As concepts such as “regenerative” and “biodynamic” continue to enter the mainstream coffee lexicon, scientists continue to literally dig into the soil to give them meaning.
A recent peer-reviewed study from India’s Western Ghats argues that one of the clearest signals of healthy, sustainable coffee farms lies in the ground itself, with organic coffee soils performing better than soils from conventional farms treated with synthetic inputs.
For the study, published in Scientific Reports, organic soils were measured against conventional soils that have been treated with synthetic inputs, a practice popularized during India’s “green revolution” to modernize agricultural farming.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore and the College of Forestry at KSNUAHS in Ponnampete compared organic and conventional coffee soils from Kodagu district in Karnataka, a major arabica-growing area.
They reported that organic sites posted a soil quality index (SQI) of 0.98 versus 0.87 for conventional sites — using four key indicators, including organic carbon, electrical conductivity and two enzyme activity measures. The organic soils also showed stronger performance across multiple biological measures tied to nutrient cycling and soil function.
“These findings underscore the potential of organic coffee farming for sustainable agriculture in the Western Ghats, particularly in terms of enhancing soil health, promoting microbial diversity and improving long-term soil quality compared to conventional practices,” the research team wrote.
From Lab to Practice
While soil condition is already well known as a variable in coffee quality and yield, the new research proposes a practical argument for measuring that health in a way that can travel from lab work to farm advising and on-the-ground decision-making.
The research team identified a concise set of soil-health indicators that they frame as especially useful for tracking soil condition over time.
“Effective evaluation of sustainability in cultivation systems relies on soil quality indicators that are sensitive to changes, connected to essential ecosystem functions and are straightforward to measure, interpret, and compare,” the team wrote. “Recent research highlights that organic coffee farming enhances or maintains soil quality more effectively than conventional systems, notably increasing soil organic carbon by up to 15.6% as well as improving soil structure and water retention.”
An Unintended Consequence India’s “Green Revolution”
Notably, the study references India’s “green revolution,” a movement that began in the 1960s, designed to modernize India’s agricultural systems and promote volume through the use of new seeds and chemical inputs such as fertilizers.
This study suggests one unintended and undesirable consequence of the green revolution — involving decades of intensive chemical input use — lies in degraded soils that exhibit less microbial biodiversity and regenerative health.
“The significance of this study lies in its comprehensive evaluation of organic versus conventional coffee farming practices in the Western Ghats of India,” they wrote. “The green revolution’s intensive agrochemical use has disrupted the ecological balance and soil health, whereas organic farming offers a viable alternative to mitigate these adverse effects.”
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