Effects of shade, altitude and management on multiple ecosystem services in coffee agroecosystems

Cerda, Rolando; Allinne, Clémentine; Gary, Christian; Tixier, Philippe; Harvey, Célia A.; Krolczyk, Louise; Mathiot, Charlie; Clement, Eugénie; Aubertot, Jean‐Noël; Avelino, Jacques

doi:10.1016/j.eja.2016.09.019

Cited by 119 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…For instance, in our study region, Cerda et al. () found that diversified coffee agroforestry systems maintain higher soil potassium content than either simple coffee agroforestry systems (e.g. one shade‐tree species only) and coffee monocultures, and some of these shade trees are leguminous species, contributing to soil fertility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Such lowinput agricultural systems are repeatedly linked with higher diversity (Tscharntke et al, 2005), given that species interactions often replace external inputs. For instance, in our study region, Cerda et al (2017) found that diversified coffee agroforestry systems maintain higher soil potassium content than either simple coffee agroforestry systems (e.g. one shade-tree species only) and coffee monocultures, and some of these shade trees are leguminous species, contributing to soil fertility.…”

Section: The Role Of Plant Characteristics In Management Actionsmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…To identify farmer participants, we worked with the farmer network of the “Ecosystem‐based Adaptation for Smallholder Subsistence and Coffee Farming Communities in Central America” (CASCADE) project, led by Conservation International and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) (Cerda et al., ). Specifically, our study identified 25 randomly selected participants from the broader CASCADE group of farmers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmer perception and utilization of leaf functional traits in managing agroecosystems

Isaac

Cerda

Rapidel

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Abstract1. Using knowledge of leaf functional traits, such as those forming the leaf economics spectrum (LES), to understand plant responses to environmental change is wellestablished and now being more widely applied to agroecosystems. Yet, little is known about how farm managers invoke leaf functional traits to inform management decisions. (4) identify the farmer and farm attributes that best predict the agreement between the FES and the LES.3. We collaborated with coffee (Coffea arabica) farmers in the Turrialba Valley, Costa Rica. We used a visual elicitation tool of fresh leaves along an intraspecific spectrum of leaf size, leaf thickness and leaf colour (as a proxy for leaf nutrients); respondents were asked to rank leaves in response to shade and nutrient scenarios as well as yield potential. On-farm biophysical data, management practices and socio-economic attributes were also collected. Synthesis and applications.In scientific literature, analyses of crop intraspecific trait variation have provided important insights into the mechanistic bases of multiple key agroecological processes. We demonstrate that farmers use crop leaf trait variation as an indicator to both evaluate management prescriptions and to initiate management actions including shade-tree species selection and abundance, cropand shade-tree pruning regimes and fertilization treatments. These findings signify

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: The Role Of Plant Characteristics In Management Actionsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmer perception and utilization of leaf functional traits in managing agroecosystems

Isaac

Cerda

Rapidel

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…A wide range of adaptation options have been proposed for helping farmers adapt to climate change. These include planting new crop varieties that are heat tolerant, drought resistant, or less susceptible to pests and diseases [38,39], increasing fertilizer and pesticide use [52], improving water management through irrigation and water harvesting [39,47], changing farm management practices such as changes in planting dates or crop rotations [46], adopting soil conservation practices such as live barriers, cover crops, and terracing [64,68], diversifying crop production and household income sources [49,62,69], and restoring degraded areas and risk-prone sites [38], among others. All of these options merit inclusion in adaptation strategies.…”

Section: Conclusion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of these practices are considered 'Ecosystem-based Adaptation' (i.e., adaptation practices that are based on the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services [56]) and are known to improve the longterm resiliency of smallholder farming systems [57]. For example, the incorporation of trees as shade is known to buffer extreme temperatures within fields [21,58], mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events [59,60], and ensure the provision of ecosystem services [61,62] and can therefore help enhance adaptation of farming systems. Farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, for example, planted more shade trees in their coffee plots as a response to Hurricane Stan [26].…”

