Browsing by Autor "Laura Armengot"

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Cacao agroforestry systems have higher return on labor compared to full-sun monocultures
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2016) Laura Armengot; Pietro Barbieri; Christian Andrès; Joachim Milz; Monika Schneider
Cadmium uptake by cocoa trees in agroforestry and monoculture systems under conventional and organic management
(Elsevier BV, 2016) Anja Gramlich; Susan Tandy; Christian Andrès; Jorge Paniagua; Laura Armengot; Monika Schneider; Rainer Schulin
Competitive yields in organic and agroforestry cacao cropping systems: results from 15 years of a long-term systems comparison trial in Bolivia
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2025) Johanna Rüegg; Stéphane Saj; Ulf Schneidewind; Joachim Milz; Monika Schneider; Laura Armengot
Abstract Cacao production is facing challenges of low productivity due to low soil fertility and climate change. Agroforestry and organic farming are potential sustainable and climate-resilient alternatives, but they are often associated with lower yields compared to monocultures and conventional farming. Despite their potential, empirical data on the long-term productivity of cacao cultivated in complex agroforestry systems and under organic management remains limited. Expanding this evidence base is essential to inform the development of agricultural practices and policies that advance environmental sustainability and food security. To fill this gap, we present 15 years (2008–2022) of data on cacao production and associated crops of a unique long-term trial comparing five cacao cropping systems in Bolivia: organically and conventionally managed monocultures, diverse agroforestry systems under organic and conventional management, and successional agroforestry systems without external inputs. We collected data on yields along with detailed information on the design and agronomic management from the beginning of the trial. All systems achieved competitive cacao yields in the mature phase. Organic and conventional systems had similar cacao yields, while agroforestry systems reached 56% of monoculture yields. Total system yields of the agroforestry systems were up to 6.9 times higher than monocultures. In the successional agroforestry, 22 crops were harvested, with short life cycle crops contributing to one-third of total production. This study shows that staple food crops and fruit trees as well as high-value crops (coffee, ginger, curcuma) can be successfully combined with cacao, and that agroforestry designs can be adapted over time by adding or eliminating crops to meet new goals or market opportunities. Extensive research has highlighted the positive contributions of agroforestry and organic farming to the delivery of ecosystem services. This study provides empirical evidence that it is possible to design and implement systems that reconcile environmental sustainability with productive performance.
Complex agroforestry systems against biotic homogenization: The case of plants in the herbaceous stratum of cocoa production systems
(Elsevier BV, 2019) Luis Marconi; Laura Armengot
Complexity of cacao production systems affects terrestrial ant assemblages
(Elsevier BV, 2023) Chloé Durot; Miguel Limachi; Kazuya Naoki; Marc Cotter; Natacha Bodenhausen; Luis Marconi; Laura Armengot
• Terrestrial ant species richness, composition and trophic roles were analysed. • Ants were sampled four times in a long-term trial comparing cacao production systems. • Ant species richness did not differ between production systems. • Ant composition differed according to the management intensity of the systems. Given the rapid changes in tropical agricultural production, the evaluation of different management practices has gained interest to determine the effects of land-use change on biodiversity. The conversion of forests into agricultural land is one of the main drivers of diversity loss. Agroforestry systems have been shown as a promising option to provide suitable yields in addition to conserving biodiversity. In this study we compared species richness and community composition of terrestrial ants in six different systems in a long-term experimental site established in 2009 in Bolivia: a full-sun monoculture and an agroforestry system under conventional management, a full-sun monoculture and an agroforestry system under organic management, a highly diverse and dense agroforestry system without external inputs and a secondary forest. Using pitfall traps, we sampled ants four times during a seven-year period (2015-2021). We collected a total of 85 ant species belonging to 6 sub-families and 41 genera. More than 80% of the species were recorded in less than 10% of the traps. Species richness did not significantly differ between the systems. However, species composition mainly differed between the fallow and the production systems, and within the latter, it followed the management intensity gradient, i.e., complex agroforestry, agroforestry and monocultures. The indicator species analysis clearly showed species exclusively associated with one or more production systems, whereas others were only associated with the secondary forest. Species with specialised trophic roles were more frequent in forest and agroforestry systems. Our results showed that the disturbance generated by cultivation was the main driver differentiating ant communities, but also reinforced the importance of the complexity and management intensity of the production system. These results have strong implications for landscape management and highlights the importance of preserving natural patches of forest but also diverse and complex agroforestry systems within the agricultural matrix for ant diversity conservation.
