Intensification of Ethiopian coffee agroforestry drives impoverishment of the Arabica coffee flower visiting bee and fly communities

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 93; no. 5; pp. 1729 - 1739
• Main Authors: Geeraert, L., Aerts, R., Jordaens, K., Dox, I., Wellens, S., Couri, M., Berecha, G., Honnay, O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Agricultural management; Agriculture; Agroforestry; Bees; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coffea arabica; Coffee; Communities; Diptera; Ecosystem services; Flowers; Forestry; Forests; Intensive farming; Life Sciences; Plant reproduction; Plantations; Pollination; Pollinators; Species richness; Ethiopia; Anthophila; Flower visitors; Moist Afromontane forest; Brachycera
• ISSN: 0167-4366; 1572-9680
• DOI: 10.1007/s10457-018-0280-0

Intensively managed shade coffee plantations are expanding in SW Ethiopia, at the cost of the more natural coffee agroforestry systems. Here, we investigated consequences for the potential pollinator community of Arabica coffee ( Coffea arabica L.) in its natural range. We surveyed coffee flower visitors at six different sites in the Jimma region in SW Ethiopia, and compared species richness and abundance between semi-natural coffee forests and shaded coffee plantations. Overall, we found six bee (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and twenty fly species (Diptera: Brachycera) visiting C. arabica flowers. Species richness and overall abundance of flower visitors was significantly higher in the semi-natural forests compared to the plantations. A significantly higher abundance of non- Apis bees and hoverflies (Syrphidae) visiting C. arabica flowers was observed in the semi-natural forest plots, but numbers for other Diptera and honeybees ( Apis mellifera L.) did not differ significantly between the agroforestry systems. Our results show an impoverishment of the coffee flower visiting insect community in response to agricultural intensification. This suggests a functional shift of the coffee pollinator community and, hence, may influence the stability of the provided pollination ecosystem services and coffee yield in the long term. We did, however, not quantify pollination services in this study.