In 2018, scientists spread 30 truckloads of coffee pulp on a degraded Costa Rican pasture; two years later, tree canopy exceeded 80%, compared with about 20% in an untreated plot

An abandoned cattle pasture in southern Costa Rica hosted an unusual restoration experiment in 2018. Instead of planting rows of young trees or using heavy machinery to reshape the land, researchers spread about 30 truckloads of fresh coffee pulp across part of the degraded pasture. Two years later, the once-open landscape had developed extensive young tree cover, suggesting that an agricultural by-product could play a valuable role in restoring damaged land under suitable conditions.

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