4.8 Article

Interacting pest control and pollination services in coffee systems

Publisher

NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119959119

Keywords

biodiversity; ecosystem services; synergies; coffee production; economic valuation

Funding

  1. US Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) [F18AP00472]
  2. NSF Quantitative and Evolutionary STEM Training (QuEST) Program [DGE-1735316]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study reveals synergistic interactions between pollination and pest control, highlighting the underestimation of the benefits biodiversity provides to agriculture and human well-being when individual ecosystem services are assessed. Additionally, the results demonstrate the economic benefits of bird pest control and bee pollination services for coffee farmers.
Biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services (ES) support human well-being, but their values are typically estimated individually. Although ES are part of complex socioecological systems, we know surprisingly little about how multiple ES interact ecologically and economically Interactions could be positive (synergy), negative (trade-offs), or absent (additive effects), with strong implications for management and valuation. Here, we evaluate the interactions of two ES, pollination and pest control, via a factorial field experiment in 30 Costa Rican coffee farms. We found synergistic interactions between these two critical ES to crop production. The combined positive effects of birds and bees on fruit set, fruit weight, and fruit weight uniformity were greater than their individual effects. This represents experimental evidence at realistic farm scales of positive interactions among ES in agricultural systems. These synergies suggest that assessments of individual ES may underestimate the benefits biodiversity provides to agriculture and human well-being. Using our experimental results, we demonstrate that bird pest control and bee pollination services translate directly into monetary benefits to coffee farmers. Excluding both birds and bees resulted in an average yield reduction of 24.7% (equivalent to losing US$1,066.00/ha). These findings highlight that habitat enhancements to support native biodiversity can have multiple benefits for coffee, a valuable crop that supports rural livelihoods worldwide. Accounting for potential interactions among ES is essential to quantifying their combined ecological and economic value.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.8
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available