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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1410418

Carbon reserves in coffee agroforestry in the Peruvian Amazon

Provisionally accepted
Geomar Vallejos-Torres Geomar Vallejos-Torres 1*Nery Gaona-Jimenez Nery Gaona-Jimenez 1,2Roger Pichis-García Roger Pichis-García 3Luis Ordoñez Luis Ordoñez 3Patricia García-Gonzales Patricia García-Gonzales 1Aníbal Quinteros Aníbal Quinteros 1Andi Lozano Andi Lozano 1Jorge Saavedra-Ramírez Jorge Saavedra-Ramírez 4Juan C. Tuesta-Hidalgo Juan C. Tuesta-Hidalgo 4Keneth Reategui Keneth Reategui 5Wilder Macedo-Córdova Wilder Macedo-Córdova 6Juan Rodrigo Baselly VIllanueva Juan Rodrigo Baselly VIllanueva 7César Marín César Marín 8,9
  • 1 Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Jr. Maynas Nº 177, Tarapoto, San Martín, Peru
  • 2 Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud Agroforestal (IISA), Jirón prolongación San Pablo de la Cruz N° 229, Tarapoto, Peru
  • 3 Universidad César Vallejo, Carr Marg Norte F.B.T KM 8.5 Sec., Maronilla, Cacatachi, San Martín, Peru
  • 4 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Alto Amazonas, Yurimaguas, Amazonas, Peru
  • 5 National Intercultural University of the Amazon, Pucallpa, Peru
  • 6 National University of the Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos, Peru
  • 7 National Institute of Agricultural Innovation (INIA), Lima, Peru
  • 8 Santo Tomás University, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
  • 9 VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Secondary forests and coffee cultivation systems with shade trees might have great potential for carbon sequestration as a means of climate change adaptation and mitigation. This study aimed to measure carbon stocks in coffee plantations under different managements and secondary forest systems in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest (San Martín Region). The carbon stock in secondary forest trees was estimated using allometric equations, while carbon stocks in soil, herbaceous biomass, and leaf litter were determined through sampling and laboratory analysis. The biomass carbon stock in secondary forests was 132.2 t/ha, while in coffee plantations with Inga sp. shade trees was 118.2 t/ha. Carbon stocks were 76.5 t/ha in coffee with polyculture farming, while the lowest amount of carbon was found in coffee without shade trees (31.1 t/ha). The carbon sequestered by coffee plants in all agroforestry systems examined had an average of 2.65 t/ha, corresponding to 4.63 % of the total carbon sequestered, being the highest stored in the coffee system with Inga sp. shade trees. A higher content of glomalinrelated soil proteins (GRSP) was found in coffee without shade trees, with 18.5 mg/g. These results point to Inga sp. as a compatible model of shade system for coffee farms. However, broader-scale time-average measurements and carbon dioxide emissions should be assessed in these study systems to have a full understanding of their climate impacts.

    Keywords: agroforestry, carbon stocks, Peruvian Amazon, Secondary forests, shade trees

    Received: 01 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Vallejos-Torres, Gaona-Jimenez, Pichis-García, Ordoñez, García-Gonzales, Quinteros, Lozano, Saavedra-Ramírez, Tuesta-Hidalgo, Reategui, Macedo-Córdova, Baselly VIllanueva and Marín. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Geomar Vallejos-Torres, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Jr. Maynas Nº 177, Tarapoto, San Martín, Peru

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.