1. Transformation of coffee-growing landscapes across Latin America. A review
- Author
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Eric Rahn, Mirjam M. Pulleman, Vivian Valencia, Alyssa A. Pritts, Celia A. Harvey, Juan Francisco Barrera, Carlos J. Pérez-Alemán, Eduardo Somarriba, Marie J. Zwetsloot, Inge Armbrecht, Jacques Avelino, Christian Bunn, Kees Jansen, Javier Hoyos García, Carlos Isaza, Juana Munoz-Ucros, Valentina Robiglio, Monteverde Institute (MVI), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), International Center for Tropical Agriculture [Colombie] (CIAT), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Universidad del Valle [Cali] (Univalle), Plant Health Institute of Montpellier (UMR PHIM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Département Systèmes Biologiques (Cirad-BIOS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza - Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura = Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Georg-August-University = Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Parque Tecnológico de Innovación del Café (TECNiCAFE), Solidaridad, School of Integrative Plant Science [CALS], College of Agriculture and Life Sciences [Cornell University] (CALS), Cornell University [New York]-Cornell University [New York], Fundación Solidaridad Latinoamericana, World Agroforestry Center [CGIAR, Pérou] (ICRAF), World Agroforestry Center [CGIAR, Kenya] (ICRAF), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR)-Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Interdisciplinary Research and Education Fund (INREF) at Wageningen University and Research, Frederick Dreer Award, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, CATIE and the CGIAR consortium on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry., Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of Göttingen - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and Cornell University [New York]
- Subjects
[SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences ,Land-use change Contents ,Latin Americans ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture ,WASS ,changement dans l'usage des terrres ,Review Article ,010501 environmental sciences ,Coffee leaf rust ,01 natural sciences ,Agricultural land ,11. Sustainability ,K01 - Foresterie - Considérations générales ,Deforestation ,Agroforestry systems ,2. Zero hunger ,Utilisation des terres ,biology ,Agroforestry ,Soil Biology ,Coffea arabica ,Livelihood ,PE&RC ,Rural Sociology ,Geography ,P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières ,Rurale Sociologie ,Environmental Engineering ,Certification ,Plantations ,Land-use change ,Coffea canephora ,systèmes agroforestiers ,Urbanization ,Bodembiologie ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Sustainable development ,Intensification ,Farm Systems Ecology Group ,15. Life on land ,biology.organism_classification ,Déboisement ,13. Climate action ,Sustainability ,Moyens d'existence durables ,Paysage agricole ,Agronomy and Crop Science - Abstract
In Latin America, the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) plays a critical role in rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Over the last 20 years, coffee farms and landscapes across the region have undergone rapid and profound biophysical changes in response to low coffee prices, changing climatic conditions, severe plant pathogen outbreaks, and other drivers. Although these biophysical transformations are pervasive and affect millions of rural livelihoods, there is limited information on the types, location, and extent of landscape changes and their socioeconomic and ecological consequences. Here we review the state of knowledge on the ongoing biophysical changes in coffee-growing regions, explore the potential socioeconomic and ecological impacts of these changes, and highlight key research gaps. We identify seven major land-use trends which are affecting the sustainability of coffee-growing regions across Latin America in different ways. These trends include (1) the widespread shift to disease-resistant cultivars, (2) the conventional intensification of coffee management with greater planting densities, greater use of agrochemicals and less shade, (3) the conversion of coffee to other agricultural land uses, (4) the introduction of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) into areas not previously cultivated with coffee, (5) the expansion of coffee into forested areas, (6) the urbanization of coffee landscapes, and (7) the increase in the area of coffee produced under voluntary sustainability standards. Our review highlights the incomplete and scattered information on the drivers, patterns, and outcomes of biophysical changes in coffee landscapes, and lays out a detailed research agenda to address these research gaps and elucidate the effects of different landscape trajectories on rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and other aspects of sustainable development. A better understanding of the drivers, patterns, and consequences of changes in coffee landscapes is vital for informing the design of policies, programs, and incentives for sustainable coffee production. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-021-00712-0.
- Published
- 2021
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