Coffee pulp can accelerate forest recovery – study

A recent study found that coffee pulp helped a small plot grow into a forest in two years. 

Researchers from ETH-Zurich and the University of Hawai’i found that the soil became healthier.

Moreover, the trees grew an 80% canopy cover that was four times taller than those that didn’t grow in coffee pulp.

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This discovery can become a major step in restoring forests and saving the environment faster than ever.

From bean to green: coffee pulp for forest recovery

The British Ecological Society says the researchers conducted their study in Coto Brus county in southern Costa Rica.

In 2018, the researchers spread a half meter-thick layer of coffee pulp on a 35 x 40m plot and left another without it. The first is the experimental plot, and the second is the control.

The researchers chose coffee pulp for this experiment because of its high nutrient content and low cost.

Two years later, they analyzed soil samples for nutrients.

Also, the researchers recorded the species present, the percentage of forest ground cover, and canopy cover.

Dr. Rebecca Cole, the lead author of the study, found that “the results were dramatic.” 

“The area treated with a thick layer of coffee pulp turned into a small forest in only two years…”

“… while the control plot remained dominated by non-native pasture grasses,” she said.

The coffee pulp plot had 80% canopy cover and the control only had 20%.

In other words, the former had more leaves and branches covering the forest than the regular plot. 

The experiment plot’s canopy cover was also four times taller than that of the control area.

Even better, the coffee bits eliminated invasive pasture grasses, allowing native tree species to grow.

This method can help the world fulfill the 2015 Paris Accords, but it needs further research and development. 

That is why Dr. Cole stated, “We would like to scale up the study by testing this method across a variety of degraded sites in the landscape.”

“Also, this concept could be tested with other types of agricultural non-market products like orange husks.”