Flower Visitation Time and Number of Visitor Species Are Reduced by the Use of Agrochemicals in Coffee Home Gardens

Abstract

Pollination services, from both wild and managed populations of insect pollinators, have degraded as a result of agricultural intensification. Whilst 75% of economically important crops depend on insect pollinators for cultivation, 40% of insect pollinator species are threatened with extinction. Pollination services must be preserved if there is to be enough food for a global population whose demand is expected to double, if not triple, by 2050. Pollinator diversity and pollinator efficiency have been found to increase as a result of wildlife-friendly farming practices (i.e., natural chemicals and fertilizers and agroforestry). We evaluated the presence of insect pollinators in 42 coffee home gardens in West Java, Indonesia. Via generalized linear mixed models, we found that number of visitor species (β = 0.418 ± SE 0.194, p = 0.031) and visitation time (β = 0.845 ± SE 0.308, p = 0.006) decreased as farms were more intensely managed, (i.e., used chemical pesticides), compared to fields using organic practices. As knowledge of pollination services is widespread amongst smallholder farmers in Indonesia and beyond due to the long-held tradition of beekeeping, these results will add to their existing knowledge and empower farmers to enhance resources for pollinator species through agroforestry and natural pest management. Although we found significant differences in pollination services provided in intensely managed and wildlife-friendly farms, chemical use can affect farms far beyond a particular area of production. Therefore, pollinator conservation must be applied at a landscape level and involve all stakeholders, including farmers, when making effective policies.

Active Learning Increases Knowledge and Understanding of Wildlife Friendly Farming in Middle School Students in Java, Indonesia

“…At the end of the first session, we initiated a hands-on experiment for students to perform at their schools for four weeks. Each class was given two coffee seedlings and two different fertilizers-one organic and one inorganic (NPK fertilizer) [32]. With the organic fertilizer, we also provided EM4, an organic component (phytohormones plus micronutrients) to add to the fertilizer for better growth performance [30].…”

“…This curriculum was in coordination with a larger initiative that aimed at promoting wildlife-friendly and organic practices to coffee farmers in the Garut Regency and other areas in Java [30]. This also included experiments to understand the importance of organic and wildlife-friendly farming in increasing and protecting biodiversity (e.g., butterflies and other pollinators [31,32]; mammals [33]; birds [34]; and invertebrates [35]). In this project, we have already obtained Wildlife Friendly certification for a community of ~400 coffee farmers in Garut regency from the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network TM in October 2020 [30].…”

Impact of Cropland Management on Invertebrate Richness and Abundance in Agroforestry Systems in Bali, Indonesia

“…Invertebrates play an important role within agricultural systems as agents of biological control, pollinators, bioturbators, and nutrient cyclers, and they are known to be sensitive to changes in land use [2,13]. Some of the ecological factors known to alter the diversity of invertebrate species are a lack of shade cover, the presence of invasive species, competition for resources due to reduced habitat availability, and the direct and indirect consequences of the application of agrochemicals [4,6,[15][16][17]. Crop productivity and efficiency are also reliant on invertebrates, with yields reduced by up to 90% with the removal of Apis mellifera, indicating that a reduction in invertebrates can also lead to a decline in crop yields [18].…”

“…The diversity and abundance of invertebrates can be influenced by environmental variables linked with land management [13,14,17]. Increased land management with the consequent decrease in habitat complexity (i.e., reduction in shade cover, tree species richness, and crop richness) are expected to reduce invertebrate species diversity based on the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis (i.e., an increased complexity in habitats, with a consequent increase in niche dimensionality, results in increased species diversity [21]).…”

Densidade populacional e área de amostragem para a broca-do-café, >i<Hypothenemus hampei>/i< (Ferrari), por meio de armadilhas com semioquímicos

“…Verifica-se que ao utilizar duas aplicações, compreendidas na fase de expansão e maturação, há a mesma eficiência de uma única aplicação na fase de maturação (Figura Na floração existem grandes números de insetos benéficos ao agroecossistema, incluindo polinizadores, inimigos naturais das pragas e uma diversidade de espécies nativas que buscam recursos alimentares (Dufour et al 2021;Manson et al 2022). A aplicação de produtos fitossanitários, mesmo que sejam seletivos ou de baixo risco ao meio ambiente, não devem ser aplicados durante o processo pleno de floração.…”