A multifunctional approach for achieving simultaneous biodiversity conservation and farmer livelihood in coffee agroecosystems. (October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Iverson, Aaron L.; Gonthier, David J.; Pak, Damie; Ennis, Katherine K.; Burnham, Robyn J.; Perfecto, Ivette; Ramos Rodriguez, Mariangie; Vandermeer, John H.
• Is Part Of: Biological conservation. Volume 238(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Subjects: Agricultural management intensity -- Biological control -- Ecosystem services -- Farm profit -- Landscape composition -- Tradeoffs and synergies; Conservation of natural resources -- Periodicals; Nature conservation -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 333.9516
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.07.024
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0006-3207

Abstract

Abstract: Ecologically complex agroecosystems often provide multiple conservation benefits, yet understanding the agricultural practices that favor biodiversity is often a theoretical task until we simultaneously demonstrate the economic impact of such practices on farmers. We provide a multifunctional analysis of both biodiversity and ecosystem services that influence coffee farm profit in Puerto Rico. We show that the vegetation heterogeneity of an agroecosystem, more so than any one ecological component (e.g. shade), is associated with a higher biodiversity of plants, birds, lizards, bees, ants, and parasitoid wasps. However, a farm's vegetation heterogeneity does not consistently correlate with profit-related ecosystem services, including coffee yield and biological control of coffee pests and pathogens, due to tradeoffs between services. Therefore, inherent financial incentives that would encourage farmers to manage farms in ways that maintain high associated biodiversity may be lacking. We explored several economic incentives that would allow farms to be simultaneously biodiverse and profitable, which we show is possible through realistic incentive schemes. We found that the combination of a certification premium plus carbon payments (50% premium plus $16 t − 1 CO2 e) or a restructuring of agricultural subsidies using currently experienced subsidy amounts may be sufficient to make farms that are more heterogeneous, and therefore more biodiverse, the most profitable option for farmers. If these biodiverse farms can also be profitable, it will open critical opportunities for maintaining rural landscapes that support farmers' livelihoods, as well as protect the planet's biodiversity.