Section: (244)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

et al. 2018

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Background: Smallholder farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change, yet efforts to support farmer adaptation are hindered by the lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. More information is needed on how different types of smallholder farmers vary in their perceptions and responses to climate change, and how to tailor adaptation programs to different smallholder farmer contexts. We surveyed 860 smallholder coffee and basic grain (maize/bean) farmers across six Central American landscapes to understand farmer perceptions of climate change and the impacts they are experiencing, how they are changing their agricultural systems in response to climate change, and their adaptation needs.Results: Almost all (95%) of the surveyed smallholder farmers have observed climate change, and most are already experiencing impacts of rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events on crop yields, pest and disease incidence, income generation and, in some cases, food security. For example, 87% of maize farmers and 66% of coffee farmers reported negative impacts of climate change on crop production, and 32% of all smallholder farmers reported food insecurity following extreme weather events. Of the farmers perceiving changes in climate, 46% indicated that they had changed their farming practices in response to climate change, with the most common adaptation measure being the planting of trees. There was significant heterogeneity among farmers in the severity of climate change impacts, their responses to these impacts, and their adaptation needs. This heterogeneity likely reflects the wide diversity of socioeconomic and biophysical contexts across smallholder farms and landscapes. Conclusions:Our study demonstrates that climate change is already having significant adverse impacts on smallholder coffee and basic grain farmers across the Central American region. There is an urgent need for governments, donors and practitioners to ramp up efforts to help smallholder farmers cope with existing climate impacts and build resiliency to future changes. Our results also highlight the importance of tailoring of climate adaptation policies and programs to the diverse socioeconomic conditions, biophysical contexts, and climatic stresses that smallholder farmers face.

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From the ground up: Patterns and perceptions of herbaceous diversity in organic coffee agroecosystems

Archibald

Allinne

Cerdán

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Smallholder farms that transition to organic and biodiverse production are increasingly recognized as strongholds of agrobiodiversity, with emerging work identifying important outcomes such as enhancing crop portfolios, mitigating extreme climate events and contributing to farmer well‐being. Yet the emergent herbaceous communities in these organic systems remain understudied, with the functional diversity and management of this stratum relatively unknown. This study identifies the taxonomic and functional diversity of the herbaceous community in organic coffee agroforestry systems, and describes the extent of this diversity with farm, and farmer, attributes. We measured leaf‐level functional traits (e.g. specific leaf area) of the herbaceous community to derive functional diversity indices and collected localized environmental conditions on 15 organic coffee farms in Central Valley, Costa Rica. We also conducted semi‐structured interviews with nine farmers to construct mental models on herbaceous community management using a cognitive mapping approach. In total, 38 species from 20 taxonomic families were present in these organic coffee systems. The herbaceous communities were functionally diverse; however, functional evenness increased with canopy openness, suggesting that farms adopting agroforestry tend to have a more functionally diverse herbaceous stratum. Farmer perception of plant traits in the herbaceous community was differentiated into competitive (weeds) or neutral/positive effects. These perceptions aligned with well‐established functional trait trade‐offs. The mental models representing farmer decision‐making processes were highly variable, with a nearly 30% increase in cognitive map density from the simplest map to the most complex; this complexity in mental models was a key explanatory variable in the level of functional diversity of the herbaceous community. Organic management practices that support agroforestry practices also, in turn, promote a functionally diverse herbaceous stratum. We show that functional trait syndromes in these herbaceous communities in agroforestry systems are linked with farmer perceptions of traits, and that highly interconnected farm decision‐making is related to greater functional diversity in the herbaceous community. Understanding pathways of farmer decision‐making on managing this herbaceous community can appropriately situate on‐farm practice and policy for the transition to organic production, and inform emerging agri‐environmental programs.

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Effects of shade, altitude and management on multiple ecosystem services in coffee agroecosystems

Cited by 119 publications

References 49 publications

Farmer perception and utilization of leaf functional traits in managing agroecosystems

Farmer perception and utilization of leaf functional traits in managing agroecosystems

Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America

From the ground up: Patterns and perceptions of herbaceous diversity in organic coffee agroecosystems

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