The role of local knowledge in determining shade composition of multistrata coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico

Pinto, Lorena Soto; Villalvazo-López, Víctor; Jiménez‐Ferrer, Guillermo; Ramírez‐Marcial, Neptalí; Montoya, Guillermo; Sinclair, F.L.

doi:10.1007/s10531-005-5436-3

Cited by 80 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Our results are congruent with other studies that have found that the main criteria for tolerating, promoting, or planting shade trees include compatibility with crop, shade production, ease of management, production of organic matter, and production of valuable goods such as food, timber, firewood, and medicinal resources (Albertin and Nair 2004, Soto-Pinto et al 2007, Souza et al 2010, Anglaaere et al 2011. Farmers' knowledge of tree-crop interactions is fairly consistent with findings on the advantageous and disadvantageous ecological interactions between shade trees and crops (see Beer 1987, Beer et al 1997.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity

et al. 2015

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Citation: Valencia, V., P. West, E. Sterling, L. García-Barrios, and S. Naeem. 2015. The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity. Ecosphere 6(7):122. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1890/ES14-00428.1Abstract. In agroforestry systems, the survival of shade trees is often the result of farmers' deliberate selection. Therefore, how communities generate knowledge and apply it to resource management practices influence the potential for biodiversity conservation of agroforestry systems. In this study, we investigated the use of knowledge by farmers to manage coffee (Coffea arabica) agroforests and the consequences for the conservation of tree biodiversity and composition of surrounding forests. We interviewed 50 coffee farmers to investigate their shade tree preferences and sources of knowledge of the properties of shade trees and coffee management practices; we also conducted tree inventories in 31 coffee farms and 10 forest sites in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico. Our results showed that farmers are modifying agroforests according to their knowledge and tree preferences, and that the resulting agroforest is lower in tree diversity and dominated by pioneer and farmers' preferred tree species as compared to forests. The principal sources of knowledge of management practices are external sources, such as governmental and non-governmental organizations, whereas the primary source of tree specific knowledge is empirical knowledge. We found that the higher proportion of pioneer trees relative to forest is mostly explained by farmers' tree selection decisions (63%) rather than as a byproduct of management practices (37%) that disturb the soil and open the canopy, altering light penetration and microclimate conditions. Based on interviews and tree inventories, we found that farmers gradually replace canopy trees of neutral and disliked species by preferred species, in particular Inga spp. We found that external sources continue to promote the idea that Inga spp. trees bring significant benefits to coffee production in spite of a lack of scientific evidence to support this claim. This indicates that farmers are receptive to incorporate outside knowledge into their knowledge systems and adapt their resource management practices accordingly. Our findings highlight the importance of disseminating sound and clear scientific information to practitioners who work directly with farming communities to ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is being contributed to local knowledge systems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity

et al. 2015

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“…Apparently, different species at each site perform the same function of carbon accumulation and carbon stocks depending more on tree and sapling density, wood density, tree management, and soil management (Palm, 1995;De Jong et al, 1997;Van Noordwijk et al, 2002;Montagnini & Nair, 2004;Chave et al, 2005;Soto-Pinto et al, 2007;Häger, 2012). Nevertheless, the ability of coffee systems to provide other ecosystem services, such as biodiversity conservation, erosion control, and pollination, is closely related to its complexity and diversity (Somarriba et al, 2004;Srivastava & Vellend, 2005;Perfecto et al, 2007;Philpott et al, 2008a;Vergara & Badano, 2009;Tscharntke et al, 2005Tscharntke et al, , 2011.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Stocks in Organic Coffee Systems in Chiapas, Mexico

Pinto¹,

Aguirre-Dávila²

2014

JAS

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“…Local knowledge is, as opposed to indigenous knowledge, not geographically or ethnically specific and can be similar at different locations if within similar agroecological context (Sinclair and Joshi 2000). While Albertin and Nair (2004) and Soto-Pinto et al (2007) have reported on local knowledge on tree diversity in coffee AFS, it is only in recent years that research has documented on both local knowledge and ES provision in coffee AFS and landscapes (Cerdán et al 2012;Lamond et al 2016;Smith-Dumont et al in press).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local tree knowledge can fast-track agroforestry recommendations for coffee smallholders along a climate gradient in Mount Elgon, Uganda

et al. 2017

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Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is economically important for many smallholder farmers in the Mount Elgon region of East Uganda, but its production is increasingly threatened by climate change. However, ecosystem services (ES) provided by companion trees in coffee agroforestry systems (AFS) can help farmers adapt to climate change. The objectives of this research were to develop agroforestry species recommendations and tailor these to the farmers' needs and local context, taking into consideration gender. Local knowledge of agroforestry species and ES preferences was collected through farmer interviews and rankings. Using the Bradley-Terry approach, analysis was done along an altitudinal gradient in order to study different climate change scenarios for coffee suitability. Farmers had different needs in terms of ES and tree species at different altitudes, e.g. at low altitude they need a relatively larger set of ES to sustain their coffee production and livelihood. Local knowledge is found to be gender blind as no differences were observed in the rankings of species and ES by men and women. Ranking species by ES and ranking ES by preference is a useful method to help scientists and extension agents to use local knowledge for the development of recommendations on companion trees in AFS for smallholder farmers.

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The role of local knowledge in determining shade composition of multistrata coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico

Cited by 80 publications

References 26 publications

The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity

The use of farmers' knowledge in coffee agroforestry management: implications for the conservation of tree biodiversity

Carbon Stocks in Organic Coffee Systems in Chiapas, Mexico

Local tree knowledge can fast-track agroforestry recommendations for coffee smallholders along a climate gradient in Mount Elgon, Uganda

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