Robusta plantations offer 'substantial' bio diversity benefits: Study

Robusta farms in India's Western Ghats offer "substantial" biodiversity benefits and support higher densities of several sensitive avian populations, a new study has found.
The study done by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison appeared in the journal, Scientific Reports.
Though Arabica avian assemblages were more species rich, Robusta also offered substantial biodiversity benefits, and supported higher densities of several sensitive avian populations, it said.
The researchers led by WCS associate conservation scientist Krithi Karanth surveyed for bird diversity in coffee agro forests in India's Western Ghat region.
Previous research had demonstrated that shade-grown coffee (typically Arabica) can harbour substantial levels of biodiversity.

The study said that coffee production is globally shifting toward Robusta, which uses a more intensive full-sun agricultural system, which may pose deleterious impacts for forest wildlife.

"Although Arabica avian assemblages were more species rich, Robusta nevertheless offered substantial biodiversity benefits, and supported higher densities of several sensitive avian populations such as frugivores. In addition, farmers use less pesticides in the more disease resistant Robusta farmlands," the study said.
The authors found a total of 79 forest dependent species living in the coffee plantations they surveyed, including three IUCN Red-Listed species - Alexandrine Parakeet, Grey-Headed Bulbul and the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon.

The study has important implications as coffee production is a vital driver of landscape transformation. It shifts between different coffee bean species which are a major dimension of agro forestry trends.
"Coffee farms already play a complementary role to protected areas in a country like India where less than four percent of land is formally protected.
"Therefore, building partnerships with largely private individual and corporate land holders will provide much needed safe-passage and additional habitats for birds and other species," Karanth said.
Lead author Charlotte Chang, said that an encouraging result of the study is that coffee production in the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hot spot, can be a win-win for birds and farmers.