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Cornell University

Publication Date

Spring 2013

Program Name

Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

Habitat loss due to increasing agricultural intensification and chemical use may result in the loss of biodiversity of bee species. This has implications for global economies and food security for people world wide. Focusing on coffee cultivation, an important cash crop in the tropics, this study aims to understand the availability for pollinator habitat resources in a management gradient from shade-grown coffee agroforestry to conventional farming systems that employ both organic and non-organic management practices. I examined the influence of farming and land-use practices on the availability and quality of habitats for social and solitary bee species through observations of nesting resources available. The results demonstrate that C. arabica management systems have an important effect on habitat availability for pollinator diversity assemblages. In this study, organic shade-coffee farms and ecological managed systems harbored more pollinator habitats and the potential for a more diverse pollinator population. Additionally, different management practices used varying degrees of agrochemical intensity to control for various pests and fungus which has implications for pollinator health and abundance. Management measures that reduce the use of chemicals and that favor pollinator diversity could result in increased farm productivity and enhance biodiversity conservation in coffee growing regions.

Disciplines

Biodiversity | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Environmental Health and Protection | Natural Resources and Conservation

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