From Forests and Fields to Coffee and Back Again: Historic Transformations of a Traditional Coffee Agroecosystem in Oaxaca, Mexico

Transformation of coffee-growing landscapes across Latin America. A review

“…Conventional intensification of coffee production, involving a reduction in shade levels, increased use of agrochemicals and greater density of coffee bushes National-level examples: Costa Rica (Jha et al 2014 ); Colombia (Jha et al 2014 ); El Salvador (Blackman et al 2012 ; Jha et al 2014 ); Guatemala (Jha et al 2014 , Bielecki and Wingenbach 2019 ); Nicaragua (Jha et al 2014 ); Mexico (Amico and Paz-Pellat 2018 ) Case studies : La Sepultura, Chiapas, Mexico (Valencia et al 2018 ); San Martin, Peru (Jezeer et al 2019 ) 3. Abandonment of coffee fields and conversion of coffee plots to other land uses National- level examples: Colombia (Rueda and Lambin 2013a , 2013b ; Portafolio 2018 ); Guatemala (Schmitt-Harsh 2013 ; Baumeister 2017 ); Peru (USDA FAS 2020a ) Case studies : Municipality of Zozocolco in Veracruz, Mexico (Ellis et al 2010 ); Emiliano Zapata in Central Veracruz, Mexico (Hausermann 2014 ); Central Veracruz, Mexico (Hausermann 2014 ); Southern Guatemala (Haggar et al 2013 ); The Chinantla subregion of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, Mexico (Hite et al 2017 ); Veracruz, Mexico (Eakin and Webbe 2009 ); Agua Buena district, Costa Rica (Babin 2020 ); Turrialba, Costa Rica (Bosselmann 2012 ) 4. Expansion of coffee into forested areas, leading to deforestation National-level examples : Honduras (Bunn et al 2018 ); Amazonian regions of Ecuador and Peru (Somarriba and López Sampson 2018 ); Guatemala (Bunn et al 2019 ) Case studies : The San Martin region of Peru (Marquardt et al 2019 ); Amazonian departments in Peru (Ganzenmuller and Castro Nuñez 2019 ), The transboundary Trifinio region which spans Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (Schlesinger et al 2017 ); Municipalities of El Provenir, Ángel Albino Corzo, Siltepec and the upper areas of La Concordia in Chiapas, Mexico (Covaleda et al 2014 ), La Sepultura, Chiapas, Mexico (Valencia ...…”

“…Case studies : Municipality of Zozocolco in Veracruz, Mexico (Ellis et al 2010 ); Emiliano Zapata in Central Veracruz, Mexico (Hausermann 2014 ); Central Veracruz, Mexico (Hausermann 2014 ); Southern Guatemala (Haggar et al 2013 ); The Chinantla subregion of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, Mexico (Hite et al 2017 ); Veracruz, Mexico (Eakin and Webbe 2009 ); Agua Buena district, Costa Rica (Babin 2020 ); Turrialba, Costa Rica (Bosselmann 2012 )…”

“…In these circumstances, many farmers are abandoning their coffee or converting them to other land uses in an attempt to restore farm productivity. For example, 42% of the coffee farmers in the Chinantla subregion of the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, Mexico, abandoned their coffee agroforests or converted them to another land use from 1990 to 2010, due to low coffee prices, low yields, and other stressors (Hite et al 2017 ). Similarly, the area under coffee in Turrialba, Costa Rica, decreased 7% annually from 2000 to 2009, as farmers replaced coffee with crops such as vegetables or sugarcane (Bosselmann 2012 ).…”

“…In other landscapes, there is an expansion in the area of coffee produced following voluntary sustainability standards that reward, among other measures, the maintenance or increase of shade density and diversity, forest conservation, soil conservation, and responsible use of pesticides and other agrochemicals (Milder et al 2014 ; Lernoud et al 2018 ). While some of these changes in coffee farms and landscapes have been documented previously in specific regions (e.g., Guhl 2008 ; Jha et al 2014 ; Hite et al 2017 ), there is very little comprehensive information on the extent, magnitude, dynamics, and consequences of landscape change across the Latin American region. The limited information on the ongoing transformation of coffee landscapes is concerning given the pervasiveness of biophysical changes and their potential to significantly affect the socioeconomic and ecological sustainability of coffee landscapes and livelihoods.…”

Agroforestry systems provide firewood for livelihood improvement in Guatemala

“…In the medium term, these decisions result in a greater genetic diversity, providing a greater benefit to the human populations and the ecosystem (Atta-Krah et al, 2004). Benton Hite et al (2017) study in Oaxaca, Mexico shows that the more a coffee agroforestry system is managed the less it contributes to ecosystem services in terms of tree species biodiversity.…”