Applying nutrient-rich agricultural by-products, such as fruit peels and pulp, to degraded land has been proposed as a strategy to overcome a number of barriers to tropical forest recovery. While such linkages between agroindustry and restoration represent win–win scenarios, practical applications remain largely unexplored. In this case study, we tested coffee pulp as an amendment to catalyze forest succession on post-agricultural land in southern Costa Rica.
Our results also showed that adding a layer of coffee pulp rapidly changed ground cover and forest floor vegetation. The composting coffee pulp killed the underlying grass and likely suppressed germination of grass seeds and the seeds of other plants present in the soil substrate.