Efecto de diferentes sistemas de producción de cacao de 3-4 años sobre la composición de un ensamble de hormigas terrestres
(2018) Miguel Limachi; Kazuya Naoki; Laura Armengot
Herb assemblage dynamics over seven years in different cocoa production systems
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2022) Luis Marconi; Renate Seidel; Laura Armengot
Locally-selected cacao clones for improved yield: a case study in different production systems in a long-term trial
(Frontiers Media, 2023) Laura Armengot; Marco Picucci; Joachim Milz; Jon Kehlet Hansen; Monika Schneider
Ageing plantations, poor genetic material, soil degradation, pests and diseases are, among other factors, limiting cacao production. To meet the increasing demand for cacao in the absence of productivity gains, forests are cleared and the use of external inputs is generalised, with severe negative impacts on biodiversity and GHG emissions. The use of improved plant genetic material should support a sustainable increase of production. In this study, we evaluate and compare the yield performance of four locally-selected clones with those of four widely-used international clones in South America and four full-sib families (crosses of the same international clones). The research was conducted in a long-term trial in Bolivia with different production systems, including monocultures and agroforestry systems under organic and conventional farming and a successional agroforestry system without external inputs. Their cacao yields and the factors determining productivity (pod index, flowering intensity, pod load, pod losses, aboveground biomass, harvesting period) were assessed during 5 years. The cacao trees grown in the two monocultures had higher yields than those in the agroforestry systems. This was the result of higher aboveground biomass, flowering intensity and pod load, and similar pod losses due to cherelle wilt and fungal diseases in the former when compared with the latter. No differences between conventional and organic management were observed. We did not identify any genotypes performing better in a specific production system. On average, the local clones had twofold and five times higher yields than the international ones and the full-sib families, respectively. This was related to their higher total pod load, bigger pods and higher yield efficiency, i.e., higher yield per unit of tree biomass. However, the local clones had less flowering intensity, more cherelle wilt and similar losses due to fungal diseases to those of the international clones. This study clearly shows the need to invest in selection and breeding programmes using locally-selected genetic material to increase cacao production and support renovation/rehabilitation plans. Breeding genetic material that is adapted to low light intensities is crucial to close the yield gap between monocultures and agroforestry systems, and to further promote the adoption of the latter.
Soil quality indicators under five different cacao production systems and fallow in Alto Beni, Bolivia
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2024) Isabel Morales-Belpaire; Adalid Alfaro-Flores; Karen Losantos-Ramos; Oswaldo Palabral-Velarde; Patricia Amurrio-Ordoñez; Laura Armengot
Variación en la composición de visitantes florales de cacao (Theobroma cacao) entre cinco sistemas de producción en Sara Ana, Alto Beni, Bolivia
(2020) Leslie Julieta Zegada Herbas; Indyra Lafuente Cartagena; Kazuya Naoki; Laura Armengot
Variation in composition of cacao floral visitors (Theobroma cacao) among five production systems in Sara Ana, Alto Beni, Bolivia
(2020) Leslie Julieta Zegada Herbas; Indyra Lafuente Cartagena; Kazuya Naoki; Laura Armengot
The Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) production systems vary from monocultures to complex agroforestry according to their structure and the diversity of accompanying trees. These variations create different environmental conditions, which can affect the entomofauna associated with these crops. In this study, we compared the composition of floral visitors among five production systems, considering environmental variables and the variety of cacao trees. Arthropods were captured directly on open flowers using tangle-traps. We applied a detrended correspondence analysis to characterize the composition of floral visitors and used the model selection approach to elucidate the effect of crop systems, tree characteristics, and environmental conditions on the composition of arthropods. We captured ten insect orders of which Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, and Thysanoptera were the most representative. We found variation in arthropod composition between the successional agroforestiy system and both types of monocultures (P 0.40). The abundance of thrips, varied according to the number of open flowers and the production system (negative binomial distribution: X24 = 14.96, P < 0.001). Entomofauna studies in cocoa crops help to identify potential pollinators and understand their ecology; with this knowledge, pollination yields in these production systems can be improved.