies (Rappaport 1969), the collapse of civilizations (Tainter 1990), and the subsistence of peasant farming societies (Infante-Amate 2014).This article evaluates energy flows in Costa Rica's coffee agro-ecosystems within the context of the socio-ecological transition (SET) and the BGreen Revolution,^between 1935 and 2010, spanning both of the aforementioned perspectives within a tropical agricultural system. It estimates indicators about the energy processes of coffee production systems, evaluating its evolving energy efficiency. There is some published research about energy balances in coffee production in Nicaragua (Cuadra and Rydberg 2006), Brazil (Giannetti et al. 2011a, b;Turco et al. 2012;Flauzino et al. 2014;Muner et al. 2015), and Costa ...

Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

“…For example, research results by Pracha and Volk [25] confirm the downward trend of the EROI for Pakistan's wheat but for rice production the EROI trend was more volatile. Similarly, results by Infante-Amate and Picado [27] indicate a downward trend in the energy efficiency of coffee production in Costa-Rica.…”

“…The conclusions of these studies usually indicate that the achievement of higher production in conventional systems is associated with providing higher energy input, as well as putting greater pressure on the environment. The second type of analysis involves focusing on the change of EROI concerning single agricultural products over time [25][26][27][28]. This research describes how to optimize energy use for individual agricultural products and thus improve their energy efficiency.…”

Agroecosystem energy transitions: exploring the energy-land nexus in the course of industrialization

“…The aim of this methodological framework is to analyze agroecosystem energetics throughout the industrialization process, capturing potential shifts from local biomass transfers to external energy inputs. Eight of the empirical articles present case studies in Europe (Fraňková and Cattaneo 2018;Gingrich et al 2018b;Guzmán et al 2018;Marco et al 2018) and the Americas (Cunfer et al 2018;Infante-Amate and Picado 2018;MacFadyen and Watson 2018;Parcerisas and Dupras 2018), and one is a comparative analysis of regional trajectories (Gingrich et al 2018a). Both the methods development and empirical analyses were made possible by a long-term collaboration of the research team.…”

Land in Central America will become less suitable for coffee cultivation under climate change

“…The higher temperature changes are observed across altitudes (Imbach et al 2017;Taylor and Alfaro 2005). Farmers cultivate coffee in the region under diverse agroecological conditions and production systems such as organic/conventional, low/high intensification, and full-sun monocrop/agroforestry (Blanco and Aguilar 2015;Haggar et al 2011;Infante-Amate and Picado 2018;Meylan et al 2013;Muschler 2001;Somarriba et al 2004). Regarding the aptitude of the region for coffee cultivation, land suitability evaluations indicate that about 59% of the region's coffee areas can be considered moderately to very good for coffee cultivation, and 14% as optimal (excellent); Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras have the highest regional shares of optimal areas (Lara-Estrada et al 2017).…”