Why do coffee trees shade? Relationship between shading planting and ecological protection of coffee beans in El Salvador

Geographically, El Salvador has active and continuously erupting volcanoes, which bring rich minerals; in addition, Salvadoran coffee gardens harvest more shade and grow coffee (Shade grown coffee), which is good for the environment, good for birds and surrounding life, and conducive to the promotion of the "organic planting" model. Coffee farmers in the high altitude area have good geographical conditions and similar planting patterns. Today, let's let the editor and everyone know about this special planting method.

Traditionally, coffee is grown commercially under other trees that provide shade. In fact, in the natural wild state, coffee prefers the tropical hot shade.

However, since the 1970s, new sun-resistant coffee plants have been developed to increase productivity and achieve higher yields through higher-density open-air cultivation on large tracts of land.

It contributes to plant diversity, and there are usually 90 to 120 species of plants and 13 to 58 species of trees in a site. Herbal diversity is also usually 3 to 4 times higher.

It contributes to insect diversity, and 609 species of insects have been found at shade coffee growing sites in Mexico.

It contributes to the diversity of native and migratory bird species. For example, 184 species of birds (including 46 species of migratory birds) were found at a shadow-growing coffee base in Mexico. By contrast, only 6-12 species of birds are found in the single cultivation of unshadowed coffee.

In the study of shady and sunny coffee in Guatemala, the overall bird abundance and diversity of shady farms were 30% higher than those of sunny farms, respectively. In fact, 2/3 of birds live in shade in natural forests in the same geographical area.

Coffee grown in the shade promotes the diversity of mammals. For example, a shade-growing coffee site in India has found 28 species of mammals in just one site.

Many species of bees are attracted by shady mixed culture, which has a variety of flowering plants in addition to coffee. In the shade planting study conducted in Indonesia, the honeybee population increased by 90%.

It protects the soil. The existence of tree canopy and middle vegetation in shady mixed culture helps to reduce soil erosion and stabilize steep slopes. In general, the soil moisture of unshaded plantations is 42% lower than that of shaded plantations, and the surface water runoff of shaded plantations is significantly less than that of unshaded plantations.