Stratum
Plants of the emergent stratum
Emergents rise above the canopy and live in full sun — around 15–25% cover in the mature system, far sparser than the strata below. They are the longest-lived trees of the design: few in number, widely spaced, planned from day one.
81 species in the catalog · Refine this list in the catalog
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Brazilian fern tree
Schizolobium parahyba
Placenta II Emergent Fertilizer & mulchPioneer Atlantic Forest species with extremely fast growth (up to 6 m per year in early years), reaching 20–30 m. Excellent for early shade and bio...
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sorghum
Sorghum bicolor
Placenta I Emergent Mulch biomassAfrican annual cereal highly tolerant of drought. Rebello & Sakamoto (2019) list sorghum among grain crops (alongside soybean, corn, and cotton) pr...
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yellow mombin
Spondias mombin
Secondary II High Mulch biomassAmazonian and neotropical tree of high-to-emergent stratum, cited by Embrapa among key fruit species for Amazonian SAFs. Productive lifespan 40 yea...
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yellow mombin
Spondias mombin
Secondary I Emergent No biomass productionFast-growing pioneer fruit tree; Pasini lists it in the emergent/high stratum of Tabela 3 and among Abundance-system species (emergent stratum, 10–...
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big-leaf mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassClimax Amazonian premium timber, CITES Appendix II. Pasini lists it in the emergent/high stratum of Tabela 3 and cites it explicitly as a premium t...
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white ipê
Tabebuia roseoalba
Climax High No biomass productionMedium tree of the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Caatinga (10–18 m). White-to-pale-pink flowering in July–August. Drought-tolerant. Medium-density ...
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tamarind
Tamarindus indica
Climax High No biomass production 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAfrican leguminous fruit tree naturalized in the Brazilian semi-arid. EcoAgri lists it in the high stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. Tolerates sandy...
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tipu tree
Tipuana tipu
Secondary II Emergent Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA very fast-growing leguminous tree of 10-30 m, with a broad spreading crown, native to southern Bolivia, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and...
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maize
Zea mays
Placenta I Emergent Mulch biomassAnnual C4 cereal — placed by Pasini in the emergent stratum of Tabela 3 and recommended for the 'up to 6 months' phase of Tabela 4. Short-cycle cov...
❓ Frequently asked questions
What is the emergent stratum?
Species that grow above the high canopy, receiving full sun all day.
Which plants occupy the emergent stratum?
The catalog holds 81 species, among them Brazilian fern tree, sorghum, yellow mombin. Each profile shows stratum, succession stage, and the management data, with sources cited.