Patterns and drivers of fungal disease communities on Arabica coffee along a management gradient

Zewdie, Beyene; Tack, Ayco J. M.; Adugna, Girma; Nemomissa, Sileshi; Hylander, Kristoffer

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2020.05.002

Cited by 34 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…We tested for such effect because coffee rust is shown to be reduced in sites in Mexico with abundant Azteca ants, via an intricate interaction between the rust and a hyperparasite ( Lecanicillium lecanii ), that infect both the rust and a scale insect that is tended by the ants (Vandermeer et al 2009). However, while rust hyperparasites are also commonly found in the Ethiopian study system, there are no reports that it attacks any other species than the rust (Zewdie et al 2020). Thus, the only mechanism we can speculate about is that perhaps the ants reduce the abundance of a vector of the rust.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The climax vegetation in this region is moist Afromontane forests, but nowadays substantial parts of the landscape are open agricultural fields with small‐scale subsistence agriculture. Coffee is grown under the shade of trees along a wide gradient in management intensity from plantation systems owned by companies, to small‐holder coffee stands located adjacent to their homes, to little‐managed coffee in the forest understory harvested by smallholder farmers living far away from the sites (Zewdie et al 2020). Some of these coffee plants are of wild origin and the Ethiopian forests hold much of the genetic diversity for Arabica coffee (Davis et al 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of these coffee plants are of wild origin and the Ethiopian forests hold much of the genetic diversity for Arabica coffee (Davis et al 2018). In general, farmers rely on natural pest control and no pesticides are used, except for occasional use of herbicides by the wealthiest farmers (Zewdie et al 2020). We focused on four of the major pest and disease problems on coffee leaves in Ethiopia: free‐feeding herbivory, coffee leaf skeletonizer, leaf miners, and coffee leaf rust (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We visited 59 coffee growing sites, which represent a wide management gradient. The sites were established in a previous project including data on site characteristics in a 50 × 50 m central plot (Zewdie et al 2020). We counted all ant colonies in a circular area of 2 ha including the central plot and assumed that the management and environmental variables collected in the 50 × 50 m plot are representative for the whole 2 ha area (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coffee Structure Index (CSI) is an index representing management intensity, ranging from low (1) to high (3). It was calculated using a cluster analysis on a number of measures including height, number of main stems, and bearing branches on 16 coffee shrubs in each plot (for details see Appendix : Section S1; Zewdie et al 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi‐scale mosaics in top‐down pest control by ants from natural coffee forests to plantations

Stüber

Tack

Zewdie

et al. 2021

Ecology

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While top‐down control plays an important role in shaping both natural and agricultural food webs, we lack insights into how top‐down control effects vary across spatial scales. We used a multi‐scale survey of top‐down control of coffee pests and diseases by arboreal ants to examine if colony location creates a small‐scale mosaic in top‐down control around trees and if the strength of that control varies between sites at the landscape scale. We investigated pest and disease levels on coffee shrubs at different distances from shade trees with and without a Crematogaster spp. ant colony in 59 sites along a coffee management intensity gradient in southwestern Ethiopia. Within sites, ants significantly suppressed herbivory and coffee leaf rust at distances less than 10 m from nesting trees. Top‐down control varied between sites, with stronger top‐down control of free‐feeding herbivory near ant colonies at sites with lower management intensity and stronger top‐down control of a skeletonizer at sites with higher canopy cover. We conclude that the strength of top‐down control by ants is highly heterogeneous across spatial scales, as a consequence of the biology of the predator at the small scale and herbivore density or changes in herbivore–ant interactions at the landscape scale.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Multi‐scale mosaics in top‐down pest control by ants from natural coffee forests to plantations

Stüber

Tack

Zewdie

et al. 2021

Ecology

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Using local knowledge to reconstruct climate‐mediated changes in disease dynamics and yield—A case study on Arabica coffee in its native range

Ayalew,

Hylander,

Börjeson

et al. 2024

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementAdapting agriculture to climate change requires an understanding of the long‐term relationship between climate, disease dynamics, and yield. While some countries have monitored major crop diseases for decades or centuries, comparable data is scarce or non‐existent for many countries that are most vulnerable to climate change. For this, a novel approach was developed to reconstruct climate‐mediated changes in disease dynamics and yield. Here, a case study on Arabica coffee in its area of origin demonstrates how to combine local knowledge, climate data, and spatial field surveys to reconstruct disease and yield time series and to postulate and test hypotheses for climate–disease–yield relationships.Summary While some countries have monitored crop diseases for several decades or centuries, other countries have very limited historical time series. In such areas, we lack data on long‐term patterns and drivers of disease dynamics, which is important for developing climate‐resilient disease management strategies. We adopted a novel approach, combining local knowledge, climate data, and spatial field surveys to understand long‐term climate‐mediated changes in disease dynamics in coffee agroforestry systems. For this, we worked with 58 smallholder farmers in southwestern Ethiopia, the area of origin of Arabica coffee. The majority of farmers perceived an increase in coffee leaf rust and a decrease in coffee berry disease, whereas perceptions of changes in coffee wilt disease and Armillaria root rot were highly variable among farmers. Climate data supported farmers' understanding of the climatic drivers (increased temperature, less rainy days) of these changes. Temporal disease‐climate relationships were matched by spatial disease‐climate relationships, as expected with space‐for‐time substitution. Understanding long‐term disease dynamics and yield is crucial to adapt disease management to climate change. Our study demonstrates how to combine local knowledge, climate data and spatial field surveys to reconstruct disease time series and postulate hypotheses for disease‐climate relationships in areas where few long‐term time series exist.

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Spatial variation in current and historical management of Arabica coffee across forests in its indigenous distribution

Beche,

Tack,

Ango

et al. 2024

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementArabica coffee grows in the forests and woodlands of Ethiopia. These Arabica coffee populations contain a reservoir of the highest genetic variation of this species, which is extremely valuable from a biodiversity conservation and coffee breeding point of view. Knowledge about the distribution of these populations, including how and to what extent they have been managed by local communities now and in the past, is limited. We reveal insights into the history, distribution, and management of Arabica coffee populations in the remaining forests of Ethiopia, which is essential for developing effective conservation policies for this globally important resource.Summary To guide conservation of forest biodiversity in a broad sense, we need to understand the landscape‐level variation in current and historical management practices of agroforestry systems. We collected data on coffee management practices across a large forested landscape in Ethiopia within Arabica coffee's indigenous distribution, using interviews in 11 villages and field surveys and interviews at 78 coffee sites in the forest. There was a gradient in coffee density (higher), liana cover (lower), and canopy cover (lower) from sites with high management intensity to sites without management. Recently, management intensity has increased in the forest edges. Interviews suggest that substantial areas of currently unmanaged coffee forests are a legacy of reforestation of abandoned (semi‐) open landscapes in the late 19th century. Despite a dynamic history of coffee cultivation across these areas, the conservation of forest biodiversity, including unmanaged populations of genetically diverse Arabica coffee, should be a priority, given the few such remaining areas in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world.

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Patterns and drivers of fungal disease communities on Arabica coffee along a management gradient

Cited by 34 publications

References 51 publications

Multi‐scale mosaics in top‐down pest control by ants from natural coffee forests to plantations

Multi‐scale mosaics in top‐down pest control by ants from natural coffee forests to plantations

Using local knowledge to reconstruct climate‐mediated changes in disease dynamics and yield—A case study on Arabica coffee in its native range

Spatial variation in current and historical management of Arabica coffee across forests in its indigenous distribution

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