Bugs, bacteria, and the potato defect in East African coffee. Very nerdy post.
Research on coffee growing
Want warblers to eat your coffee berry borers? Give them some forest to sleep in.
In 2001, an endemic coffee species, Coffea kihansiensis, was discovered in the Kihansi River gorge in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. The entire range of this species is estimated at [...]
It’s not just that you have fruit trees on a farm, but what types they are, that are important for birds.
Some like it hot: The influence and implications of climate change on coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) and coffee production in east Africa. Jaramillo et al. 2011. PLoS One. An [...]
This paper looked at the diversity and abundance of frogs and salamanders in an area of tropical montane cloud forest, shade coffee farms, and corn plantations in southern Mexico.
Coffee rust (Hemileia vastarix) is fungus that is one of the most devastating coffee diseases in the world. Native to Africa, it is now present in every coffee-growing nation. Infected [...]
Intensifying production while conserving biodiversity Food security and the ability of agricultural lands to feed over 9 billion people by 2050 is an increasingly-discussed topic. Part of this issue is [...]
Revised on June 22, 2011A research paper that could have used a more accurate title, and more depth in the discussion.
Revised on November 2, 2010Coffee farmers don’t need to rely just on the presence of landscape-level forests to provide pollinator resources. Their own farm management can have strong impacts on local bee abundance and diversity.
Revised on August 15, 2011As has been found in previous studies, birds on Jamaican coffee farms reduce insect pests, providing an important ecosystem service worth 12% of the total crop value.
Revised on December 5, 2010Earlier this year, the news of the “discovery” of a caffeine-free species of coffee from the Cameroon created a bit of a stir. This species was actually first collected in 1983, but remained unstudied and not described to science until…
Revised on November 2, 2010The water footprint of coffee and tea consumption in the Netherlands. 2007. Chapagain, A.K., and A. Y. Hoekstra. Ecological Economics 64:109-118. This is not a newly published paper, but I found it well worth summarizing here. “Footprint” evaluations — ecological,…
Revised on August 14, 2011Attitudes and knowledge of shade-coffee farmers towards vertebrates and their ecological functions [PDF]. 2009. P. López-del-Toro, E. Andresen, L. Barraza and A. Estrada. Tropical Conservation Science 2:299-318. The authors of this study interviewed 36 Mexican shade coffee farmers regarding their…
Revised on October 27, 2010Climate change will likely alter the distribution of the world’s worst coffee pest, a minute beetle called the coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei.
Revised on September 15, 2011
