Projects that I led during my graduate program focused on characterizing the structure and function of shade-grown coffee systems, This work quantified the aboveground, belowground, and soil carbon dynamics of commercial polyculture and traditional polyculture coffee systems compared to a mixed dry tropical forest ecosystem in Guatemala. Results were tied to the rapidly evolving REDD+ programs which focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation.
Publications
- Schmitt-Harsh, M., T. Evans, E. Castellanos, and J.C. Randolph. 2012. Carbon stocks in coffee agroforests and mixed dry tropical forests in the western highlands of Guatemala. Agroforestry Systems 86(2): 141-157.
- Evans, T., D. Robinson, and M. Schmitt-Harsh. 2013. Limitations, challenges, and solutions to integrating carbon dynamics with land-use models. In Land Use and the Carbon Cycle: Advances in Integrated Science, Management, and Policy, eds, D.G. Brown, D.T. Robinson, N.H.F. French, and B.C. Reed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.