Status and trends of pollination services in Amazon agroforestry systems

With the growing demand for food production worldwide, natural landscapes are increasingly being replaced by agricultural areas, which directly affects biodiversity and local ecosystem services. Agroforestry systems, which are the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems, are a more sustainable production approach that has been increasing in several forested areas around the globe. Here, we examine the trends of agroforestry in the Brazilian Legal Amazon and estimate the associated value of ecosystem services mediated by pollinators. Using data from 2006 and 2017, we detected an increase in agroforestry activity in the Amazon, both in the number (3.27%) and in the area (23.18%) of establishments. Crop production in forested areas increased by 45.61% in the same period, and the main products cultivated in both years were native products from the Amazon, such as acai , Brazil nut and babassu. Although the crop data are from forested areas, all the five crops with the highest production value are associated with agroforestry in the Amazon. Pollination services also increased during the same period from US$73.3 to US$156.7 million (113.76%). In 2006, the value of pollination services corresponded to 44% of the total crop production, and it jumped to 64.43% in 2017. Bees and beetles were the two main groups of pollinators quoted for the analysed crops. Our estimates show the important contribution of pollinators to crop production in the Amazon forest. However, a growing loss of Amazon forest has been observed, and this can jeopardize pollinators and have detrimental consequences on food production in the near future. Public policies are urgently needed to encourage crop production in harmony with natural areas, combining the protection of forests and pollinators with food production.

Automated summary

With the increasing demand for food production, the expansion of agricultural areas threatens biodiversity and ecosystem services. Agroforestry systems, a sustainable production approach, are becoming more popular in forested areas around the world. A study in the Brazilian Legal Amazon found an increase in agroforestry activities, crop production, and the value of pollination services. However, the loss of Amazon forest could jeopardize pollinators and have negative consequences on food production.