Effects of forest management on mating patterns, pollen flow and intergenerational transfer of genetic diversity in wild Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.) from Afromontane rainforests

Abstract

Coffea arabica, the wild ancestor of all commercial Arabica coffee cultivars worldwide, is endemic to the montane rainforests of Ethiopia. These forests, which harbour the most important C. arabica gene pool, are threatened by increasing anthropogenic disturbance, potentially altering the mating patterns, pollen dispersal and maintenance of genetic diversity in C. arabica understorey populations. We genotyped 376 adult coffee shrubs and 418 progenies from three natural unmanaged, and three highly managed coffee populations, using 24 microsatellite markers. Mating system analysis of C. arabica yielded an overall multilocus outcrossing rate of 76%, which contrasts with the common knowledge that C. arabica is a predominantly selfing species. In highly managed coffee populations, paternity could be assigned to 78% of the progenies, whereas in the unmanaged natural coffee populations, only 57% of the progenies could be assigned to a father, indicating reduced long-distance pollen dispersal in managed forests. Furthermore, the fraction of selfed progenies was significantly higher in managed (23%) than unmanaged (10%) coffee forests. Finally, the lack of spatial genetic structure in all studied populations suggests high seed dispersal in unmanaged populations, and intense berry harvesting and coffee planting in the managed populations. Our results imply that in situ conservation of the wild gene pool of C. arabica must focus on limiting intensification of coffee forest management, as decreased pollen dispersal and increased selfing in C. arabica in intensively managed populations may increase the risk of genetic erosion.

Effects of Coffee Management on Bee Floral Diversity, Honey Yield and Quality: The Case of Gera District, Jimma Zone, South West Ethiopia

“…According (Alemu 2012) the dominant tree species here in SFC includes; Albizia gummifera, Croton macrostachyus and millettia ferruginea. The finding is similar to Berecha et al (2014) that states that those tree species are dominant in SFC site for their preferences of coffee shade. Regarding the abundance of bee forage most of individual bee plant species recorded in FC site was Coffea arabica, which was about 53.06%of the total species, while 80.34 %( see Appendix [1]) of was coffea arabica for that of SFC site.…”

RETRACTED:<i>Remote Sensing Techniques for Accurate and Consistent Detection of Small-Scale Changes in a Tropical Forest: Exploring Details of Forest Cover Dynamics Using Multi-Temporal Landat Imagery</i>

“…tem services such as reduction in carbon sink potential [59], loss or reduction in its biodiversity conservation values [35], particularly the potentials of the forest in conservation of genetic diversity Coffee arabica L. [33] [60] [61], and other multiple benefits [62]. The forest destruction information shown in this study could support effective management and policy interventions that aim at sustaining the forest and its environmental services.…”

Growth and fecundity of colonizing hybrid Raphanus populations are environmentally dependent

“…Water and other abiotic factors have been shown to have a substantial effect on performance and distribution in other plant species. In New Caledonia—an island system in the South Pacific—changing microenvironments, mostly mediated by temperature and precipitation changes, have created the opportunity for increased gene flow and hybridization between three Coffea species (Berecha et al, 2014). Increased gene flow—mediated by changing microclimates—created the opportunity for these three Coffea species to freely hybridize in areas that these species (and their alleles) could not previously access.…”

“…Increased gene flow—mediated by changing microclimates—created the opportunity for these three Coffea species to freely hybridize in areas that these species (and their alleles) could not previously access. This has enabled the evolution of Coffea hybrids that are better adapted to novel environments characterized by varying water availability (Berecha et al, 2014). Hybrid Ipomosis populations, when exposed to drought conditions, had higher water‐use efficiency and flower production than parental populations in the same environment (Wu and Campbell, 2006; Campbell and Waser, 2007; Campbell et al, 2010; Campbell and Wendlandt, 2013).…”