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Gomm X, Ayalew B, Hylander K, Zignol F, Börjeson L, Tack AJM. From climate perceptions to actions: A case study on coffee farms in Ethiopia. AMBIO 2024; 53:1002-1014. [PMID: 38402490 PMCID: PMC11101399 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-024-01990-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Increasing temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns have major consequences for smallholder farmers, especially in the Global South. Our study examined spatial patterns and climatic drivers of farmers' perceptions of climate change, and how these perceptions translated into adaptation actions. We interviewed 56 farmers in southwestern Ethiopia and analyzed ERA5-Land reanalysis climate data from 1971 to 2020. The majority of farmers perceived the recorded temperature increase as well as a decrease and shift in the timing of rainfall. Perceived climate change varied with local climate factors and not with the rate of climate change itself. Farmers' adaptation practices showed associations with local temperature, but not with farmers' perceptions of climate change. Our findings highlight that even if farmers perceive climate change, perceptions are most common in areas where climate action is already urgent, and perceptions may not translate into adaptation. Thus, targeted and timely information and extension programs are crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xenia Gomm
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Biruk Ayalew
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Francesco Zignol
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lowe Börjeson
- Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
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Hylander K, Nemomissa S, Fischer J, Zewdie B, Ayalew B, Tack AJM. Lessons from Ethiopian coffee landscapes for global conservation in a post-wild world. Commun Biol 2024; 7:714. [PMID: 38858451 PMCID: PMC11164958 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06381-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The reality for conservation of biodiversity across our planet is that all ecosystems are modified by humans in some way or another. Thus, biodiversity conservation needs to be implemented in multifunctional landscapes. In this paper we use a fascinating coffee-dominated landscape in southwest Ethiopia as our lens to derive general lessons for biodiversity conservation in a post-wild world. Considering a hierarchy of scales from genes to multi-species interactions and social-ecological system contexts, we focus on (i) threats to the genetic diversity of crop wild relatives, (ii) the mechanisms behind trade-offs between biodiversity and agricultural yields, (iii) underexplored species interactions suppressing pest and disease levels, (iv) how the interactions of climate change and land-use change sometimes provide opportunities for restoration, and finally, (v) how to work closely with stakeholders to identify scenarios for sustainable development. The story on how the ecology and evolution of coffee within its indigenous distribution shape biodiversity conservation from genes to social-ecological systems can inspire us to view other landscapes with fresh eyes. The ubiquitous presence of human-nature interactions demands proactive, creative solutions to foster biodiversity conservation not only in remote protected areas but across entire landscapes inhabited by people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Sileshi Nemomissa
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Joern Fischer
- Leuphana University, Faculty of Sustainability, Scharnhorststrasse 1, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany
| | - Beyene Zewdie
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Biruk Ayalew
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
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3
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Zewdie B, Bawin Y, Tack AJM, Nemomissa S, Tesfaye K, Janssens SB, Van Glabeke S, Roldán-Ruiz I, Ruttink T, Honnay O, Hylander K. Genetic composition and diversity of Arabica coffee in the crop's center of origin and its impact on four major fungal diseases. Mol Ecol 2022; 32:2484-2503. [PMID: 35377502 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Conventional wisdom states that genetic variation reduces disease levels in plant populations. Nevertheless, crop species have been subject to a gradual loss of genetic variation through selection for specific traits during breeding, thereby increasing their vulnerability to biotic stresses such as pathogens. We explored how genetic variation in Arabica coffee sites in southwestern Ethiopia was related to the incidence of four major fungal diseases. Sixty sites were selected along a gradient of management intensity, ranging from nearly wild to intensively managed coffee stands. We used genotyping-by-sequencing of pooled leaf samples (pool-GBS) derived from 16 individual coffee shrubs in each of the sixty sites to assess the variation in genetic composition (multivariate: reference allele frequency) and genetic diversity (univariate: mean expected heterozygosity) between sites. We found that genetic composition had a clear spatial pattern and that genetic diversity was higher in less managed sites. The incidence of the four fungal diseases was related to the genetic composition of the coffee stands, but in a specific way for each disease. In contrast, genetic diversity was only related to the within-site variation of coffee berry disease, but not to the mean incidence of any of the four diseases across sites. Given that fungal diseases are major challenges of Arabica coffee in its native range, our findings that genetic composition of coffee sites impacted the major fungal diseases may serve as baseline information to study the molecular basis of disease resistance in coffee. Overall, our study illustrates the need to consider both host genetic composition and genetic diversity when investigating the genetic basis for variation in disease levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beyene Zewdie
