Abstract
Tree pruning is an important tree management option for reducing shading effects and altering whole-tree water use in smallholder farming systems. In this study, sap flow meters (SFM1s) were used to monitor whole- tree water use in Cordia africana (Cordia), Albizia coriaria (Albizia) and Coffea arabica (coffee) trees in two farms in Eastern Uganda. Overstory trees were subjected to a 50% pruning regime at a 6-month interval over a period of 20 months (July 2018–February 2020). Analysis of variance General Linear Model was performed to assess the influence of tree species, management, season and their interaction on mean daily sap flow. Pairwise Pearson correlation coefficients between daily sap flow and leaf phenology were also obtained. Pruning altered the synchrony in the vegetative phenology of Albizia trees, as leaf cover changes occurred earlier in pruned trees than in unpruned trees. Pruned Cordia and Albizia trees respectively used 22.8% and 50.1% less water than unpruned trees whose average daily water use was 76.5L day−1 and 133.7L day−1 respectively. Episodes of reverse flows were observed in Albizia trees (pruned and unpruned) and the pruned Cordia during certain periods of the year. There was a statistically significant main effect of tree species, pruning, season and their interaction on daily tree water use (P < 0.05). Coffee used 0.1 to 4.3 L of water per day over the 20-month period. While unshaded coffee used more water than shaded coffee, coffee growing under pruned trees used more water than coffee under unpruned trees. This could have resulted from more transpiration pull in coffee resulting from increased radiation with reduced shading. Subsequently, canopy pruning reduced the water demand of the tree component and resulted in recharge in the crop-rooting zone, although this seemed to appear later following consistent pruning. The study findings demonstrate that agroforestry tree canopy pruning can regulate water use in smallholder agroforestry systems, the benefits of other tree products notwithstanding.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Alcorn PJ, Forrester DI, Thomas DS, James R, Smith RGB, Bauhus J (2013) Changes in whole-tree water use following live-crown pruning in young plantation-grown Eucalyptus pilularis and Eucalyptus cloeziana. Forests 4(1):106–121
Bayala J, Teklehaimanot Z, Ouedraogo SJ (2004) Fine root distribution of pruned trees and associated crops in a parkland system in Burkina Faso. Agrofor Syst 60(1):13–26. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:AGFO.0000009401.96309.12
Bazié HR, Sanou J, Bayala J, Bargués-Tobella A, Zombré G, Ilstedt U (2017) Temporal variations in transpiration of Vitellaria paradoxa in West African agroforestry parklands. Agrofor Syst. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0115-4
Bedker PJ, O’Brien JG, Mielke MM (2012) How to prune trees. Newtown Square, USA: USDA Agriculture Dept., Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and private forestry
Bukomeko H, Jassogne L, Tumwebaze SB, Eilu G, Vaast P (2017) Integrating local knowledge with tree diversity analyses to optimize on-farm tree species composition for ecosystem service delivery in coffee agroforestry systems of Uganda. Agrofor Syst. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0172-8
Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC, Ong CK (1998) The redistribution of soil water by tree root systems. Oecologia 115(3):306–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050521
Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC, Beverly CR, Ong CK, Bleby TM (2001) An improved heat pulse method to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants †. Tree Physio 21(9):589–598. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/21.9.589
Buyinza J, Nuberg IK, Muthuri CW, Denton MD (2020a) Assessing smallholder farmers’ motivation to adopt agroforestry using a multi-group structural equation modeling approach. Agrofor Syst. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00541-2
Buyinza J, Nuberg IK, Muthuri CW, Denton MD (2020b) Psychological factors influencing farmers’ intention to adopt agroforestry: a structural equation modeling approach. J Sustain for 39(8):854–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2020.1738948
Buyinza J, Muthuri CW, Downey A, Njoroge J, Denton MD, Nuberg IK (2019) Contrasting water use patterns of two important agroforestry tree species in the Mt Elgon region of Uganda. Austral for. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049158.2018.1547944
DaMatta FM, Avila RT, Cardoso AA, Martins SCV, Ramalho JC (2018) Physiological and agronomic performance of the coffee crop in the context of climate change and global warming: a review. J Agric Food Chem 66(21):5264. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b04537
FAO (2011) The state of the world's land and water resources for food and agriculture : managing systems at risk (1st ed. ed.). Milton Park, Abingdon.
