From natural forest to coffee agroforest: implications for communities of large mammals in the Ethiopian highlands

In tropical regions the extent of agricultural land is increasing rapidly at the expense of natural forest, with associated losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Agroforestry has long been proposed as a more sustainable agricultural system, conserving biodiversity while providing significan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oryx 2020-09, Vol.54 (5), p.715-722
Main Authors: Mertens, Jan E. J., Emsens, Willem-Jan, Jocqué, Merlijn, Geeraert, Lore, De Beenhouwer, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity patterns
Agricultural commodities
Agricultural land
Agricultural management
Agroforestry
Biodiversity
Cameras
Coffee
Community composition
Crepuscular
Cultivation
Ecosystem services
Forest ecosystems
Forest management
Forests
Generalized linear models
Highlands
Indicator species
Mammals
Nocturnal
Species diversity
Species richness
Sustainable agriculture
Tropical environment
Tropical environments
Veganism
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Summary:In tropical regions the extent of agricultural land is increasing rapidly at the expense of natural forest, with associated losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Agroforestry has long been proposed as a more sustainable agricultural system, conserving biodiversity while providing significant local livelihoods. In this context, camera traps were deployed to compare communities of large mammals between natural forest (22,272 hours across 24 deployments) and extensively managed coffee forest (19,059 hours, 23 deployments) for the first time in the south-west Ethiopian highlands. Mammal communities in the two forest types were similar in species richness and Shannon diversity but differed in community composition. Significant indicator species of coffee forest were the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata and the Ethiopian hare Lepus fagani, whereas leopards Panthera pardus and civets Civettictis civetta had a preference for natural forest. The number of detections of mammals was higher in coffee forest, where activity patterns were predominantly crepuscular and nocturnal, which may be a direct adaptation to frequent human disturbance. In natural forest, mammal activity peaked during daytime. Despite the high mammal diversity in extensively managed coffee forest, it cannot fully replace natural forest as a habitat for large mammals. We suggest that a balanced landscape mosaic of coffee and natural forest may be a valuable combination for both conservation and coffee cultivation.
ISSN:0030-6053
1365-3008
DOI:10.1017/S0030605318000844