Contrasting Tree-Carbon Portfolios Across Diversification Pathways in Market-Oriented Cacao-Based Amazonian Chakra Systems

Abstract

Market-oriented Amazonian Chakra systems integrate cacao production with trees and complementary crops, yet determining how productive diversification shapes tree-carbon retention remains poorly understood. We assessed 36 cacao-based Chakra systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon to identify structural–productive pathways and test whether independently estimated tree-carbon stocks and carbon-retention portfolios differed among them. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering identified three pathways—Tree-rich cacao, Tree-simplified cacao, and Tree–crop-diversified cacao—distinguished by tree density and diversity and by cacao and Musa densities. Mean tree-carbon stocks did not differ significantly among pathways, averaging 24.6, 16.9, and 16.0 Mg C ha−1, respectively. However, carbon distribution among species differed markedly. In Tree-simplified cacao, the leading species stored 75.2% of plot-level tree carbon and the three leading species together stored 97.4%, compared with 45.0–47.7% and 78.5–85.9%, respectively, in the other pathways. Twelve tree species occurred across all pathways. Prominent shared species included Cordia alliodora, Inga edulis, Cedrela spp., Cedrelinga cateniformis, and Persea americana, collectively providing carbon retention and timber, food, shade, and other livelihood functions. Thus, similar tree-carbon stocks can arise from markedly different species portfolios. Amazonian Chakra systems provide a useful reference for productive forest landscape restoration based on flexible, multifunctional tree–crop portfolios rather than standardized planting designs or carbon-only targets.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Resources, 2026 · DOI ↗