The coffee forests and their biological diversity

Many naturalists, especially birdwatchers, have studied the benefits of coffee plantations on biological diversity for many years. For example, in 1932, Ludlow Griscom, an important ornithologist, reported in the bulletin for the American Museum of Natural History in New York that Latin American coffee farmers allowed several layers of trees to generate shade, and that bird diversity was almost as abundant in those types of shaded coffee plantations as in natural forests.

Today, it is widely recognized that coffee offers excellent opportunities for biodiversity conservation when it is cultivated under a diverse range of shade trees. Just one mid-size coffee farm in our region, managed in an environmentally friendly manner, can harbor thousands of plant and animal species. Some of these plantations could have approximately 300 plant species, hundreds of fungi species, and an astonishing array of invertebrates, such as insects and spiders. They can also harbor more than 200 vertebrate species, such as amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds.