Contrasting non-breeding ecology of Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) in Andean forest and shade-grown coffee plantations

Shade-grown coffee plantations provide Neotropical migratory birds an alternative to primary growth forest which is disappearing throughout their non-breeding range. However, it remains unclear whether plantations can provide enough structure to maintain viable non-breeding populations of many species. I studied Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) in the Colombian Andes in a mixture of montane forest and shade-grown coffee plantation. In comparing the two habitats I looked at factors indicative of habitat quality, such as age/sex hierarchies, area of concentrated use, density, diet, and migration timing. My research aimed to determine whether Neotropical migrants benefit from this agroecosystem, and to find possible ways of improving shade-grown coffee practices in the future. My results indicated forest is more suitable non-breeding habitat for Swainson’s Thrushes, and although a forested habitat is more suitable, shade-grown coffee provides an acceptable supplemental habitat in a region where increased agricultural use continues to reduce forest availability

What components influence hypothetical willingness to pay for the environmental benefits of shade-grown coffee?

Coffee is one example of a good whose consumption can lead to environmental degradation that the consumer is unaware of. During the 19th century, new high-yield varieties of coffee were developed that could be grown under the direct sunlight of recently deforested areas. An ecologically friendly alternative to mass-produced sun-grown systems is shade-grown coffee. This coffee is grown under traditional forest cover, providing ecological benefits such as species habitat, but at lower yields. In the global market, a price premium is the practice of placing a higher price than the market price on a specific good. If consumers value the additional economic or social benefits provided by shade-grown coffee, they will pay the additional cost. One way to determine the value that consumers place on the ecological benefits provided by shade-grown coffee is to create a hypothetical market using a contingent valuation survey. This study used a contingent valuation survey to conclude the components that affect hypothetical willingness to pay. Our results determined that gender was the only significant factor in determining hypothetical willingness to pay, with females willing to pay more for shade-grown coffee than their male counterparts

Eco-Labels for Credence Attributes: The Case of Shade-Grown Coffee

Using the case of shade-grown coffee, this paper examines the market impacts of eco-labels for credence attributes. First, the Mattoo and Singh (1994) test is conducted for the case of shade-grown coffee to investigate the market impacts of a shade label. This analysis in Section II shows that a shade label could pass the test, but the market impacts are likely to be minor. Section II also shows how to use estimates of supply, potential demand, and price elasticities of demand and supply to predict eco-label premiums in the post-label equilibrium. And second, given the importance of consumer demands for eco-label impacts, and since the theoretical foundations of demand for eco-labeled items are not well developed in the literature, Section III takes a closer look at the microeconomics of labels and consumer demand. A nested constant-elasticity-of-substitution preference structure is used to derive theoretically consistent Marshallian demands for shade and non-shade coffee. A numerical simulation shows how relative prices and consumer preferences for the credence attribute and variety are both important factors in demand creation of labeled items.Environmental Economics and Policy, Marketing,

Shade-Grown Coffee: Simulation and Policy Analysis for Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico

Shade-grown coffee provides a livelihood to many farmers, protects biodiversity, and creates environmental services. Many shade-coffee farmers have abandoned production in recent years, however, in response to declines in international coffee prices. This paper builds a farmer decision model under price uncertainty and uses simulation analysis of that model to examine the likely impact of various policies on abandonment of shade-coffee plantations. Using information from coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, this paper examines the role of various constraints in abandonment decisions, reveals the importance of the timing of policies, and characterizes the current situation in the study region.coffee farming, decision analysis, numerical modeling, Monte Carlo, price variability

Session 2C Shade Grown Coffee In Costa Rica

Full text available. This presentation will focus on the role of Agriculture in Costa Rica, specifically the coffee industry. Traditional methods of growing coffee used shade, but as the popularity of coffee grew so did the need to increase production. This led to industrialized, sun-grown plantations that are harming the earth and contributing to climate change

