Vanilla distribution modeling for conservation and sustainable cultivation in a joint land sparing/sharing concept

Abstract

Vanilla, an expensive but popular spice used in many industries, faces problems related to its supply. Some of these problems are due to the fact that vanilla cultivation is based on clonal material of a single species (Vanilla planifolia) and is dominated by just a few countries located outside the native growing areas of aromatic vanilla species, which is the neotropics. Despite the economic importance of this crop, relatively little attention has been paid to its wild relatives, in particular with respect to their biology, ecology, and potential use. We hypothesized that species distribution models (SDMs) can identify suitable areas for both the conservation and cultivation of vanilla crop wild relatives (CWRs), following a joint land sparing/land sharing (SPASHA) approach, thus offering alternative sourcing areas and production methods. This is the first study that explored the use of ensemble SDMs to provide applicable land use maps related to the conservation and sustainable cultivation of wild vanilla species in Costa Rica, contributing to a solution for the problems related to current vanilla production systems. We focused on four aromatic vanilla CWRs, native to Costa Rica, to make land use policy recommendations for this country, and more specifically for the biological corridor Osa and its surroundings within our study region Area de Conservaci on Osa (ACOSA). The resulting distribution maps, with a mean AUC of 0.89, reflected their current potential distribution (ranging from unsuitable to suitable) in Costa Rica. Combining them with recent land use and conservation area maps of our study region, we defined (1) areas for vanilla conservation and (2) areas for sustainable vanilla cultivation within agroforestry systems. These land use recommendations can now be integrated within the National Bio-Corridor Program (PNCB) that aims at making biological corridors more productive by proposing alternative income generation for local communities living within these areas. Our approach can be applied to identify priority areas for implementing the SPASHA approach on other vanilla CWRs and in more regions across its native growing ranges, given the availability of land use maps and enough occurrence records to build accurate SDMs.

A reappraisal of Neotropical Vanilla. With a note on taxonomic inflation and the importance of alpha taxonomy in biological studies

“…As a consequence, the assessments of species loss rates and of conservation priorities become unreliable. Watteyn et al (2020) offer an example of a nontaxonomical study on Vanilla where taxonomical inflation is highly detrimental. The authors use species distribution modeling to identify areas for conservation and sustainable cultivation of wild relatives of the vanilla crop.…”

Stakeholders’ engagement platform to identify sustainable pathways for the development of multi-functional agroforestry in Guadeloupe, French West Indies

“…Those challenges miror those faced by vanilla farmers in countries from the greater Caribbean such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia: important knowledge gaps on the ecology, ecophysiology, agronomy and genetics of vanilla, lack of appropriate innovation infrastructure to support the development of the crop from the production to the commercialisation stages including technical training and advisory services (Borbolla-Perez et al 2017;Flanagan and Mosquera-Espinosa 2016;Azofeifa-Bolanos et al 2014). Similarly to those countries, challenges arose in relation to the right balance to be achieved between agricultural production and conservation of genetics resources and biodiversity at the territorial scale (Watteyn et al 2020;Flanagan and Mosquera-Espinosa 2016;Velazquez-Rosas et al 2018). In order to address those challenges, farmers have, through the VALAB project (Integrated Value-enhancement of the Guadeloupean Forest Agrobiodiversity), opted for a renewed vision of the forest in the Guadeloupean context, a multifunctional vision that they defined at different levels.…”

“…Their sustainability is ensured by specific governance arrangements that prevent their overexploitation, a question at the heart of future developments of forest farming in Guadeloupe and emphasized by the farmers when referring to achieving the joint objectives of agricultural production and protection of the natural environment. Other approaches to ensure the equilibrium of those agroecosystems have been suggested: Watteyn et al (2020) recommend a strategy combining land sharing and land sparing; Velazquez-Rosas et al (2018) associate ecological study and valorisation of traditional ecological knowledge to co-design agroforestry systems and, Flanagan et al (2016) recommend a mix of participatory conservation strategies (in situ, ex situ and Circa situm, see p. 212) to be carried out with local communities. Review of those approaches, their adequacy and adaptability to the Guadeloupean context will need to be caried out.…”

The Leafless Vanilla Species-Complex from the South-West Indian Ocean Region: A Taxonomic Puzzle and a Model for Orchid Evolution and Conservation Research

“…Vanilla species that produce aromatic fruits belong exclusively to the Vanilla subgenus Xanata sect. Xanata [9,71]. Three Vanilla species are cultivated and commercialized: V. planifolia worldwide especially in the SWIO region, V. × tahitiensis in the Pacific Ocean region and V. pompona in central America, the French Caribbean and Guiana [14,68].…”