Optimizing coffee production: Increases floral visitation and beans quality at plantation edges with wild pollinators and natural vegetation

Author(s)

Pereira Machado, Ana Carolina ; Baronio, Gudryan J. ; Soares Novaes, Cinthia ; Ollerton, Jeff ; Wolowski Torres, Marina ; Natalina Silva Lopes, Danubia ; Rech, Andre Rodrigo

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY; v. 61, n. 3, p. 11-pg., 2024-02-01.

Abstract

Animal pollination is important for more than 75% of agricultural crops, including coffee, whose productivity can increase with adequate pollination. Bees, including many solitary species, are diverse pollinators, with around 85% of them considered more effective than honeybees in pollen transfer. We assessed the coffee plantation and its surrounding vegetation for solitary bee nesting throughout the coffee flowering season and measured their impact on coffee productivity. We installed collection stations with trap nests inside a coffee plantation, on the border and inside the native vegetation in a farm in Diamantina, MG, Brazil. We used 10 weekly monitored replicates at least 1 km apart. We evaluated fruiting by autogamy in relation to natural pollination and used the increase in fruit set from pollinators to calculate the farmer's monetary gain. We recorded bee visits to the exposed flowers during coffee flowering considering both on the edge and inside the coffee plantation. Ripe fruits were dried, counted and weighed. We discovered 132 solitary bee nests outside the plantation, with 54% containing coffee pollen grains, indicating coffee as an essential resource for bees even outside the crop area. More bee visits occurred at the coffee plantation's edge, resulting in increased fruit production, denser fruits, and rounder fruits in that area. Bagged flowers produced consistent seeds in all locations. The farmer could earn an extra US$1736.37 per hectare if the entire area received the same level of pollination contribution from bees as observed at the coffee border. Synthesis and applications. Our study emphasises the key role of pollinators in coffee production and their impact on fruit and seed characteristics. Bee visits were more frequent on border areas, emphasising their reliance on natural nesting sites. Bee-mediated pollination positively affected fruit traits and self-pollinated fruits in plantation borders had reduced mass. Solitary bee nesting was primarily observed in native vegetation, underlining its importance for bee populations. Pollen composition in nests varied with proximity to coffee plantations, indicating landscape vegetation influences pollinator foraging. These findings support optimising coffee plantation design by preserving native vegetation to increase coffee yields and conserve biodiversity. A polinizacao animal e importante para mais de 75% dos cultivos agricolas, incluindo o cafe, cuja produtividade pode aumentar com a polinizacao adequada. As abelhas sao um grupo muito diverso de polinizadores, dos quais cerca de 85% sao especies solitarias recorrentemente destacadas como mais eficazes que as abelhas meliferas na transferencia de polen nos cultivos. Aqui avaliamos a adequabilidade de uma plantacao de cafe e seu entorno para a colonizacao de nidificacao de abelhas solitarias antes, durante e apos a floracao do cafe. Tambem medimos a participacao efetiva das abelhas na produtividade do cafe. Instalamos estacoes de coleta com ninhos armadilha no interior do cafezal, na borda e no interior da vegetacao nativa em uma fazenda em Diamantina, em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Utilizamos 10 repeticoes a pelo menos 1 km de distancia, as quais monitoradas semanalmente. Alem disso, avaliamos a frutificacao por autogamia (exclusao de polinizadores) em relacao a polinizacao natural (flores expostas) e utilizamos o aumento na producao de frutos dos polinizadores para calcular o ganho monetario do agricultor. Durante a floracao do cafe, todas as visitas realizadas pelas abelhas as flores expostas, tanto na borda quanto no interior do cafezal, foram observadas e contadas. Os frutos maduros foram secos, contados, pesados, medidos e tiveram sua densidade calculada. Um total de 132 ninhos de abelhas solitarias foram encontrados fora da plantacao de cafe, dos quais 54% continham graos de polen de cafe, revelando que o cafe e um recurso importante para essas abelhas, embora suas colonias estejam localizadas fora da area de plantacao. Foram observadas mais visitas de abelhas na borda do cafezal do que em seu interior, o que levou a uma maior frutificacao e frutos mais densos e redondos nesta parte do cafezal. Flores ensacadas produziram sementes semelhantes em todos os locais. O agricultor ganhara um adicional de US$1.736,37 por hectare se toda a area receber a mesma contribuicao de polinizacao das abelhas que ocorre na borda do cafezal. Sintese e aplicacoes. Nosso estudo destaca o papel vital dos polinizadores na producao de cafe e seu impacto nas caracteristicas dos frutos e sementes. As visitas de abelhas foram significativamente mais frequentes nas areas de borda, destacando a sua dependencia de areas naturais para a nidificacao. A polinizacao mediada por abelhas afetou positivamente a massa, redondeza e densidade dos frutos, com frutos autopolinizados nas bordas do cafezal apresentando massa reduzida. A nidificacao de abelhas solitarias foi observada principalmente na vegetacao nativa, ressaltando sua importancia no apoio as populacoes de abelhas. A composicao polinica nos ninhos variou com a proximidade das plantacoes de cafe, indicando que a estrutura da vegetacao da paisagem influencia o forrageamento dos polinizadores. Estas conclusoes defendem uma abordagem para otimizar o desenho das plantacoes de cafe, preservando a vegetacao nativa e criando habitats favoraveis aos polinizadores, especialmente em zonas fronteiricas, para aumentar a produtividade do cafe e, ao mesmo tempo, promover a conservacao da biodiversidade. Our study emphasises the key role of pollinators in coffee production and their impact on fruit and seed characteristics. Bee visits were more frequent in border areas, emphasising their reliance on natural nesting sites. Bee-mediated pollination positively affected fruit traits and self-pollinated fruits in plantation borders had reduced mass. Solitary bee nesting was primarily observed in native vegetation, underlining its importance for bee populations. Pollen composition in nests varied with proximity to coffee plantations, indicating landscape vegetation influences pollinator foraging. These findings support optimising coffee plantation design by preserving native vegetation to increase coffee yields and conserve biodiversity.image (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 23/04378-0 - Plant reproductive success and its responses to the fire: the role of pollen deposition
• Grantee: Gudryan Jackson Barônio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 21/09247-5 - How fire management affects the interactions among plants, pollinators, and ants in the rupestrian field?
• Grantee: Gudryan Jackson Barônio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral