Steeley will discuss how enhanced rock weathering benefits cabruca and agroforestry systems at EGU 2026. Credit: Steeley et al., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70097

Chocolate is the food of the gods. The name of the tree from which the confection originates, Theobroma cacao, combines the Greek words for god (theós) and food (brôma). This small evergreen tree grows in tropical forests rich in both biodiversity and carbon.

Rising demand and forest pressure

Over the past 40 years, demand for chocolate, the product of processing cacao pods, has surged, says Isabella Steeley, a doctoral student at the University of Sheffield in England. With that demand, she says, "more cocoa needs to be produced."

Meeting it often means clearing tropical forests, replacing diverse, carbon-dense ecosystems with cacao plantations. Another path is to increase yield on existing farms.…