Tag

Biomimicry
Drone image of a long-term cocoa production trial in Alto Beni, Bolivia, comparing five systems: conventional monoculture (CM), organic monoculture (OM), conventional agroforestry (CA), organic agroforestry (OA), and dynamic agroforestry (SA).
DAF is a farming system with dense, diverse planting and regular pruning, designed to maximize biomass growth without external inputs. A 14-year field trial shows that DAF systems store 66 t C ha⁻¹ in biomass — over twice as much as conventional monocultures (~26 t C ha⁻¹)
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This study examines how pruning shade trees impacts cocoa yields and income in agroforestry systems in Bolivia. Farmers who pruned their shade trees experienced yield increases from 430 kg/ha to 710 kg/ha of dry cocoa beans. This improvement was attributed to better flowering and pod production due to enhanced light availability. While pruning significantly increased...
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