Yale School of Forestry Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies& Environmental Studies
Management practices, Management practices, Productivity and Biodiversity in Productivity and Biodiversity in Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Coffee Agroforestry Systems in
Costa RicaCosta Rica
Esteban Rossi, August 2009. Esteban Rossi, August 2009. Tropical Resources instituteTropical Resources institute
Yale School of Forestry Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies& Environmental Studies
Agroforestry -The future of global land Agroforestry -The future of global land useuse
Sustainable agroforestry?Sustainable agroforestry?
A working definition of sustainable forestry: A working definition of sustainable forestry: ““Sustainable forestry ensures that each ecosystem Sustainable forestry ensures that each ecosystem provides provides its fair share of valuesits fair share of values, neither depriving itself , neither depriving itself or other times and places of the ability to provide or other times and places of the ability to provide values”values” (Oliver, 2003) (Oliver, 2003)
Different people – different valuesDifferent people – different values
www.hsbc.com
Can we manage for multiple values?Can we manage for multiple values?Forests exist in different structures and different Forests exist in different structures and different structures provide different values and provide structures provide different values and provide habitat for different species. The challenge lies in habitat for different species. The challenge lies in finding the finding the fair share of valuesfair share of values, for the ecosystem., for the ecosystem. (Oliver, 2003)(Oliver, 2003)
UNDERSTORY
SAVANNA OPEN
DENSECOMPLEX
NEW SCIENTIFIC PARADIGM:Forests are dynamic. They change with growth and
disturbances. They contain many structures.
(Oliver and O’Hara 2004)
Coffee agroforestry research: Catie, Costa Rica
• Coffee Experimental agroforestry system • Objectives: Increase productivity and quality.• Reduce the need for chemical inputs and reduce
costs.• Describe the long term dynamics of the system.• Establish the guidelines for “sustainable” coffee
production in Costa Rica (Haggar, 2005).
Agroforestry systemmanagement
practices 1. Inputs2. Shade
Coffee beanproductivity &sustainability
AFS biodiversity:flora, fauna,
soil biota?
AF experiment -Incomplete factorial design
Shade tree species:
Chloroleucon euryciclum Erythrina poeppigiana Terminalia amazonia
3 levels: No shade, 1sp & 2spp.
Two kinds of inputs:
Chemical (conventional) Organic
Shade tree species Input type Management Intensity
Erythrina poeppigiana Chemical (conventional) High & Medium
Organic Medium & Low
Terminalia amazonia Chemical High & Medium
Organic Medium & Low
Chloroleucon eurycyclum Chemical Medium intensity
Organic Medium intensity
T. amazonia + C. eurycyclum Chemical Medium intensity
Organic Medium intensity
T. amazonia + E. poeppigiana Chemical Medium intensity
Organic Medium intensity
C. eurycyclum + E. poeppigiana Chemical High & Medium
Organic Medium & Low
Full sun (no shade) Chemical High & Medium
Methods
1. Understory herb diversity surveys: 4m x 4m subplots with 3 replicates per treatment.
Understory herb species richness and abundance.
2. Tree DBH
3.Tree height.
4. Coffee yield data.
Methods
ResultsCommon herb species and number of occurrences. 4 x 4 m sampling plots.
