Vincent de Leijster

154 Chapter 7 I highly recommend the use of organic amendments in woody dryland orchards, as this thesis demonstrates that this improves both below-ground ecosystem services and farm net revenues. Vegetation cover in woody dryland orchards may, however, result in a trade- off between ecological and economic outcomes. Still, I recommend the implementation of vegetation covers to halt and reverse land degradation, and temporary vegetation cover (winter cover) may be an accessible first step. To minimize any short-term negative effects on farmnet revenues, price premiums and greening subsidiesmay be paid to compensate losses in economic returns. Price premiums can be paid by farmer associations that sell almonds for higher prices by selling the story of land-restoring products, which is already happening in the region on a small scale. Greening subsidies can be provided by the European Union in its member states, by adjusting the Common Agricultural Policy scheme. To avoid pervasive incentives, these subsidies can be gradually decreased while crop diversification improves farm’s economic stability. For more long-term viable solutions, further research is needed on how ecological and economic performance can be optimized by either combining vegetation covers with organic amendments or by varying the distribution of tilled soil versus vegetation covered soil (such as narrow vegetation strips and alternating alleys). In addition, I suggest that farmers start experimenting with crop diversification to diversify their income, so that vegetation cover may provide an additional source of income. Strips with aromatic plants, livestock integration, and intercropping with cereals or annual plants are options that can also be explored. Finally, I propose that the organic certification scheme incorporates criteria about farm soil and vegetation management so that more incentives for vegetation cover and compost application are provided. I recommend the implementation of agroforestry in coffee systems to improve accumulated ecosystem service supply without compromising on economic returns. Trees dispersed over the farm are preferred to trees in alley formation or living fences, because a dispersed tree arrangement provides the highest ecosystem service supply. I recommend a combination of legume trees and trees that provide products that can be marketed (such as timber and fruit), and preferably native species. Legume trees are recommended, as in this thesis these trees have been shown to improve coffee bean quality, and timber and fruit trees are recommended because they may provide additional income to compensate potential yield losses of coffee. For the choice of fruit and timber tree species, I recommend taking into consideration the competition processes that may occur between coffee plants and the tree, as well as the marketing opportunity of the tree product. If timber trees are used, then I recommend harvesting alternate trees so that the canopy cover is maintained, as well as conserving some mature trees so that habitat provisioning for biodiversity is maintained.