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SUMMARY:Optimize nutrients dynamic in litters to enhance yields and sustai
 nability of traditional cocoa agroforests in a climate change context in S
 outhern Bahia\, Brazil - Lauranne Gateau\, 1st yr grad
DTSTART:20150528T120000Z
DTEND:20150528T123000Z
UID:TALK58778@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Megan Cooper
DESCRIPTION:Approximately 45 million people around the world rely on cocoa
  industry and many more enjoy chocolate!However\, there is a predicted ann
 ual shortage of one million metric tons by 2020 (annual global production 
 is around five millions tones for 9\,9 millions planted area (FAOSTAT\, 20
 12)\, which is creating tensions in markets and a necessity of increase of
  production. Furthermore\, the impending ecological crisis due to a projec
 ted increase food demand by 70 percent by 2050\, the sharply increasing co
 sts of agricultural inputs (fertilizers\, herbicides and pesticides) and t
 he limited area of arable lands\, results in the necessity to sustainably 
 increase cocoa production. A trade-off between ecosystem dis-services and 
 cocoa production is possible. In Brazil\, traditional cocoa cropping syste
 ms known as “cabruca” provide acceptable yield\, allow biodiversity co
 nservation\, carbon sequestration and limited environmental dis-services. 
 My project co-run by the MARS and CIRAD explore opportunities to enhance c
 ocoa production and Atlantic forest conservation using traditional agrofor
 estry systems in Southern Bahia. Results of a Life Cycle Assessment of coc
 oa cropping in Brazil showed that i) agroforests have lower ecological imp
 acts compared to a monospecific crop\; ii) some systems can reach high pro
 duction without any inputs and iii) litter and fertilizers are the biggest
  source of GHG emission. Results of my initial three month diagnosis on fa
 rms in Brazil show that there is a very high variability in crop structure
 \, management and potential yield in cabrucas. The next step will be to de
 sign and implement a large experiment in representative cabrucas to explor
 e the variation in performance. Specifically I will study nutrients\, ligh
 t and water and how they relate to shade trees. 
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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