More trees with your coffee? Diversity and habitat associations of terrestrial medium- and large-sized mammals in shade-grown coffee plantations of the highlands of Guatemala

Agricultural practices can have detrimental impacts on biodiversity, but some studies have shown the benefits of agroforestry practices like shade-grown coffee to bird communities and, to a lesser extent, to mammal communities. To better understand whether shade-grown coffee plantations can contribute to the conservation of mammal communities, we deployed camera traps in private reserves with a matrix of shade-grown coffee plantations and forest in the highlands of Guatemala. At each reserve we estimated species richness of terrestrial medium- and large-sized mammals. We also estimated mammal relative abundance and occupancy probabilities as proxies for mammalian habitat associations and evaluated how these were affected by key landscape features (e.g., land-use type, asphalt roads, and distance to protected areas). We used hierarchical multi-species Bayesian abundance models that account for imperfect detection to estimate our parameters of interest and model the influence of landscape features on site-level species richness and species relative abundance. We detected 14 species across all reserves and found a strong influence of land use and presence of asphalt roads on mammalian relative abundances and species richness. More species used areas around the camera traps in forest than in shade-grown coffee plantations and far from asphalt roads. Our study shows that reserves with shade-grown coffee plantations can harbor terrestrial mammalian communities of conservation interest. Our results also suggest that to maintain mammalian diversity and abundances in our study area, shade-grown coffee crops should be mixed in with natural forests and the presence of asphalt roads within these should be avoided or minimized.Las prácticas agrícolas pueden tener impactos perjudiciales en la biodiversidad, pero algunos estudios han demostrado beneficios de prácticas agroforestales, como el café bajo sombra, para comunidades de aves y, en menor medida, comunidades de mamíferos. Para entender mejor si las plantaciones de café bajo sombra pueden contribuir a la conservación de comunidades de mamíferos, colocamos cámaras trampa en reservas privadas con plantaciones de café bajo sombra y bosque en el altiplano de Guatemala. En cada reserva estimamos la riqueza de especies de mamíferos medianos y mayores. También estimamos la abundancia relativa y probabilidad de ocupación como aproximaciones a las asociaciones de hábitat de mamíferos y evaluamos cómo estas son afectadas por características clave de paisaje (p.ej. tipo de uso de suelo, carreteras y distancia a áreas protegidas). Utilizamos modelos jerárquicos bayesianos multiespecies de abundancia que consideran que la detección de especies es imperfecta para estimar nuestros parámetros de interés y modelar la influencia de características del paisaje en la riqueza y abundancia relativa de especies a nivel de sitio. Detectamos 14 especies en todas las reservas y encontramos una fuerte influencia del uso de la tierra en la abundancia relativa y la riqueza de especies de mamíferos. Más especies utilizaron áreas cercanas a las cámaras trampa en el bosque que a las plantaciones de café bajo sombra y lejos de carreteras. Nuestro estudio demuestra que las plantaciones de café bajo sombra pueden albergar comunidades de mamíferos terrestres de interés para la conservación. Nuestros resultados también sugieren que para mantener la diversidad y abundancia de mamíferos en el área de estudio, las plantaciones de café bajo sombra deben estar mezcladas con bosques nativos diversos, así como que la presencia de carreteras debe ser evitada o reducida

Cultivating Sustainable Coffee: Persistent Paradoxes

This chapter discusses the relationship and interconnections among changing the livelihoods of farmers, initiatives for sustainable coffee, and the production of shade-grown coffee. It examines the advantages and opportunities for farmers and producers engaged in coffee certification and diversification programs. The role of Fair Trade and organic networks in creating awareness of biodiversity conservation, the social and environment costs of coffee systems, and the need for supporting small farmers are also discussed. The methods to increase accountability and improve the efficiency of coffee cooperatives are presented in this chapter, as are the importance of understanding the sustainability initiatives and their implications for the regulators, along with the use of land patterns for coffee cultivation

