Resource Library Search

Type any text into the search box. Narrow your search using the dropdown boxes or the filters in the sidebar. If there are no results, try using fewer filters or broder dropdown options. 

Advanced Search Options

Location

Subject Areas

Species

Use of the Amazonian Tree Species Inga edulis for Soil Regeneration and Weed Control

background

This article presents research on leguminous tree-based fallows using Inga edulis in Peru.

Open access copy available

Biomass Growth and Farmer Knowledge of Inga edulis in Peruvian Amazon

background

This study develops an equation for diameter-based biomass estimation of Inga edulis. The tree is widely grown in the Peruvian Amazon as a naturally occurring early-successional tree and in small farms and gardens for fruit and fuelwood.

Open access copy available

How to Improve Adoption of Agroforestry Systems Among Small Farmers in Peruvian Amazon

background

This article surveys factors affecting the acceptibility rate of a multistrata agroforestry system.

Research Goals & Methods

Small farmers from three communities in central Peru were surveyed and data was collected on farm and houshold characteristics, cultivated crops and tree species, and agroforestry practices.

Open access copy available

Shade effect on coffee production at the northern Tzeltal zone of the state of Chiapas, Mexico

Background

Shade-grown coffee has been a preferred method in the tropics largely due to its benefits for biodiversity. However, impacts on yield are not yet fully understood, nor are the potentials for multiple uses of canopy species.

Open access copy available

Coffee yields and soil nutrients under the shades of Inga sp. vs. multiple species in Chiapas, Mexico

Background

The 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 Rica

background

This 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 Systems

background

This 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

Shade coffee farms promote genetic diversity of native trees

Background

In the tropical Americas, coffee is typically cultivated under shade canopy cover. Unlike coffee grown in full sun, shade-grown coffee plays host to an increased diversity of vertebrates and invertebrates. However, the contributions of shade-grown coffee patches in tropical landscapes towards preserving genetic flows have not yet been studied.

Open access copy available

The Role of Rustic Coffee Plantations in the Conservation of Wild Tree Diversity in the Chinantec Region of Mexico

background

This study examines the potential of shade coffee systems to promote native tree diversity across the landscape of southern Mexico.

Open access copy available

Agroforestry Training Program: Taking Action, Reaching Out

background

Open access copy available

Guidance on Coffee Carbon Project Development Using the Simplified Agroforestry Methodology (Lineamientos Para el Diseño de Proyectos de Carbono en Cafetales Usando La Metodología Agroforestal Simplificada)

 

Español

Antecedentes

Open access copy available

Woody Plant Diversity and Structure of Shade-Grown-Coffee Plantations in Northern Chiapas, Mexico

background

This article presents research on coffee stand structure and diversity, with data collected from 61 coffee plots in Chiapas, Mexico.

Open access copy available

Tree biodiversity in farmer cooperatives of a shade coffee landscape in western El Salvador

background

Conservation of tropical biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has become more important as the area covered by natural ecosystems decreases. Understanding the types of biodiversity common in agriculturally managed lands, and involving farmers in conservation planning, is important for regional conservation goals.

Available with subscription or purchase

Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Central America: I. A Review of Quantitative Information on Physiological and Ecological Processes

Background

Open access copy available

Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Central America: II. Development of a Simple Process-Based Model and Preliminary Results

Background

Available with subscription or purchase

Biodiversity Conservation in Traditional Coffee Systems of Mexico

Background

This article discusses the capacity of traditional coffee agroforestry systems for maintaining biodiversity levels.

Open access copy available

Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations

Background

Shade 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

Multifunctional Shade-Tree Management in Tropical Agroforestry Landscapes – A Review

background

This article discusses the benefits of shade systems in the production of cacao and coffee crops, with a particular focus on the long-term cycle of cacao production.

Open access copy available

Principles and Practice of Forest Landscape Restoration: Case Studies from the Drylands of Latin America

background

Open access copy available

Bwa Yo: Important Trees of Haiti

background

This book, published in 1996, presents important tree species in Haiti as part of a USAID effort to address environmental degradation in Haiti. The trees presented are mainly those in the agricultural landscape, providing food or fuel, although trees with cultural or ecological importance are also presented.

Open access copy available