Research Programs
Three interconnected scientific domains, supported by documented field studies and experimental work.
Tropical Agroforestry & Regenerative Ecology
Tropical agroforestry integrates agricultural production with trees, soils, microorganisms, and wildlife. Copper Hill investigates how these interactions influence agricultural productivity, biodiversity, soil function, and environmental resilience.
Research areas
- Agroforestry systems
- Soil science & nutrient cycling
- Biodiversity & pollinator ecology
- Conservation practices
- Agricultural resilience
Related foundational studies
Botanical Science & Bioprocessing
Copper Hill investigates botanical resources through chemical and functional characterization, experimental processing, and the evaluation of technical applications. Areas of interest include fermentation, oxidation, preservation, food safety, and reproducibility.
Research areas
- Botanical composition
- Experimental bioprocessing
- Food science & ingredient characterization
- Safety and stability
- Technical reproducibility
Related foundational studies
Agricultural Economics & Circular Systems
The program examines whether additional biological resources can generate incremental net economic value and create financial capacity for regenerative investment. Research evaluates costs, processing requirements, market conditions, uncertainty, and potential ecological outcomes.
Research areas
- Agricultural enterprise economics
- Resource utilization
- Scenario and risk analysis
- Whole Tree Economic Model
- Ecological and economic outcomes
Related foundational studies
Where the research happens
Copper Hill, in Las Marías & Maricao, Puerto Rico, is the Station’s principal research site. The research program is directed from Puerto Rico, and the research results and intellectual property it produces are held there. Depending on the project, some work is carried out with collaborators at collaborating sites.
- Principal research site
- Copper Hill Farm, Las Marías & Maricao, Puerto Rico. Research direction, field programs, research-batch coffee-leaf processing, site baseline work, and the Whole Tree Economic Model case study.
- Collaborating field site
- Hacienda La Aurora, Nicaragua. Field-scale harvesting and processing of coffee leaves.
- Collaborating site
- Harvard Innovation Labs, Allston, Massachusetts. Venture and thesis-related development.
- Collaborating brewing trials
- Portland, Maine. Immersion and drip extraction trials.
Current collaborators
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
- Conservation planning for the farm’s forest and agroforestry areas, with field-office reviews from 2022 and a forest management plan completed in 2026 (Studies 05 and 11).
- AgroforestryX
- Copper Hill is working with AgroforestryX (NRCS) and is among the first to implement it. Used to design the forest-farming and agroforestry plots since 2025 (Study 05).
- Envirosurvey, Inc.
- Forest management planning, vegetation and fauna inventories, and agroforestry design with Copper Hill since 2022 (Studies 08 and 11).
- Caribbean Regenerative Community Development (CRCD)
- USDA Climate-Smart Commodities project, 2023–2028: shade-tree planting and biochar in the coffee plots (Study 01).
- Cafiesencia
- Forest Stewardship Plan for Copper Hill Farm, July 2022 to June 2032, including bird counts (Studies 06 and 08).
Past collaborations
- University of British Columbia, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
- Coffee-leaf research with Dr. David D. Kitts, Dr. Xiumin Chen and Arnaud Petitvallet, published as a past collaboration. Copper Hill acquired that research and the related intellectual property (Study 04).
- Ardent Mills
- Bake-lab evaluation of green banana and plantain flours from Copper Hill, 2021 (Study 02).
- USDA NRCS conservation contract
- Terraces, cover cropping and erosion controls, 2019–2024 (Study 05).
Each study record lists its principal site and any collaborating site. Collaborators are independent of the Station. Their published work keeps its original authors and institutions, and listing them here does not mean they endorse the Station.
Find the work behind each program
The station distinguishes experimental investigations, field demonstrations, ecological baselines, and economic modeling. Each project record describes its methods, participating organizations, and available findings.
Explore all studiesStart here
- Site baseline · Learn how soil, water, and habitat observations establish a reference for later measurements.
- Coffee-leaf processing · See how preparation and drying become research variables.
- Whole Tree Economic Model · See how the thesis compares farm scenarios.