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yves Bawin
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Plant Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Melle, Belgium.,Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Zwijnaarde, Belgium.,Crop Wild Relatives and Useful Plants, Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sileshi Nemomissa
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Kassahun Tesfaye
- Institute of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Steven B Janssens
- Crop Wild Relatives and Useful Plants, Meise Botanic Garden, Meise, Belgium.,Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Sabine Van Glabeke
- Plant Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Melle, Belgium
| | - Isabel Roldán-Ruiz
- Plant Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Melle, Belgium.,Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Zwijnaarde, Belgium
| | - Tom Ruttink
- Plant Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Melle, Belgium
| | - Olivier Honnay
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Leuven Plant Institute, Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
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Burger H, Hylander K, Ayalew B, van Dam N, Mendesil E, Schedl A, Shimales T, Zewdie B, Tack A. Bottom-up and top-down drivers of herbivory on Arabica coffee along an environmental and management gradient. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2021.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Zewdie B, Tack AJM, Ayalew B, Wondafrash M, Nemomissa S, Hylander K. Plant biodiversity declines with increasing coffee yield in Ethiopia’s coffee agroforests. J Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Beyene Zewdie
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Svante Arrhenius väg 20A Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ayco J. M. Tack
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Svante Arrhenius väg 20A Stockholm Sweden
| | - Biruk Ayalew
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Svante Arrhenius väg 20A Stockholm Sweden
| | - Melaku Wondafrash
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management Addis Ababa University College of Natural and Computational Sciences PO Box 3434 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
| | - Sileshi Nemomissa
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management Addis Ababa University College of Natural and Computational Sciences PO Box 3434 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Svante Arrhenius väg 20A Stockholm Sweden
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Stüber M, Tack AJM, Zewdie B, Mendesil E, Shimales T, Ayalew B, Nemomissa S, Sjögren J, Vesterinen E, Wezel A, Hylander K. Multi-scale mosaics in top-down pest control by ants from natural coffee forests to plantations. Ecology 2021; 102:e03376. [PMID: 33937985 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
While top-down control plays an important role in shaping both natural and agricultural food webs, we lack insights into how top-down control effects vary across spatial scales. We used a multi-scale survey of top-down control of coffee pests and diseases by arboreal ants to examine if colony location creates a small-scale mosaic in top-down control around trees and if the strength of that control varies between sites at the landscape scale. We investigated pest and disease levels on coffee shrubs at different distances from shade trees with and without a Crematogaster spp. ant colony in 59 sites along a coffee management intensity gradient in southwestern Ethiopia. Within sites, ants significantly suppressed herbivory and coffee leaf rust at distances less than 10 m from nesting trees. Top-down control varied between sites, with stronger top-down control of free-feeding herbivory near ant colonies at sites with lower management intensity and stronger top-down control of a skeletonizer at sites with higher canopy cover. We conclude that the strength of top-down control by ants is highly heterogeneous across spatial scales, as a consequence of the biology of the predator at the small scale and herbivore density or changes in herbivore-ant interactions at the landscape scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Stüber
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden.,Agroecology and Environment Research Unit, ISARA-Lyon, Lyon, 69007, France.,Center for Organic Farming, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, 70599, Germany
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Beyene Zewdie
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Esayas Mendesil
- Department of Horticulture & Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, P.O. Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia
| | - Tamiru Shimales
- Jimma Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 192, Jimma, Ethiopia
| | - Biruk Ayalew
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Sileshi Nemomissa
- Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Jörgen Sjögren
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden.,Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå, SE-901 83, Sweden
| | - Eero Vesterinen
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alexander Wezel
- Agroecology and Environment Research Unit, ISARA-Lyon, Lyon, 69007, France
| | - Kristoffer Hylander
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
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