A new review of 46 field studies on shade-grown coffee finds that most carbon is stored in the soil, not in the trees above. Shaded coffee farms hold two to four times more carbon than sun-grown coffee, with soil accounting for 60 to 90 percent of total carbon. Large mature trees store more carbon than many small ones, and moderate canopy cover balances yield with storage. The study also shows that shaded coffee farms recover faster after hurricanes and retain more moisture during dry spells. However, carbon credit payments currently provide less than one percent of farm income, so shade coffee's value lies more in resilience and risk spreading than in carbon payouts. The research calls for direct measurement of how carbon-rich farms perform during real droughts and heat waves.