The relative importance of native forest and shade-grown coffee plantations for habitat use, individual fitness and migration strategies of overwintering Neotropical migrant songbirds in Colombia

Winter habitat quality is one of the primary ecological factors limiting self-maintenance and survival of Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds during the non-breeding season. I assessed the relative importance of shade-grown coffee plantations vs. forest in the Colombian Andes as winter habitat for Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus), and Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis). For Swainson’s Thrush, I used daily and seasonal mass change, age ratios, density and corticosterone levels as measurements of habitat quality; and for Canada Warbler I used daily and seasonal mass change and sex ratios. Automated radio-telemetry on a continental scale was used to determine the effect of overwintering habitat occupancy on spring departure date and migration pace of Swainson’s Thrush. Using light-level geolocators I assessed the link between winter habitat occupancy and migratory connectivity of Gray-cheeked Thrush, and measured population spread and its relationship with the species winter distribution. I determined migratory connectivity of Canada Warblers overwintering across the three Andean cordilleras in Colombia by analysing stable hydrogen- isotope values (δ2H) in feathers. Taken together, my results suggested that native forests are more suitable winter habitats than shade-grown coffee plantations for Swainson’s Thrush. Native forest maintained a higher number of individuals than coffee, and in general, individuals maintained or increased their daily and seasonal body condition. On the other hand, the results for Canada Warbler are not conclusive, the quality of coffee can improve in certain circumstances such as high precipitation. My research provides the first evidence that by overwintering in native forest, birds can adjust their departure date, migration speed, and fuel up sufficiently to cover about 25% of the total length of spring migration. Migratory connectivity revealed that the effect of land-use changes on the wintering grounds is likely to be amplified on the breeding grounds through strong migratory connectivity. While market-based conservation strategies primarily promote shade-grown coffee plantations for the conservation of Neotropical migrants, my research suggest that strategies to conserve and restore native forest are also urgently needed

Conditional Policies in General Equilibrium

Obtaining lower generalized system of preferences (GSP) tariffs requires meeting costly Rules of Origin (ROOs). Growing coffee in the shade is more costly, but yields a price premium. This paper analyzes the effects of such restrictions in a general equilibrium setting and shows that such policies may have unanticipated effects. It is shown that in a world with capital mobility, the GSP could result in capital outflows rather than inflows and consumer preferences for shade grown coffee end up hurting labor in developing countries. Even small subsidies that are contingent on the use of domestic intermediates can result in specialization in the targeted good. Value added contingent policies can easily lead to multiple equilibria despite the absence of externalities or market imperfections.

Bats in the Ghats: Agricultural intensification reduces functional diversity and increases trait filtering in a biodiversity hotspot in India

The responses of bats to land-use change have been extensively studied in temperate zones and the neotropics, but little is known from the palaeotropics. Effective conservation in heavily-populated palaeotropical hotspots requires a better understanding of which bats can and cannot survive in human-modified landscapes. We used catching and acoustic transects to examine bat assemblages in the Western Ghats of India, and identify the species most sensitive to agricultural change. We quantified functional diversity and trait filtering of assemblages in forest fragments, tea and coffee plantations, and along rivers in tea plantations with and without forested corridors, compared to protected forests. Functional diversity in forest fragments and shade-grown coffee was similar to that in protected forests, but was far lower in tea plantations. Trait filtering was also strongest in tea plantations. Forested river corridors in tea plantations mitigated much of the loss of functional diversity and the trait filtering seen on rivers in tea plantations without forested corridors. The bats most vulnerable to intensive agriculture were frugivorous, large, had short broad wings, or made constant frequency echolocation calls. The last three features are characteristic of forest animal-eating species that typically take large prey, often by gleaning. Ongoing conservation work to restore forest fragments and retain native trees in coffee plantations should be highly beneficial for bats in this landscape. The maintenance of a mosaic landscape with sufficient patches of forest, shade-grown coffee and riparian corridors will help to maintain landscape wide functional diversity in an area dominated by tea plantations