Researchers at the Tropical Agronomic Center for Research and Teaching in Turrialba (Costa Rica) revealed that coffee beans are larger and more abundant when birds and bees come together to pollinate and protect plants. Some of these winged helpers travel thousands of miles and, without them, coffee producers would see a 25% drop in yields, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“Until now, researchers generally calculated the benefits of nature separately and then simply added them up,” said Alejandra Martinez-Salinas, who led the study. “But nature is an interactive system, full of important synergies and trade-offs. We showed the ecological and economic importance of these interactions, in one of the first experiments on realistic scales on real farms,” added the specialist.
In their study, the team used real-world experiments on 30 coffee farms to assess the contributions of bee pollination and bird pest control. “Previous assessments of individual ecological services may actually underestimate the benefits that biodiversity brings to agriculture and human welfare,”b said Taylor Ricketts, of the Gund Institute for the Environment at the University of Vermont. He added: “These positive interactions mean that ecosystem services are more valuable together than separately.”
The researchers used a combination of large nets and small lace bags to test four scenarios on all 30 coffee farms: only bird activity, only bee activity, no bird or bee activity, and a natural environment where birds and bees worked together. During each scenario, the team tested the fruit set, weight and uniformity.
The results revealed that these three factors were greater when birds and bees worked together. And in the scenario where there was no bird or bee activity, the average yield decreased by almost 25%, valued at approximately USD 1,066 (£812) per hectare.
Dr. Natalia Aristizabal, a PhD candidate at the Gund Institute for the Environment of the UVM and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, stated: “An important reason we measure these contributions is to help protect and conserve the many species we depend on, and that sometimes we take it for granted. Birds, bees and millions of other species sustain our lives and livelihoods, but they face threats such as habitat destruction and climate change.”
Birds that control coffee plant pests in Costa Rica were found to have migrated thousands of miles from Canada and the United States. The team now hopes to study how changing agricultural landscapes affect the ability of birds and bees to provide benefits to coffee production.
The study comes shortly after scientists claimed that a “forgotten” African species of coffee growing at higher temperatures could save the coffee industry. Coffea stenophyllab from Sierra Leone can tolerate higher temperatures than Arabica, the world's most popular coffee, experts say.
But the species also has a superior flavor, with notes of peach, blackcurrant, tangerine, chocolate, caramel and elderflower syrup. According to professional tasters, its taste is a bit like “high-end Arabica”. C. stenophylla, also known as the “highland coffee of Sierra Leone”, is a rare and threatened species that was rediscovered in the wild in the West African country in 2018. After the successful round of professional tastings, scientists hope that it will soon be grown commercially to “prepare the future” of the drink against climate change.
KEEP READING: