RESEARCH

Vivian’s research is evaluating the social and ecological dimensions of tree regeneration in coffee agroforestry systems. The proposed research applies, at the plot level, ecological and social tools to determine (1) the impact of shade coffee management on tree regeneration and (2) how producers’ preferences for shade trees impact tree regeneration in shade coffee plantations; and at the landscape level, investigates (3) the socioeconomic factors driving the expansion of shade coffee. An assessment of the conservation value of shade coffee requires a clearer understanding than current research allows on the impacts of shade coffee management on tree regeneration. At the landscape level, coffee expansion may be occurring primarily at the expenses of primary and secondary forest; identifying the land use and land cover changes that result in coffee expansion provides necessary information to assess the sustainability and conservation potential of shade coffee. Otherwise, we risk losing rare and endangered tree species, losing associated biodiversity, and jeopardizing the provision of important ecosystem services such as carbon storage and regulation of the hydrological cycle. The project focuses in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve located in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Chiapas, Mexico, an important shade coffee-growing region. There is an extensive overlap between this coffee-growing area and regions with high numbers of species and endemics considered biodiversity hotspots. This renders the issue of clarifying the sustainability and conservation value of shade coffee even more urgent.