Land Cover in a Managed Forest Ecosystem: Mexican Shade Coffee

Abstract

Managed forest ecosystems-agroforestry systems in which crops such as coffee and bananas are planted side-by-side with woody perennials-are being touted as a means of safeguarding forests along with the ecological services they provide. Yet we know little about the determinants of land cover in such systems, information needed to design effective forest conservation policies. This paper presents a firstever spatial regression analysis of land cover in a managed forest ecosystem-a shade coffee region of coastal Mexico. Using high-resolution land cover data derived from aerial photographs, along with data on the institutional, geophysical, socioeconomic, and agronomic characteristics of the study area, we find that plots in close proximity to urban centers are less likely to be cleared, all other things equal. This finding contrasts sharply with the literature on natural forests. In addition, we find that membership in coffee marketing cooperatives, farm size, and certain soil types are associated with forest cover, while common property, proximity to small town centers, and the prevalence of indigenous peoples are associated with forest clearing.

Land use/land cover change dynamics and drivers in a low-grade marginal coffee growing region of Veracruz, Mexico

“…In fact, in Mexico, all of its main coffee-growing regions are also designated as biodiversity ''hotspots'' (Á valos-Sartorio and Blackman 2009), and the same situation is reported in the state of Veracruz (Ellis et al 2010). Due to the presence of tree cover, these agroforestry systems are potentially more conducive to carbon sequestration and soil and water conservation than land use systems without trees such as maize cropping and pasture for cattle rearing (Blackman et al 2008a;Pearce and Mourato 2004). Moreover, these agroforests can be integral landscape components that function as corridors between forest fragments and reduce edge effects of neighboring forests (Blackman et al 2008a;Schroth et al 2004).…”

“…Due to the presence of tree cover, these agroforestry systems are potentially more conducive to carbon sequestration and soil and water conservation than land use systems without trees such as maize cropping and pasture for cattle rearing (Blackman et al 2008a;Pearce and Mourato 2004). Moreover, these agroforests can be integral landscape components that function as corridors between forest fragments and reduce edge effects of neighboring forests (Blackman et al 2008a;Schroth et al 2004). In some cases, these tree-based agroecosystems may reduce pressures of deforestation (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2004) and at least maintain tree cover in agroforest landscapes.…”

“…Besides their environmental benefits, coffee production from these agroforests is an important economic resource at national, regional and local scales, including in the state of Veracruz (Blackman et al 2008a;Mestries Benquet 2003;Vázquez García 2001). Mexico produces 3.5% of the world's coffee and exports 2% of total world exports, which makes it the third largest coffee producer in Latin America and tenth worldwide (Romero Leon et al 2006;BANCO-MEXT 2005;ICO 2005).…”

“…Gordon et al (2007) also indicate that sun coffee plantations were mostly affected in this region due to their greater loss in net revenue from falling prices compared to shade-grown coffee agroforests. Blackman et al (2008a) report that in a coffee growing region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, ranging from 400 to 1600 m, land cover modeling shows that coffee plots closer to large cities with coffee markets were being conserved, and that conservation of coffee parcels was also associated with membership in marketing cooperatives, farm size and soil type. On the other hand, their results show that conversion of coffee plots, in this coffee growing region of Mexico, was more likely to occur in lower elevations and close to smaller towns without coffee markets (Blackman et al 2008a).…”

“…Blackman et al (2008a) report that in a coffee growing region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, ranging from 400 to 1600 m, land cover modeling shows that coffee plots closer to large cities with coffee markets were being conserved, and that conservation of coffee parcels was also associated with membership in marketing cooperatives, farm size and soil type. On the other hand, their results show that conversion of coffee plots, in this coffee growing region of Mexico, was more likely to occur in lower elevations and close to smaller towns without coffee markets (Blackman et al 2008a). For this same region, Á valos-Sartorio and Blackman (2009) corroborate that coffee farms associated with deforestation or loss of tree cover are those smaller in size, located in lower elevations and with communal land tenure.…”