An important prerequisite to sustainable soil management for coffee production is a good understanding of microclimate and bio-physico-chemical characteristics of the soil. Until now, minimal data are available on this concerning coffee farming. The efficient and sustainable utilization of land resources is critical in addressing challenges on the change of weather patterns, population expansion and increasing food demand, which necessitate improvements in agricultural development and sustainable production practices. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the microclimate parameters such as ambient temperature, relative humidity and soil temperature of a multi – storey coffee farm in Upland Cavite and its biological properties in terms of microorganism identification and quantification, evaluate the soil physico-chemical properties in terms of soil structure, texture, pH, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, soil organic matter, and soil organic carbon availability on the effect of coffee farming. A monitoring device was developed and used with an Arduino microcontroller as its main component—to observe different microclimatic parameters at different heights in each study area. The multi – storey cropping pattern adopted to the coffee farm shows a varying effect with the microclimatic parameters based on the trend. Furthermore, the multi – storey coffee farm, the recorded average values for relative humidity, ambient temperature, and soil temperature were 52.4%, 33.7°C, and 24°C, respectively. Moreover, it has an RH difference of about 4.2%, an ambient temperature difference of 2.6°C, and a soil temperature difference of 3.1°C compared to the controlled setup located in an open area. Composite soil samples were collected in a multi-storied coffee farm in General Emilio Aguinaldo (Bailen), Cavite, for bio-physico-chemical characterization and SOC analysis. Results revealed that bacteria, yeast, mold, Bacillus spp., and putative nitrogen-fixing bacteria colonies were detected from the site. In particular, the Bacillus spp. count in the coffee farm is below the ideal counts and the Trichoderma spp. count is relatively low. Additionally, the putative nitrogen-fixing bacteria count is higher due to the presence of kakawate tree as a windbreaker to the coffee plant and the supplementation of inorganic fertilizer like urea. This suggests that the bacterial population in the coffee farm may not be as robust, which may indicate that the soil condition might not be optimal, and the intense cultivation had a significant impact on carbon storage due to changes in soil biological properties. Soil texture analysis revealed that the coffee farm had a clay loam texture, a blocky soil structure, and an acceptable range of bulk density. The coffee farm in Bailen was strongly acidic because of the application of synthetic fertilizers and the contribution of volcanic ash during the Taal volcano eruption which contains sulfur dioxide (SO2), thus enhancing soil acidity. The farm displayed adequate organic matter and SOC concentrations suggesting the impact of land use practices of coffee farm on soil quality in the respective areas. The analysis of the effects of land use and vegetation on the micro-climate and bio-physicochemical properties and the availability of SOC in the soil suggests that coffee farming in Bailen has minimal negative impact on soil health. Thus, soil reconditioning like lime application could be necessary to improve the bacterial count, soil pH and the organic carbon of the soil at the coffee farm in Bailen to sustain its productivity.
Keywords: land-use, productivity, soil quality, soil management, soil health
Citation: Saz, V. O. et al., (2025). Soil Microclimatic and Biophysicochemical Characterization of the Multi-Storied Coffee Farm in Upland Cavite, Philippines. Adv Earth & Env Sci; 6(3):1-15.
DOI : https://doi.org/10.47485/2766-2624.1072