Publications

Articles published by the AGROBIOFOR team!

Article: Cooperative-based agroforestry system supports steady bioeconomy in the Eastern Amazon

Published on: Trees, Forests and People (Volume 28, November 2026)

This study demonstrates how cooperative family farming and agroforestry can support sustainable food production and livelihoods in the Eastern Amazon, with cooperative farmers producing over 6,000 tons of fruit in 2023. Income modeling indicated positive gross income potential across all scenarios, although earnings varied with farm size and declined during the winter months due to seasonal fluctuations in production. The diversity of fruit crops helped stabilize income throughout the year, highlighting cooperative agroforestry as a promising pathway toward sustainable rural development and enhanced socioeconomic resilience in the Amazon.

Article: Management-Driven Effects in Soil Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Communities in Eastern Amazonian Agroforests

Published on: Environmental Microbiology Reports  (Volume 18, November 2026)

This study explores differences in soil chemical properties and microbial communities in agroforestry systems under distinct management regimes (organic and conventional). The analyses indicate that organic management tends to foster healthier soil microbial communities of bacteria and fungi, although the limited number of farms sampled restricts the scope of our conclusions. Agroforestry systems were also compared with native forests, which exhibited greater diversity and distinct characteristics relative to both agroforestry systems, regardless of their management regime or age. This suggests that a few decades may not be sufficient for managed systems to replicate the conditions found in native forests. In conclusion, the results highlight agroforestry as a promising pathway for sustainable rural development and the maintenance of favourable soil conditions in the Amazon.

Article: Comparative biochemical and transcriptomic profiling of açaí and cacao fruits from Eastern Amazon agroforestry systems

Published on: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems   (Volume 10, November 2026)

This study evaluated fruit profiles (açaí pulp and cacao seeds) in two agroforestry systems in Tomé-Açu (Pará, Brazil) with contrasting management regimes (organic and conventional) using a multi-omics approach that combined transcriptomics and untargeted metabolomics. The data revealed slight differences in the functions of the main transcripts and in the compounds identified in the fruits from each system, with the organic agroforestry system exhibiting a somewhat more diverse biochemical profile and upregulation of genes associated with seed protection and carbohydrate metabolism during reserve mobilization. The results should be interpreted with caution, as the sampling was exploratory and included only two agroforestry systems, with few sampling points in each. Overall, the combined analysis revealed distinct biochemical and transcriptomic profiles between the two agroforestry systems, providing comparative data on fruit characteristics associated with contrasting management regimes in tropical agroforestry systems.