2.2. Description of coffee agroforestry systems and management
According to Moguel and Toledo (1999)’s typology, coffee farms
in LSBR are representative of traditional polyculture systems,
where farmers manipulate the natural forest system. In study
communities, farmers establish coffee farms by decreasing the
forest’s tree density and weeding the understory to create space for
the introduction of coffee saplings, and by thinning the canopy to
increase amount of light reaching the understory. Farmers do not
apply synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and labor is done manually.
During weeding, farmers usually remove all saplings and seedlings;
infrequently, farmers permit preferred tree species to
establish.
Farmers’ tree selection criteria were documented in detail via
interviews in Valencia et al. (2015). These interviews revealed that
farmers strongly favor the recruitment (e.g., by planting, transplanting
and sparing saplings during weeding) and survival of Inga
spp. (e.g., by not removing adult Inga spp. trees during shade
management) to the detriment of other species. Farmers favor Inga
spp. above all tree species because it a fast growing tree believed to
provide the best shade for coffee and benefit the soil fertility.
Coffee farms in study site are on average 2.6 ha (range: 1–6 ha)
and about 90% are certified organic. Farms are on average 11 years
old (range: 2–40 years old) and most are between 2 and 15 years
old. The majority of farmers are members of a coffee cooperative
that includes coffee farmers from the surrounding communities;
the cooperative is still at an early stage in terms of organization and
negotiation capabilities with potential buyers. Most farmers have
received training on organic coffee management practices in
workshops organized by a local nongovernmental organization
and the government agency responsible for managing the
Biosphere Reserve. Farmers also report sharing knowledge on
management practices among each other. Although farmers are
exposed to similar information on management practices, its
actual application across farms is highly variable.