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Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Central America: II. Development of a Simple Process-Based Model and Preliminary ResultsBackgroundGlobally, coffee (Coffea arabica, L.) is an important cash crop. In past decades, there was a growing trend in Central America towards high-input monocultures, but most recently, agroforestry is again becoming a common system. However, it is difficult to optimise the selection of shade tree species in an agroforestry system. This article provides information on a simple dynamic model for coffee-agroforestry systems in Central America. Available with subscription or purchase |
Shade management in coffee and cacao plantationsBackgroundShade trees reduce the stress of coffee (Coffea spp.) and cacao (Theobroma cacao) by ameliorating adverse climatic conditions and nutritional imbalances and increase the biodiversity of coffee farms, but they may also compete for growth resources. This review summarizes the literature on ecological aspects of shade-grown coffee and cacao and on management of shade trees, but does not address economic and social aspects of shade-grown coffee and cacao. Available with subscription or purchase |
Arboles de Centroamerica: un Manual para Extensionistas (Trees of Central America: a Manual for Extentionists)EspañolAntecedentesLos agricultores de Centro América afrontan una compleja realidad que usualmente no es considerada en las iniciativas de manejo sostenible, lo que repercute en la falta de éxito de estas. En un esfuerzo por insertar las necesidades reales de los agricultores a estas actividades, este manual busca cubrir la brecha de información relacionada a especies arbóreas nativas de América Central. Available with subscription or purchase |
Performance of an Improved Fallow System in the Peruvian Amazon—Modelling ApproachbackgroundThis research compares the ecological and economic potential of an improved leguminous tree fallow (using Inga edulis) to the traditional grass fallow (dominated by Imperata brasiliensis) in central Peru. Available with subscription or purchase |
Impacts of Native Trees on Tropical Soils: A Study in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa RicabackgroundThis article describes the results of a study in Costa Rica that compared the soil fertility in a 2.5 year-old plantation of 6 native tree species, grass pasture, and 20 year-old secondary forest. Research Goals & MethodsSoil extractable Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn, the pH, exchangeable acidity, organic matter and total N were measured in three plots. Available with subscription or purchase |
Coffee yields and soil nutrients under the shades of Inga sp. vs. multiple species in Chiapas, MexicoBackgroundThe type of canopy structure that provides shade to shade-grown coffee may make a difference in production. While Mexican coffee producers have often sought to replace a natural diverse canopy with Inga latibracteata alone, the benefits of either method for yield and for ease of management have not been adequately studied. Available with subscription or purchase |
Effects of Inga densiflora on the Microclimate of Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) and Overall Biomass under Optimal Growing Conditions in Costa RicabackgroundThis article compares a coffee agroforestry system shaded with Inga densiflora to a coffee monoculture in optimal coffee growing conditions in Costa Rica. The two systems were investigated to determine differences in microclimate, coffee yield, and vegetative development of the coffee plants. Available with subscription or purchase |
Ecological Interactions, Management Lessons and Design Tools in Tropical Agroforestry SystemsbackgroundThis article discusses efforts to model and predict the outcomes of competition between tree and crop species in agroforestry systems. It provides an overview of the positive and negative effects of intra- and inter-specific competition and describes narious methods for quantifying the net effects of tree-crop interactions. Available with subscription or purchase |
Restoration of a Sri-Lankan rainforest: Using Caribbean Pine Pinus caribaea as a nurse for establishing late-successional tree speciesBackgroundIn the moist tropics, studies have demonstrated poor seedling establishment of late-successional trees on lands cleared of forest. This study examines the potential for establishing late-successional tree species that dominate the canopy of rainforest by planting within and adjacent to experimental openings that were created within a Pinus caribaea plantation. Available with subscription or purchase |
Silvicultural and economic aspects of pure and mixed native tree species plantations on degraded pasturelands in humid Costa RicaBackgroundReforestation of degraded land in tropical regions provides one means of restoring ecosystems and improving rural livelihoods. Most plantations in humid tropical regions are established in pure plots using few species of high commercial value, generally exotics. This study compares growth and economic viability of native trees in pure and mixed plantations on degraded land. Available with subscription or purchase |
