Biological diversity conservation within natural reserves has been prioritized, but conservation efforts outside protected areas (where most human activities take place) have been very little considered. In this scenario, an alternative agricultural practice that may reduce the impacts of fragmentation in outer landscapes is a perforation process, which involves conservation in agricultural fields surrounded by continuous forests. Such practices enhance the positive impact of ecological services on fields. In this study we analyzed the biological diversity state in perforation fields and their surrounding forests. The analysis was done using dung beetles as biological indicators. A nested pattern in dung beetles distribution was found, which ordered the surrounding continuous forest sites as the ones with the highest species richness, followed by the perforation fields, and placed the fragmentation practice fields (continuous agricultural fields surrounding forest patches) with the lowest one. Indicator species for perforation fields and surrounding continuous forests were chosen. In general, perforation practice fields differed in composition, based upon functional groups richness and identity; it also contained a higher species richness than the fragmentation practice. Agricultural practices that enhance biological diversity conservation such as perforation, should be recommended and considered in natural resource management by local communities in order to take advantage of ecological services that otherwise may be gradually lost.

Background Although conservation of pristine habitats is recognized in many countries as crucial for maintaining pollinator diversity, the contribution of secondary forest conservation is poorly recognized in the Latin American context, such as in Guatemala. San Lucas Tolimán (SLT) is a high-quality coffee production region from the Atitlan Province, which has the second highest deciduous forest cover in Guatemala and pristine forest is prioritized for conservation. In contrast, secondary forest protection is undetermined, since these forests are normally removed or strongly affected by coffee farming practices. This situation may affect the diversity of native pollinators, mainly bees, which usually rely on the secondary forest for food resources. Methods We conducted a study to investigate the importance of secondary forests around the SLT coffee plantations (Coffea arabica L.) for pollinators. We compared bee diversity (richness, abundance and composition) in secondary forests of different age and coffee plantations with diverse farming techniques. Being the first study of pollinators in Guatemalan coffee plantations, we also recorded data for an entire year (2013–2014) in order to describe bee seasonality. Results We found significant differences in bee diversity between the coffee plantations and secondary forests, particularly early secondary forests showed higher bee abundances but diversity indices were similar between different vegetation type plots. In the early dry season, secondary forests showed the greatest native bee diversity. During the late dry season, when the coffee was flowering, honey bees were dominant in the same plots. This study provides important management insights to support the conservation of pollinators, since our results offer guidelines to improve coffee production by increasing native pollinator diversity.