Complementary ecosystem services provided by pest predators and pollinators increase quantity and quality of coffee yields

Abstract

Wild animals substantially support crop production by providing ecosystem services, such as pollination and natural pest control. However, the strengths of synergies between ecosystem services and their dependencies on land-use management are largely unknown. Here, we took an experimental approach to test the impact of land-use intensification on both individual and combined pollination and pest control services in coffee production systems at Mount Kilimanjaro. We established a full-factorial pollinator and vertebrate exclosure experiment along a land-use gradient from traditional homegardens (agroforestry systems), shaded coffee plantations to sun coffee plantations (total sample size ¼ 180 coffee bushes). The exclusion of vertebrates led to a reduction in fruit set of ca 9%. Pollinators did not affect fruit set, but significantly increased fruit weight of coffee by an average of 7.4%. We found no significant decline of these ecosystem services along the land-use gradient. Pest control and pollination service were thus complementary, contributing to coffee production by affecting the quantity and quality of a major tropical cash crop across different coffee production systems at Mount Kilimanjaro.

Impact of human disturbance on bee pollinator communities in savanna and agricultural sites in Burkina Faso, West Africa

“…Although movements of pollinators from natural to managed agricultural landscapes have been documented across a wide range of both tropical and temperate habitats and managed landscapes (Garibaldi et al., 2011; Klein et al., 2007), most of the studies were carried out in Europe and North America. Examples from tropical regions are less available and include rainforest habitats providing resources for pollinating bees for coffee agroecosystems in Indonesia (Klein, Steffan‐Dewenter, & Tscharntke, 2003a), Costa Rica (Ricketts, 2004), Brazil (De Marco & Coelho, 2004), and Tanzania (Classen et al., 2014). …”

Complex Ecological Interactions in the Coffee Agroecosystem

“…In the coffee agroecosystem there is a rich literature demonstrating the simple fact of a trophic chain (plant eaten by herbivore eaten by carnivore) (Van Bael et al 2008). Many authors have identified predators of coffee pests, effectively representing a trophic chain from coffee to herbivorous pest to predator of that pest (Barrera et al 1990, Damon 2000, Jaramillo et al 2006, De la Mora et al 2008, Vega et al 2009, Larsen & Philpott 2010, Gonthier et al 2013, Classen et al 2014. For example, Borkhataria and colleagues (2006) excluded lizards in one treatment, demonstrating a dramatic reduction in herbivorous insects.…”

Efeitos da estrutura da paisagem sobre o controle biológico do bicho-mineiro-do-cafeeiro (Leucoptera coffeella, Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) provido por aves e morcegos

“…Dado que a intensificação da agricultura é considerada uma das principais causas da perda de biodiversidade, estudos anteriores mediram a eficiência do controle biológico de pragas em diferentes sistemas de produção de café, principalmente comparando o sistema "sombreado" com o "de sol" (Avelino et al 2012;Classen et al 2014;. No entanto, as plantações de café "de sol" nestes estudos diferem muito das plantações brasileiras, que geralmente são associadas apenas a bananeiras (Musa spp.…”

“…Classen et al (2014) conducted exclusion experiments in coffee plantations in a previous study and concluded that birds and bats had an effect on fruit set but not in fruit weight, though. Moreover, these researchers reported fruit set reductions of 9% on average when birds and bats were excluded, comparable to the 13% reduction we registered in units with low local forest cover.…”

“…Many studies have demonstrated that richness and abundance of predators in agricultural areas is related to the amount and proximity of natural and semi-natural vegetation (Aviron et al 2005;Billeter et al 2008;Tscharntke et al 2005). Also, the potential of birds and bats to suppress arthropods (Kalka et al 2008;Mooney et al 2010;Van Bael et al 2008;Williams-Guillen et al 2008), including agricultural pests (Cleveland et al 2006;, is already well established, with positive effects over yield and income in some economically important crops, such as coffee and cacao (Classen et al 2014;Maas et al 2013). …”