Succession as Model – overview

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NATURAL SUCCESSION AS A MODEL FOR THE DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS

 Few land use systems have proven to be sustainable in the lowland humid tropics. Shortened cycles of shifting agriculture result in yield declines due to pest buildups and loss of soil fertility; monospecific plantations are vulnerable to pests; annual crops leave the soil vulnerable to erosion … the list goes on.

 Having worked on tropical successional vegetation for several years, I noted that it has three attributes that would be very beneficial if incorporated into land use systems: (1) it is very productive, (2) it is resistant and resilient to pests (insects, diseases, weed invasions, etc.), and (3) it safeguards soil fertility. Accordingly, in 1978 my colleagues and I  launched a five-year field experiment at the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica (~ 3 m of annual rainfall; 650 masl).