Shade coffee agroforests as native plant sources for restoration

Tropical agroforestry systems such as shade coffee are recognised as
important refuges for biodiversity in human-modified landscapes. In these
systems, many conservation initiatives aiming to sustain biodiversity
against the trend of intensifying agroforestry management focus on
promoting biodiverse tree overstories, but engage less with conservation
opportunities and challenges associated with agroforest
understories. In coffee agroforests with native shade trees,
weeding of natural regeneration constitutes lost conservation
opportunities. We explore the potential for reducing such losses by
rescuing native tree seeds and naturally regenerating seedlings from
coffee agroforests and developing local native plant nurseries, which are
a critical bottleneck for restoration. For this, we draw on floristic
surveys using 42 0.3 ha plots in eight polyculture shade coffee
agroforests and collaborative pilot rescue, nursery development, and
restoration initiatives in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot,
India. Ninety restoration-relevant native tree species (inferred
from species distributions, traits, and practitioner knowledge)
constituted 37% of all trees recorded in coffee agroforests. The species
list included 30 conservation-priority species (endemic to the Western
Ghats and/or classified as threatened or near-threatened by the IUCN),
most of which were not stocked in existing public
nurseries. Experiences from pilot rescue efforts, which collected
over 18,000 seeds and seedlings spanning 56 restoration-relevant species
in 12 months, underscore the importance of efficient rescue planning
focussed on mapping target trees and monitoring phenology, fostering
partnerships with agroforest landowners to enhance rescue opportunities,
and developing nursery infrastructure to house rescued plants and support
local restoration efforts. Synthesis and applications: Shade coffee
agroforests can contribute to conservation beyond their boundaries as
sources of native plants that can help expand and diversify local
nurseries and scale up restoration, while alleviating the need to exploit
remnant natural forests as plant sources for nurseries and restoration.
Harnessing this opportunity requires the development of strategies and
partnerships for integrating native plant sourcing, nursery, and
restoration efforts, backed by policies and initiatives that promote
landscape-level benefits of agroforestry for biodiversity and
conservation.