Agroforestry
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Browsing Agroforestry by Author "Armengot, Laura"
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Item Herb assemblage dynamics over seven years in diferent cocoa production systems(Springer Nature, 2022) Marconi, Luis; Seidel, Renate; Armengot, LauraBoth agronomic practices and spatial position can determine the assemblage of herbaceous species. We assess the dynamics and the contribution of these two aspects over time to the herb assemblages of different cocoa production systems. Braun-Blanquet surveys were performed over seven years in a long-term trial in Bolivia to compare different cocoa production systems: successional agroforestry (SA) with no external inputs, organic agroforestry (OA) and organic monoculture (OM), both including a leguminous perennial cover crop, conventional agroforestry (CA) and conventional monoculture (CM), where agrochemicals were applied. Using general linear models and multivariate analysis we found that assemblages were mainly driven by spatial position only at the beginning. After this, a very dynamic selection process related to the different management practices took place, which became more stable over the years. We observed a decline in species in both the CA and OA systems, due to the loss of heliophilous species and the low number of new species established in them. The OM presented the most conservative pattern, with the lowest number of new species and species lost, due to the presence of the cover crop. Both the most intensively managed system (CM) and the most diverse and least intensive one (SA) had the highest number of new species recorded over time, which led to highly specialized assemblages, with worldwide distributed and herbicide resistant species in the first case and secondary forest species, in the second. We conclude that the promotion of organic management and agroforestry systems, especially highly divers and successional agroforestry sytems would favour herb assemblages with high conservation value and prevent the establishment of globally distributed species.Item The role of shade tree pruning in cocoa agroforestry systems: agronomic and economic benefts(Springer Nature, 2023) Esche, Laura; Schneider, Monika; Milz, Joachim; Armengot, LauraCocoa-based agroforests are promoted to replace monocultures for the provision of ecosystem services. However, shade tree pruning, an important tool to sustain cocoa yields, is not commonly implemented. This study investigates the effect of pruning on both agronomic and economic performance. In Bolivia, four famers’ sites were divided in half, and shade trees pruned in one of the two plots. Pruning resulted in a significant increase in cocoa yield, from an average of 430 to 710 kg ha−1 by boosting flowering and pod production, but not reducing the proportion of damaged pods, and of those lost to cherelle wilt. Additionally, scenario calculations using international and organic premium cocoa prices were conducted to evaluate the economic feasibility of pruning. The minimum, mean and maximum yield of 22 local cocoa-based agroforestry farms were used as reference for 25, 50 and 75% yield increase scenarios. Offsetting the pruning costs highly depended on the initial yield levels. Using the minimum yield, all scenarios led to a lower net income compared with no pruning. For the mean yield level, the net income was equal to that obtained without pruning when the yield increase was above 51%. At the maximum yield level, all increase scenarios resulted in a higher net income. Our results prove the importance of pruning agroforestry trees to increase cocoa yields. However, with current farm-gate prices for cocoa, farmers alone cannot cover the extra management costs. The cocoa sector should discuss different strategies to support pruning for a broader adoption of agroforests.