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Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

An ecosystem service approach to coffee production in a landscape mosaic
Virginie Boreux, ETH Zürich ITES

The mosaic landscape of the Western Ghats in southern India is a unique environment that has been traditionally managed for centuries by local customs. The landscape comprises a mosaic of coffee plantations, which cover more than two thirds of the area, and native forest patches (many of them associated with religious beliefs) that are immensely important as repositories of biodiversity. Coffee productivity in Kodagu, south India, is partially dependent on pollination services derived from adjacent forest patches. However, changes in land use across the landscape, such as agricultural encroachment and alien invasive species, may undermine this service, with potential implications for coffee productivity and the region’s economic viability as a coffee growing region. Building on the work of three years of research, we seek to evaluate the implications of landscape structure on coffee productivity, as mediated though pollination services. In doing this we aim to generate a full ecological account of the value of the landscape that provides services not well understood or recognised. Using this information we will inform farmers and institutions of the interactions among agricultural and forested land enabling them to negotiate improved management and land use strategies for the region. This proposed project is a short continuation of a larger research project began in 2006, and will benefit from the substantial work already completed, at the same time as it will extend the work to new scales.

Kodagu, the region where the study will be carried out, where the main three vegetation types are visible: paddy in the foreground, coffee shaded by forest species in the background, and a patch of low forest in between.

ETH Zürich ITES
Virginie Boreux
Ecosystem Management group
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
http://www.ecology.ethz.ch/
virginie.boreux@env.ethz.ch

Partner institutions:

College of Forestry – University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
Dr. CG Kushalappa
Ponnampet, Kodagu District
India
http://www.uasbangalore.edu.in/asp/forestryPonnampet.asp
kushalcg@gmail.com

French Institute of Pondicherry
Dr Claude Garcia
11, Saint Louis Street
Pondicherry – 605 001
India
http://www.ifpindia.org/-en-.html
claude.garcia@cirad.fr


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		Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires" An ecosystem service approach to coffee production in a landscape mosaic Virginie Boreux, ETH Zürich ITES The mosaic landscape of the Western Ghats in southern India is a unique environment that has been traditionally managed for centuries by local customs. The landscape comprises a mosaic of coffee plantations, which cover more than two thirds of the area, and native forest patches (many of them associated with religious beliefs) that are immensely important as repositories of biodiversity. Coffee productivity in Kodagu, south India, is partially dependent on pollination services derived from adjacent forest patches. However, changes in land use across the landscape, such as agricultural encroachment and alien invasive species, may undermine this service, with potential implications for coffee productivity and the region’s economic viability as a coffee growing region. Building on the work of three years of research, we seek to evaluate the implications of landscape structure on coffee productivity, as mediated though pollination services. In doing this we aim to generate a full ecological account of the value of the landscape that provides services not well understood or recognised. Using this information we will inform farmers and institutions of the interactions among agricultural and forested land enabling them to negotiate improved management and land use strategies for the region. This proposed project is a short continuation of a larger research project began in 2006, and will benefit from the substantial work already completed, at the same time as it will extend the work to new scales. Kodagu, the region where the study will be carried out, where the main three vegetation types are visible: paddy in the foreground, coffee shaded by forest species in the background, and a patch of low forest in between. ETH Zürich ITES Virginie Boreux Ecosystem Management group Universitätstrasse 16 8092 Zürich http://www.ecology.ethz.ch/ virginie.boreux@env.ethz.ch Partner institutions: College of Forestry – University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore Dr. CG Kushalappa Ponnampet, Kodagu District India http://www.uasbangalore.edu.in/asp/forestryPonnampet.asp kushalcg@gmail.com French Institute of Pondicherry Dr Claude Garcia 11, Saint Louis Street Pondicherry – 605 001 India http://www.ifpindia.org/-en-.html claude.garcia@cirad.fr