Forrester DI, Collopy JJ, Beadle CL, Warren CR, Baker TG (2012) Effect of thinning, pruning and nitrogen fertiliser application on transpiration, photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in a young Eucalyptus nitens plantation. For Ecol Manag 266:286–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.11.019
Forrester DI, Medhurst JL, Wood M, Beadle CL, Valencia JC (2010) Growth and physiological responses to silviculture for producing solid-wood products from Eucalyptus plantations: an Australian perspective. For Ecol Manage 259(9):1819–1835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.08.029
Jackson NA, Wallace JS, Ong CK (2000) Tree pruning as a means of controlling water use in an agroforestry system in Kenya. For Ecol Manag 126(2):133–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00096-1
Kuyah S, Muthuri C, Ong C (2009) Gas exchange responses of Eucalyptus C. africana and G. robusta to varying soil moisture content in semi-arid (Thika) Kenya. Agrofor Syst 75(3):239–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9176-8
Lin BB (2010) The role of agroforestry in reducing water loss through soil evaporation and crop transpiration in coffee agroecosystems. Agric for Meteorol 150(4):510–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.11.010
Luedeling E, Smethurst PJ, Baudron F, Bayala J, Huth NI, van Noordwijk M, Ong CK, Mulia R, Lusiana B, Muthuri C, Sinclair FL (2016) Field-scale modeling of tree–crop interactions: Challenges and development needs. Agric Syst 142:51–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.11.005
Muthuri CW, Ong CK, Craigon J, Mati BM, Ngumi VW, Black CR (2009) Gas exchange and water use efficiency of trees and maize in agroforestry systems in semi-arid Kenya. Agric, Ecosyst Environ 129(4):497–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.11.001
Namirembe S, Brook RM, Ong CK (2009) Manipulating phenology and water relations in Senna spectabilis in a water limited environment in Kenya. Agrofor Syst 75(3):197–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9169-7
Nyaga J, Muthuri WC, Barrios E, Öborn 1, Sinclair LF, (2019) Enhancing maize productivity in agroforestry systems through managing competition: lessons from smallholders’ farms Rift valley Kenya. Agrofor Syst 93(2):715–730. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0169-3
O’Grady AP, Eamus D, Hutley LB (1999) Transpiration increases during the dry season: patterns of tree water use in eucalypt open-forests of northern Australia. Tree Physio 19(9):591–597. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/19.9.591
Phillips NG, Ryan MG, Bond BJ, Hinckley TM, Čermák J (2003) Reliance on stored water increases with tree size in three species in the Pacific Northwest. Tree Physio 23(4):237–245. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/23.4.237
Rahn E, Liebig T, Ghazoul J, van Asten P, Jassogne L (2018) Opportunities for sustainable intensification of coffee agro-ecosystems along an altitudinal gradient on Mt. Elgon. Uganda. Agric Ecosys Environ 263:31–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.04.019
Ren R, Fu H, Si B, Kinar NJ, Steppe K (2022) An in situ real time probe spacing correction method for multi-needle heat pulse sap flow sensors. Agric For Meteorol 314:108776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108776
Sarmiento-Soler A, Vaast P, Hoffmann MP, Jassogne L, Graefe S (2019) Water use of Coffea arabica in open versus shaded systems under smallholder’s farm conditions in Eastern Uganda. Agric for Meteorol 266–267:231–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.12.006
Scholz FG, Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Moreira MZ, Meinzer FC, Domec JC, Miralles-Wilhelm FFG (2008) Biophysical and life-history determinants of hydraulic lift in Neotropical savanna trees. Funct Ecol 22(5):773–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01452.x
Siriri D, Wilson J, Coe R, Tenywa M, Bekunda M, Black C (2013) Trees improve water storage and reduce soil evaporation in agroforestry systems on bench terraces in SW Uganda. Agrofor Syst 87(1):45–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9520-x
Smith DM, Jackson NA, Roberts JM, Ong CK (1999) Reverse flow of sap in tree roots and downward siphoning of water by Grevillea robusta. Funct Ecol 13(2):256–264. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.1999.00315.x
Taugourdeau S, Le Maire G, Avelino J, Jones JR, Ramirez LG, Quesada MJ, Roupsard O (2014) Leaf area index as an indicator of ecosystem services and management practices: an application for coffee agroforestry. Agric Ecosyst Environ 192:19–37
UCDA (2017) Annual report (2016-2017) (Vol. 26, pp. 92). Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Kampala, Uganda
Van Kanten R, Vaast P (2006) Transpiration of Arabica Coffee and associated shade tree species in sub-optimal, low-altitude conditions of costa rica. Agroforestry Syst 67:187–202
Acknowledgements
This work is part of a postgraduate research study at the University of Adelaide funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Joel is a recipient of the ACIAR John Allwright Fellowship. The authors are grateful for the support rendered by the farmers that hosted the field experiment (Mr. Richard Namunyu and Mr. Willington Wamayeye), the research assistants (Mr. Ivan Wanambwa, Mr. Goefrey Kimenya, Mr. Dison Wesonga and Mr. Kenneth Eryau), the World Agroforestry-ICRAF and staff and management of the National Forestry Resources Research Institute (NaFORRI) of the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Buyinza, J., Muthuri, C.W., Denton, M.D. et al. Impact of tree pruning on water use in tree-coffee systems on smallholder farms in Eastern Uganda. Agroforest Syst 97, 953–964 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00842-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00842-2
Keywords
- Sap flow
- Canopy pruning
- Cordia africana
- Albizia coriaria
- Coffee