Williams-GuillÁ©n, K., C. McCann, J.C. MartÁnez SÁ¡nchez, and F. Koontz. 2006. Resource availability and habitat use by mantled howling monkeys in a Nicaraguan coffee plantation: can agroforests serve as core habitat for a forest mammal? Animal Conservation (published as an…
Research on coffee growing
Research: Birds and lizards as insect predators in shade coffee
Borkhataria, R. R., J. A. Collazo, and M. J. Groom. 2006. Additive effects of vertebrate predators on insects in a Puerto Rican coffee plantation. Ecological Applications 16:696-703. The authors used an exclosure study to see if birds and lizards had…
Research: Biodiversity, yield, and certification
Perfecto, I., J. Vandermeer, A. Mas, and L. Soto Pinto. 2005. Biodiversity, yield, and shade coffee certification. Ecological Economics 54:435-446. The more complex overstory (and thus shade) in a coffee plantation, the higher the diversity. However, the more shade, the…
Research: Epiphytes in coffee plantations
These papers looked at epiphytes (plants that grow on others, but are not parasitic, such as orchids or bromeliads) in coffee plantations — whether shade coffee plantations preserved epiphyte biodiversity, and whether epiphytes were important to birds.
Research: Shade grown coffee and orchids
A paper in the journal Conservation Biology reports that shade coffee plantations in Mexico provide refuge for orchids from lower montane cloud forest habitats — the most endangered forest type in the country, now comprising only 1% of Mexico’s land….
Research: Ant diversity in coffee plantations
These two recent papers discuss the diversity and role of ants in coffee plantations, and how the growing method (sun versus shade) impacts these ants. Ants are vital in ecosystems. In tropical forests, there are entire groups of birds (known…
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.
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…