Abundance and richness of invertebrates in shade‑grown versus sun‑exposed coffee home gardens in Indonesia

• Main Authors: Campera, Marco, Budiadi, Budiadi, Bušina, Tomáš, Fathoni, Baladzuri Hafizh, Dermody, Janine, Nijman, Vincent, Imron, Muhammad Ali, Nekaris, K. A. I.
• Format: Article PeerReviewed
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2022
• Subjects: Forestry Sciences
• Online Access: https://repository.ugm.ac.id/278629/1/Budiadi_KT.pdf; https://repository.ugm.ac.id/278629/; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10457-022-00744-9; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-022-00744-9
• Institution: Universitas Gadjah Mada

Complex agroforestry systems are suggested as a possible solution to reduce the effects of deforestation in the tropics while enhancing the live-lihoods of local human populations. Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of the most important commodity crops in the world that can easily be cultivated in complex agroforestry systems. Coffee agroforestry systems usually sustain higher biodiversity levels than sun-exposed fields while keeping similar levels of productivity considering the several benefits of growing coffee under a complex system. We aim to explore the richness and abundance of invertebrates in coffee home gardens in West Java, Indonesia by comparing 14 sun-exposed and 14 shade-grown gardens. We collected data in March/April 2019 via pitfall traps, pan traps, and beating tray in each field. We ran generalised linear models to assess whether the number of species and the number of individuals of insects differed between sun-exposed vs. shade-grown coffee gardens, and tested associations between main taxa. Overall, there was no difference in the richness (sun-exposed: 19.86 ± SE1.19; shade-grown: 19.71 ± SE1.19; Z-value = 0.12, p value = 0.904) and abundance (sun-exposed: 141.93 ± SE 3.18; shade-grown: 139.93 ± SE3.16; Z-value = 0.35, p value = 0.706) of invertebrates in coffee gardens, although taxa specific differences were present. Sunexposed fields had a higher abundance of invertebrates considered as pests (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae, Ectobiidae; Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Lycidae and Tenebrionidae; Diptera: Anisolabididae, Drosophilidae and Sarcophagidae). Camponotus spp. were the most dominant ants in shade-grown gardens while Dolichoderus spp. and Myrmicaria spp. were more abundant in sun-exposed gardens. Despite the fact that sun-exposed coffee fields registered higher abundance of invertebrate pests than shade-grown coffee fields, the richness of invertebrates did not substantially vary between sun-exposed and shade-grown coffee, suggesting that the matrix of gardens offers advanced ecosystem services. It is important to keep the complexity of agroforestry systems that provide key habitats for biodiversity.