1. Effects of shade, altitude and management on multiple ecosystem services in coffee agroecosystems
- Author
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Philippe Tixier, Celia A. Harvey, Jean-Noël Aubertot, Jacques Avelino, Charlie Mathiot, Christian Gary, Eugénie Clement, Clémentine Allinne, Rolando Cerda, Louise Krolczyk, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Program of Sustainable Agriculture and Agroforestry, Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE), Fonctionnement et conduite des systèmes de culture tropicaux et méditerranéens (UMR SYSTEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM), Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Conservation International, AgroParisTech, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université de Toulouse (UT), AGroécologie, Innovations, teRritoires (AGIR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT), Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura = Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), CASCADE project 'Ecosystem-based Adaptation for Smallholder Subsistence and Coffee Farming Communities in Central America' - International Climate Initiative (ICI), German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
- Subjects
[SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences ,Agroecosystem ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture ,Arbre d'ombrage ,Biodiversity ,Coffea ,Plant Science ,Agroforesterie ,01 natural sciences ,agroforestry ,Ecosystem services ,coffee yields ,2. Zero hunger ,Ecosystem health ,Agroforestry ,soil fertility ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Livelihood ,Natural resource ,séquestration du carbone ,Rendement des cultures ,pests and diseases ,Ecosystem management ,P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières ,Biodiversité ,Soil Science ,gestion des ressources naturelles ,GeneralLiterature_MISCELLANEOUS ,Fertilité du sol ,disservices ,incomes ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,15. Life on land ,Résistance aux maladies ,carbon sequestration ,K10 - Production forestière ,services écosystémiques ,Ombrage ,trade-offs ,Agronomy ,13. Climate action ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Résistance aux organismes nuisibles ,Business ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,Cropping - Abstract
International audience; Agroforestry systems provide diverse ecosystem services that contribute to farmer livelihoods and the conservation of natural resources. Despite these known benefits, there is still limited understanding on how shade trees affect the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time and the potential trade-offs or synergies among them. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified four major ecosystem services (regulation of pests and diseases; provisioning of agroforestry products; maintenance of soil fertility; and carbon sequestration) in 69 coffee agroecosystems belonging to smallholder farmers under a range of altitudes (as representative of environmental conditions) and management conditions, in the region of Turrialba, Costa Rica. We first analyzed the individual effects of altitude, types of shade and management intensity and their interactions on the provision of ecosystem services. In order to identify potential trade-offs and synergies, we then analyzed bivariate relationships between different ecosystem services, and between individual ecosystem services and plant biodiversity. We also explored which types of shade provided better levels of ecosystem services. The effectiveness of different types of shade in providing ecosystem services depended on their interactions with altitude and coffee management, with different ecosystem services responding differently to these factors. No trade-offs were found among the different ecosystem services studied or between ecosystem services and biodiversity, suggesting that it is possible to increase the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time. Overall, both low and highly diversified coffee agroforestry systems had better ability to provide ecosystem services than coffee monocultures in full sun. Based on our findings, we suggest that coffee agroforestry systems should be designed with diversified, productive shade canopies and managed with a medium intensity of cropping practices, with the aim of ensuring the continued provision of multiple ecosystem services.
- Published
- 2017
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