Interactions between Carbon Sequestration and Shade Tree Diversity in a Smallholder Coffee Cooperative in El Salvador

• Published in: Conservation biology Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 489 - 497
• Main Authors: RICHARDS, MERYL BRETON, MÉNDEZ, V. ERNESTO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, NJ Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2014; Wiley Periodicals Inc; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Agriculture; agrobiodiversidad; agrobiodiversity; Agroecology; agroecología; Agroecosystems; Agroforestry; Agroforestry systems; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; biodiversidad; Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon Sequestration; carbon sinks; Central America; Centroamérica; Climate Change; climate change mitigation; Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; Coffea - growth & development; Coffee; Conservation biology; Conservation of Natural Resources; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Contributed Papers; correlation; Earth, ocean, space; ecosystem services; El Salvador; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Forest ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; General aspects; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Meteorology; mitigación del cambio climático; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; servicios ecosistémicos; Shade trees; Species diversity; Synecology; tree growth; Trees; Trees - physiology; El Salvador; Central America; America; Central America; Tropical zone; Interaction; agrobiodiversity; Ecology; Coffee; Biodiversity; Carbon sequestration; Agroecology; Agroecosystem; Dynamical climatology; Climate change; climate change mitigation; Mitigation measure; Tree; Ecosystem functioning; Ecosystem services; Small farms; Farming; Environmental protection; Centroamérica; agrobiodiversidad; biodiversity; servicios ecosistémicos; biodiversidad; agroecology; agroecología; mitigación del cambio climático; ecosystem services
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12181

Agroforestry systems have substantial potential to conserve native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. In particular, agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve native tree diversity and sequester carbon for climate change mitigation. However, little research has been conducted on the temporal stability of species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in these systems or the relation between species diversity and aboveground carbon sequestration. We measured changes in shade‐tree diversity and shade‐tree carbon stocks in 14 plots of a 35‐ha coffee cooperative over 9 years and analyzed relations between species diversity and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration was positively correlated with initial species richness of shade trees. Species diversity of shade trees did not change significantly over the study period, but carbon stocks increased due to tree growth. Our results show a potential for carbon sequestration and long‐term biodiversity conservation in smallholder coffee agroforestry systems and illustrate the opportunity for synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Interacciones entre el Secuestro de Carbono y la Diversidad de Árboles de Sombra en una Cooperativa de Café de Pequeños Agricultores en El Salvador