Coffee agroforestry systems in Vietnam have significant capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon and reducing the need for fertilizers, fungicides and other agricultural inputs, according to new research.

Women involved in a study led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) in northwest Vietnam, tended toward considering more diverse characteristics than men when they selected trees, a finding researchers attributed to differing socio-economic roles.

While men favored timber trees, which have long been recognized for their ability to sequester carbon, women leaned toward fruit trees, the relative benefits of which – particularly in terms of distributing them throughout coffee monocultures – are less well known.

“Our findings indicate that the viewpoints of both men and women should be taken into consideration as countries look for ways to boost their tree cover,” said Elisabeth Simelton, a climate change scientist and lead author on the report titled “Beyond carbon sequestration – local knowledge about tree functions: Case study from male and female Arabica coffee farmers in Vietnam.” READ further from the source