# Family Species Freq
1 Caryophillaceae Drymaria cordata 30
2 Poaceae Paspalum conjugatum 30
3 Rubiaceae Coffea arabica (sapl) 30
4 Apiaceae Spananthe paniculata 27
5 Poaceae Digitatia sanguinalis 27
6 Poaceae Paspalum conjugatum 27
7 Apiaceae Hydrocotyle umbellata 26
8 Rubiaceae Borreria laevis 26
9 Cyperaceae Cyperus tenuis 24
10 Euphorbiaceae Phyllantus niruri 24
11 Cyperaceae Cyperus luzulae 23
12 Cyperaceae Cyperus tenuis 23
13 Leg-Mimosaceae Mimosa pudica 22
14 Cyperaceae Dichromena ciliata 21
15 Leg-Fabaceae Erythrina poeppigiana (sapl) 21
16 Asteraceae Pseudoelephantopus spicatus 20
Taxonomic summary
# Families 27
# Genera >50
# Species 58
Most abundant families
Cyperaceae 8 spp
Poaceae 6 spp
Most abundant genera:
Cyperus
Herb diversity and coffee productivity along the management intensification gradient (2007)
0
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a-organic low b-organic medium c-chemical medium d-chemical high
Management practices
Me
an c
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ield
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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007Year
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ield
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/Ha
Chemical high
Chemical medium
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Organic low
Historical mean yields of the Coffee AFS grouped for management practices for 2002-2007.Organic treatments: thick lines. Chemical treatments: thin lines.
Coffee productivity and biodiversity grouped by shade type
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Ce CeEp CeTa Ep EpTa Ta FS
Shade type
Po
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a
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Medium intensity management, a good compromise?
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EpT
a
CeE
p
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CeT
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a
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FS
(no
shad
e)
b-organic medium c-chemical medium
Management intenstity and shade
Co
ffee
yie
ld M
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a
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Her
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Shade tree basal area in single-species plots
Ep
EpEp Ep
Ta
Ta
TaTa
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ch cm ol om
Management practices
Bas
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rea
m2
NSFNSF
NSFNSF
• Organic low T. amazonia collapsed (2009).• Chloroleucon eurycyclum alone and in most
combinations has potential for coffee AFS. • Medium intensity management with different
shade tree species is promising for Coffee AFS in Costa Rica.
• It is possible to manage coffee agroforestry systems for agricultural productivity and biodiversity conservation but…
Lessons and Questions…
Steffan-Dewenter, et al, 2007. PNAS. 104:4973-4978.
Aberdare National Park, Kenya, 2004. Naughton-Treves et al, (2005).
…but “The Devil is in the details”Coffee Agroforestry systemshave the potential to provide multiple values but the details have to be properly understood.
Associated Biodiversity
Associated Biodiversity
Acknowledgements
Montagnini, F., De Melo E. & Elizondo, B. provided help, comments and discussion. This work was supported by the Tropical Resources Institute. Yale F&ES.
Basal area in two-species plots
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Ai AiEp AiTa Ep EpTa TaShade Type
Acc
um
ula
ted
bas
al a
rea/
ha
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
Ta Ep CeEp EpTa Ep Ta CeTa Ce CeEp Ep FS EpTa Ta Ce CeTa CeEp Ta CeEp FS Ep
b-organic medium
c-chemical medium
d-chemical high
0
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20Mean coffee yieldMg /ha
Management intensity and shade type
Herb richness
Herb diversity and coffee productivity along the management intensification gradient (2007)
a-organiclow
Hypotheses, mechanisms & procedures in Biodiversity
experiments using synthetic communities
Loreau et al, 2001. Science.
Biodiversity experiments in temperate grasslands
Experimental findings: Minnesota & EU
Hector et al, 1999. Science. Tilman et al, 2006. Nature.
Historical perspective“It has been experimentally proved that if a plot of ground be sown with several distinct genera of grasses, a greater number of plants and a greater weight of dry herbage can thus be raised”. Darwin C, The
Origin of species. (Hector & Hooper, 2002)
The first ecological experiment. Woburn Abbey, UK. 1817.
(Vandermeer, 1989. The ecology of intercropping)
Findings After extensive debate it has been shown that:
• There is a positive, but complex, relation between diversity and productivity. Species composition is also important.
• The combined effects of composition and location can confound the interpretation of results.
• Increased traits- functional diversity groups also influences productivity.
• Community age effects: early dynamics sampling effects, late dynamics niche complementarity.
• Other variables (biotic & abiotic) correlate and affect productivity i.e., water, temperature, soil fertility