Studies have shown that tree shade cover is the main factor
accounting for differences in erosion between sun coffee and
shaded plantations. However, in the case of studies conducted
entirely within agroforestry systems, such as the present, it has
been shown that the litter layer is the main soil erodibility factor,
with a greater influence than that of the tree canopy. This cover has
many functions, chief among which is the neutralization of the
splash erosion of the rainwater, both that which falls directly on
the soil and that which falls indirectly, through the tree canopy.