Browsing by Autor "Ulf Schneidewind"

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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.
Contribution of Pruning Residues to Carbon and Nutrient Cycling in Cacao Monocultures and Agroforestry
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2025) Isabel Morales-Belpaire; Karen Losantos-Ramos; Patricia Amurrio-Ordoñez; Ulf Schneidewind; Miguel Limachi; Stéphane Saj
Successional agroforestry promotes biomass carbon storage in cocoa production systems: results from a long-term system comparison experiment on organic and conventional systems
(Elsevier BV, 2025) Hans‐Martin Krause; Stéphane Saj; Johanna Rüegg; Ulf Schneidewind; Sina Lory; Marc Cotter; Wiebke Niether; Monika Schneider; Johannes Milz; Georg Cadisch
Agroforestry systems are perceived as an effective approach to store carbon in agroecosystems by building tree biomass and raising soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. This is especially evident in the tropics, where the cultivation of cash crops such as cacao in agroforestry systems is increasingly used. Among agroforestry systems, organic management, which avoids synthetic inputs for crop protection and fertilization, and the concept of successional agroforestry (SA), which aims to increase carbon storage by using high initial tree densities and intensive pruning without external inputs, have gained interest as alternatives to monocultures with less environmental impact. To assess the temporal development of carbon storage of differently managed agroforestry systems, we revisited a 14-year field experiment located in the Alto Beni Region of Bolivia to quantify biomass and SOC stocks in five distinct cocoa production systems. The field experiment includes SA as well as organic and conventional monocultures (OM and CM) and agroforestry systems (OA and CA). We found that all agroforestry systems increased carbon stocks in the biomass and the soil, especially in the particulate organic matter fraction. No significant effect of organic management practices was observed. After 14 years, the highest biomass carbon was observed in the SA system and topsoil SOC stocks increased significantly in SA and CA. Our findings emphasize the potential to enhance carbon accumulation in agroforestry systems with high initial tree density and rigorous pruning, even without additional fertilizer or synthetic plant protection inputs. • Agroforestry enhances soil and biomass carbon stocks compared to cacao monocultures • No effect of organic management on soil and biomass carbon within agroforestry systems. • Greatest gains of biomass carbon in successional agroforestry systems