Summary
This long-term field study evaluated coffee agroforestry systems managed by family farmers in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest biome, comparing them to full-sun coffee and reference forest sites. The agroforests supported 231 tree species (78% native), generated greater landscape-scale γ-diversity than individual-plot α-diversity, and reduced maximum temperatures by approximately 6°C relative to full-sun systems. Although soil organic carbon, nitrogen mineralisation, and microbial activity remained lower in both coffee systems than in reference forests, the chemical and biological soil quality in agroforests did not differ significantly from full-sun coffee after 13 years, suggesting that shade-grown systems offer biodiversity and climate-adaptive benefits without immediate soil quality penalties.
Regional applicability
This study is set in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and may have limited direct applicability to United Kingdom farming conditions, which lack the tropical climate, native tree diversity, and coffee production context. However, the findings on how agroforestry enhances landscape-scale biodiversity while maintaining soil function could inform UK policy on intercropping, hedgerow management, and climate-adaptive tree integration in agricultural systems.
Key measures
Floristic inventory (tree species richness and composition); monthly average maximum temperature; total soil organic carbon; nitrogen mineralisation rate; soil microbial activity; chemical and biological soil quality indices
Outcomes reported
The study compared tree biodiversity, microclimate, and soil chemical and biological characteristics between shaded coffee agroforestry systems and full-sun coffee monocultures over 13 years. It measured species composition, temperature regimes, soil organic carbon, nitrogen mineralisation, and microbial activity across eight agroforests and four reference forest sites.
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