Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem
Traditional Arabica coffee plantations in which coffee is grown under diverse shade tree cover are increasingly recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice because of their ecological and socioeconomic benefits as well as their resilience to climate change. In addition, organic coffee producti...
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377424005845 |
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| author | Lyssette Elena Muñoz-Villers Friso Holwerda M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos Josie Geris Todd E. Dawson |
| author_facet | Lyssette Elena Muñoz-Villers Friso Holwerda M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos Josie Geris Todd E. Dawson |
| author_sort | Lyssette Elena Muñoz-Villers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Traditional Arabica coffee plantations in which coffee is grown under diverse shade tree cover are increasingly recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice because of their ecological and socioeconomic benefits as well as their resilience to climate change. In addition, organic coffee production has expanded in the last decades due to premium market prices. However, the extent to which coffee and shade trees show positive (complementary) or negative (competitive) root interactions for belowground water sources in traditional agroforests under organic management is largely unknown. The present study investigated relative and absolute source contributions to water uptake of coffee and shade trees under progressive decline of soil water availability during the dry season in an organic coffee plantation characterized by dense and diverse canopy shade. We used the MixSIAR Bayesian stable isotope mixing model to determine proportional use of belowground water sources for three Arabica coffee varieties/ages and five dominant shade tree species. Corresponding absolute uptake amounts by the whole coffee crop and the whole shade tree canopy were calculated using transpiration estimates obtained from micrometeorological and stomatal conductance measurements. The absence or potential presence of competition for soil water in the studied coffee plants was investigated using a combination of stomatal conductance measurements and modeling, supported by leaf and root hydraulic trait data. Results show that the observed relative and absolute plant water uptake patterns provide evidence of vertical complementarity in belowground water use between coffee and shade trees during the dry season. Findings show that the main water source for coffee was the near-surface soil (< 5 cm depth; 44–56 %), with no distinction among coffee varieties and ages. Our data suggest that dew was an important water input to the near-surface soil and to the coffee water cycle. Soil water limitation during the driest period of the study was observed in the youngest coffee plants (5–20 years old), but not in the oldest (∼80 years old). Deeper soil water (60–120 cm; 45–69 %) was the main source for the shade trees, but important differences were observed among species, showing the potential of minimizing competition for water through tree species selection. Finally, our study shows that water uptake from groundwater sources increased with increasing tree size. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0ff989fa0376499284b0187b2741d2ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-0ff989fa0376499284b0187b2741d2ae2025-01-07T04:16:53ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-02-01307109248Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystemLyssette Elena Muñoz-Villers0Friso Holwerda1M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos2Josie Geris3Todd E. Dawson4Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico; Corresponding author.Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, MexicoRed de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Xalapa, Veracruz 91070, MexicoNorthern Rivers Institute, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 3FX, UKDepartment of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1234, USATraditional Arabica coffee plantations in which coffee is grown under diverse shade tree cover are increasingly recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice because of their ecological and socioeconomic benefits as well as their resilience to climate change. In addition, organic coffee production has expanded in the last decades due to premium market prices. However, the extent to which coffee and shade trees show positive (complementary) or negative (competitive) root interactions for belowground water sources in traditional agroforests under organic management is largely unknown. The present study investigated relative and absolute source contributions to water uptake of coffee and shade trees under progressive decline of soil water availability during the dry season in an organic coffee plantation characterized by dense and diverse canopy shade. We used the MixSIAR Bayesian stable isotope mixing model to determine proportional use of belowground water sources for three Arabica coffee varieties/ages and five dominant shade tree species. Corresponding absolute uptake amounts by the whole coffee crop and the whole shade tree canopy were calculated using transpiration estimates obtained from micrometeorological and stomatal conductance measurements. The absence or potential presence of competition for soil water in the studied coffee plants was investigated using a combination of stomatal conductance measurements and modeling, supported by leaf and root hydraulic trait data. Results show that the observed relative and absolute plant water uptake patterns provide evidence of vertical complementarity in belowground water use between coffee and shade trees during the dry season. Findings show that the main water source for coffee was the near-surface soil (< 5 cm depth; 44–56 %), with no distinction among coffee varieties and ages. Our data suggest that dew was an important water input to the near-surface soil and to the coffee water cycle. Soil water limitation during the driest period of the study was observed in the youngest coffee plants (5–20 years old), but not in the oldest (∼80 years old). Deeper soil water (60–120 cm; 45–69 %) was the main source for the shade trees, but important differences were observed among species, showing the potential of minimizing competition for water through tree species selection. Finally, our study shows that water uptake from groundwater sources increased with increasing tree size.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377424005845Variety typicaVariety Costa Rica 95TranspirationWater source partitioningCoffee functional traitsStable isotopes |
| spellingShingle | Lyssette Elena Muñoz-Villers Friso Holwerda M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos Josie Geris Todd E. Dawson Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem Agricultural Water Management Variety typica Variety Costa Rica 95 Transpiration Water source partitioning Coffee functional traits Stable isotopes |
| title | Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| title_full | Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| title_fullStr | Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| title_short | Examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of Arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| title_sort | examining the complementarity in belowground water use between different varieties and ages of arabica coffee plants and dominant shade tree species in an organic agroecosystem |
| topic | Variety typica Variety Costa Rica 95 Transpiration Water source partitioning Coffee functional traits Stable isotopes |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377424005845 |
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