Knowledge gaps, research strategies and robust assessment methods for soil organic carbon storage in coffee production systems

As land degradation and climate change intensify, regenerative agriculture has gained interest considering its potential to enhance soil health and climate resilience while contributing to carbon dioxide removal through soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Being a perennial crop, coffee offers huge potential for simultaneously enhancing climate resilience and climate mitigation through sustainable practices. To prioritize sustainability investments and management interventions, actors in the coffee sector rely on scientifically robust and quantitative evidence on the potential for SOC sequestration in coffee farms, as well as the management practices and environmental factors that are conducive to meeting this potential.

In this context, we systematically evaluated available studies on SOC storage and sequestration in coffee production systems, as well as the approaches and methods used for their assessment. We provide a synthesis of key findings, identify major knowledge gaps, and discuss research needs and methodological challenges. We show that baseline SOC stocks and legacy of past land use are key determinants of SOC sequestration making broad generalizations across coffee production systems highly unrealistic. To allow for a deeper understanding of the key factors that determine SOC stock enhancement we need more studies that meet basic quality criteria and proper control and/or reporting of environmental covariables including past land use. On this basis, we discuss priorities and provide practical guidelines for future research to improve scientific rigor and standardization across studies and to improve data sharing and use.