The advantages of associating shade trees in coffee agroforestry systems (AFS) are generally thought to be restricted mostly to poor soil and suboptimal ecological conditions for coffee cultivation whereas their role in optimal conditions remains controversial. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate, under the optimal coffee cultivation conditions of the Central Valley of Costa Rica, the impact of Inga densiflora, a very common shade tree in Central America, on the microclimate, yield and vegetative development of shaded coffee in comparison to coffee monoculture (MC). Maximum temperature of shaded coffee leaves was reduced by up to 5°C relative to coffee leaf temperature in MC. The minimum air temperature at night was 0.5°C higher in AFS than air temperature in MC demonstrating the buffering effects of shade trees. As judged by the lower relative extractable water (REW) in the deep soil layers during the dry season, water use in AFS was higher than in MC. Nevertheless, competition for water between coffee and associated trees was assumed to be limited as REW in the 0-150 cm soil layer was always higher than 0.3 in shaded coffee compared to 0.4 in monoculture. Coffee production was quite similar in both systems during the establishment of shade trees, however a yield decrease of 30% was observed in AFS compared to MC with a decrease in radiation transmittance to less than 40% during the latter years in the absence of an adequate shade tree pruning. As a result of the high contribution (60%) of shade trees to overall biomass, permanent aerial biomass accumulation in AFS amounted to two times the biomass accumulated in MC after 7 years. Thus provided an adequate pruning, Inga-shaded plantations appeared more advantageous than MC in optimal conditions, especially considering the fact that coffee AFS provides high quality coffee, farmers' revenue diversification and environmental benefits.

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This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited.In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copyRainfall partitioning into throughfall, stemflow and interception loss in a coffee (Coffea arabica L.) monoculture compared to an agroforestry system with Inga densiflora

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Las cercas vivas son sistemas agroforestales utilizados por productores y promovidos por instituciones y organismos de desarrollo. Éstas cumplen con diferentes funciones de conservación, especialmente en paisajes fragmentados. En este estudio se presenta la diversidad arbórea de cercas vivas comparándola con dos fragmentos de bosques intervenidos en el trópico seco de Estelí, Nicaragua. Las familias más especiosas en elpresente estudio fueron Mimosaceae, Moraceae, Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Bignonaceae y Boraginaceae, siendo, Leguminosae (Mimosaceae, Fabaceae y Caesalpinaceae) el grupo con más especies e individuos con respecto a las otras familias encontradas.Las especies más abundantes en el estudio fueron Bursera simaruba, Guazuma ulmifolia, Trichilia havanensis, Lysiloma divaricatum y Diospyros salicifolia. Las cercas vivas estudiadas presentan una alta diversidad florística. Sin embargo, muestran un alto porcentaje de especies introducidas y especies reproducidas asexualmente. Consideramos que las cercas vivas presentes en esta localidad tienen un rol potencial en la conservación de especies arbóreas (y posiblemente en la fauna),pero presentan una contribución menor en la provisión de servicios y productos a los productores. Por ende, ofrecen la oportunidad de incrementar y mejorar el aporte hacia productores por medio de cambios en la composición florística.

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) believes that open access contributes to its mission of reducing hunger and poverty, and improving human nutrition in the tropics through research aimed at increasing the eco-efficiency of agriculture.CIAT is committed to creating and sharing knowledge and information openly and globally. We do this through collaborative research as well as through the open sharing of our data, tools, and publications. Summary: 29Smallholder livestock systems in Central America are typically based on pastures with 30 traditional grasses and associated management practices such as pasture burning and extensive 31 grazing. With the rise of the global population and a corresponding increase in demand for meat 32 and milk production, research efforts have focused on the development of improved grasses and 33 the incorporation of legume species that can increase productivity and sustainability of Central 34American livestock systems. However, farmer adoption remains very limited, in part due to the 35 lack of site-specific evaluation and recommendations by local institutions. Using a multi-site, 36 participatory approach this study examined the potential of five improved grasses and five 37 species of forage legumes as alternatives to the broadly disseminated grass Hyparrhenia rufa (cv. 38 Jaragua) in pasture-based cattle systems in western Honduras and northern El Salvador. 39 Improved grasses (four Brachiaria sp. and Megathyrsus maximus) produced significantly more 40 biomass than H. rufa; also four of the five legume varieties evaluated (Canavalia ensiformis, 41Canavalia brasiliensis, Vigna unguiculata, and Vigna radiata) demonstrated high adaptability to 42 diverse environmental conditions across sites. Farmer participatory evaluation offers a valuable 43 means to assess performance of forages and will likely contribute to their improved utilization. 44Future research is needed on more refined management recommendations, pasture system 45 design, costs, and environmental benefits associated with the adoption of these forages in local 46 livestock production systems. 47 48