Positive forest cover effects on coffee yields are consistent across regions

1. Enhancing biodiversity-based ecosystem services can generate win-win opportunities for conservation and agricultural production. Pollination and pest control are two essential agricultural services provided by mobile organisms, many depending on native vegetation networks beyond the farm scale. Many studies have evaluated the effects of landscape changes on such services at small scales. However, several landscape management policies (e.g., selection of conservation sites) and associated funding allocation occur at much larger spatial scales (e.g., state or regional level). Therefore, it is essential to understand whether the links between landscape, ecosystem services, and crop yields are robust across broad and heterogeneous regional conditions. 2. Here, we used data from 610 Brazilian municipalities within the Atlantic forest region (~50 Mha) and show that forest is a crucial factor affecting coffee yields, regardless of regional variations in soil, climate and management practices. We found forest cover surrounding coffee fields was better at predicting coffee yields than forest cover at the municipality level. Moreover, the positive effect of forest cover on coffee yields was stronger for Coffea canephora, the species with higher pollinator dependence, than for C. arabica. Overall, coffee yields were highest when coffee fields were near to forest fragments, mostly in landscapes with intermediate to high forest cover (> 20%), above the biodiversity extinction threshold. 3. Coffee cover was the most relevant management practice associated with coffee yield prediction. An increase in crop area was associated with a higher yield, but mostly in high forest covers municipalities. Other localized management practices like irrigation, pesticide use, organic manure, and honey-bee density had little importance in predicting coffee yields than landscape structure parameters. Neither the climatic or topographic variables were as relevant as forest cover at predicting coffee yields. 4. Synthesis and application. Our work provides evidence that landscape relationships with ecosystem service provision are consistent across regions with different agricultural practices and environmental conditions. These results provide a way in which landscape management can articulate small landscape management with regional conservation goals. Policies directed towards increasing landscape interspersion of coffee fields with forest remnants favor spillover process, and can thus benefit the provision of biodiversity-based ecosystem services, increasing agricultural productivity. Such interventions can generate win-win situations favoring biodiversity conservation and increased crop yields across large regions.

1. 强化基于生物多样性的生态系统服务（biodiversity-based ecosystem services），可为生物多样性保护与农业生产创造双赢契机。传粉服务（pollination）与害虫防控（pest control）是移动生物提供的两项核心农业服务，其中多数服务依赖超出农田尺度的本土植被网络。当前诸多研究已在小尺度层面评估了景观（landscape）变化对这类服务的影响。然而，多项景观管理政策（如保护地遴选）及相关资金分配均在更大的空间尺度上开展（例如国家或区域层面）。因此，亟需明确景观、生态系统服务与作物产量（crop yields）之间的关联，在广泛且异质的区域条件下是否依然稳健可靠。
2. 本研究使用大西洋森林区域（约5000万公顷）内610个巴西市镇的数据集，结果表明：无论区域间土壤、气候与管理措施存在何种差异，森林均为影响咖啡产量的关键因子。研究发现，咖啡田周边的森林覆盖率相较于市域尺度的森林覆盖率，更能精准预测咖啡产量。此外，森林覆盖率对咖啡产量的正向影响，在授粉依赖度更高的刚果咖啡（Coffea canephora）上的表现显著强于小粒咖啡（C. arabica）。总体而言，当咖啡田邻近森林片段，且所在景观的森林覆盖率处于中等至较高水平（>20%，即高于生物多样性灭绝阈值）时，咖啡产量可达峰值。
3. 咖啡种植面积是与咖啡产量预测关联度最高的管理措施。种植面积扩张与产量提升呈正相关，但这一关联仅在森林覆盖率较高的市镇中显著。其余本地化管理措施，如灌溉、农药施用、有机肥使用及蜜蜂蜂群密度，相较于景观结构参数（landscape structure parameters），对咖啡产量的预测价值相对有限。气候与地形变量在咖啡产量预测中的重要性，同样不及森林覆盖率。
4. 研究总结与应用。本研究证实，景观与生态系统服务供给之间的关联，在农业实践与环境条件各异的区域中均保持一致。本研究结果为衔接小型景观管理与区域生物多样性保护目标提供了可行路径。旨在提升咖啡田与森林残片景观镶嵌度的政策，可促进生态溢出效应，进而助力基于生物多样性的生态系统服务供给，提升农业生产效率。此类干预措施可在大范围区域内形成双赢局面，同时推动生物多样性保护与作物产量提升。