December 2005

Research on coffee growing

Research: Major papers on biodiversity and coffee

Here are some background papers from peer-reviewed journals covering research on biodiversity and related issues in coffee plantations.  New research of interest will be posted as it becomes available.  You can find it by clicking the category Research on coffee growing. A comprehensive list of papers from the literature can be found by clicking on the “References” tab at the top of the page. This list is continually updated with new research (including papers I don’t review here) and older papers of high quality that I come across.

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Birds and other biodiversity / Coffee regions / Research on coffee growing

Research: Veracruz biodiversity

Pineda, E., C. Moreno, F. Escobar, and G. Halffter.  2005. Frog, bat, and dung beetle diversity in the cloud forest and coffee agrosystems of Veracruz, Mexico. Conservation Biology 19: 400-410.

Cloud forest fragments and shade coffee plantations were compared in central Veracruz.  Diversity of frogs was one-fifth less in coffee; one-third of the frog species occurred in both forests and coffee plantations. Beetle diversity and abundance was greater in coffee plantations than forest fragments. Bat diversity and abundance was the same in both coffee and forest.

The authors concluded that shade coffee plantations connect forest fragments and act to preserve biodiversity, but act as a complement, not a substitute, for montane cloud forests.