Fodder: Bank  Management: Coppice  Minor Global Crop

A plant of the humid, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 400 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 27 - 33°c, but can tolerate 20 - 38°c[418 ]. The plant can survive temperatures down to about -1°c[418 ]. The plant does not tolerate frost[418 ]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 1,000 - 5,000mm[418 ]. Growing well in full sun, the plant also has considerable shade tolerance[418 ]. It is well adapted to acid infertile soils[418 ]. Although commonly found on stream banks, the plant requires well-drained soils[418 ]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 7[418 ]. A fast-growing plant[625 ]. The vigorous regrowth of the plant under heavy cutting regimes has led to speculation that nitrogen fixation may occur through the action of mycorrhiza or other organisms[415 ]

Carbon Farming

• Fodder: Bank  Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.
• Management: Coppice  Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
• Minor Global Crop  These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.