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Although there is growing recognition that extreme weather events pose significant challenges to Central American agriculture, little is known about what factors influence farmers’ implementation of adaptation practices. Such information is critical for the formulation of climate change policies. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 446 maize and bean farmers in Guatemala and Honduras in order to (1) describe their perceptions toward exposure and sensitivity to droughts, hurricanes, floods, and torrential rains; (2) identify factors related to the use of adaptation measures following these events; and (3) describe the perceived effectiveness of the adaptations in reducing farmers’ vulnerability to extreme weather events. Only 19.3% of farmers had implemented adaptation measures in response to extreme weather events and, of these, 22% perceived that the adaptations were not effective at reducing their vulnerability. Factors that were positively related to the implementation of adaptation measures included perceptions of repeated exposure and increased frequency of extreme weather events, land ownership, access to training, aid received, and additional incomes (e.g., coffee production). Farmers need site-specific knowledge about which agricultural practices are effective at reducing their vulnerability to extreme weather events, as well as access to training, technical support, and aid after such events happen.

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of a strategy to help people adapt to climate change. Despite the potential of EbA to provide adaptation benefits, there is a lack of consensus on how to measure the success of this approach. This paper reviews the intended adaptation outcomes and indicators used by ongoing and completed EbA projects and addresses the following questions: (a) where have EbA projects been implemented? (b) what activities have been conducted by EbA projects? (c) what adaptation outcomes are EbA projects seeking to achieve? (d) how have the impacts of EbA projects been measured and evaluated? and (e) what is the set of indicators that can capture the diversity of adaptation outcomes achieved by EbA? To identify the adaptation outcomes provided by EbA and the indicators that could be used to measure such outcomes, we reviewed 58 EbA projects implemented globally, and obtained recommendations from experts on what indicators should be measured. We identified 13 adaptation outcomes that could be achieved through EbA, such as reducing the loss of assets of coastal communities due to extreme events. We identified seven indicators to monitor the success of EbA in achieving adaptation outcomes. Our review suggests that there is a strong need to better articulate the adaptation outcomes that EbA projects seek to achieve, to use a common set of specific indicators to track these outcomes, and to fund the monitoring of long-term EbA projects.

In the face of major shifts in temperature and precipitation, some conventional strategies that help people to cope or incrementally adapt to climate change may become inappropriate in the long-term. Transformative adaptation, i.e. fundamental systems’ changes that address root causes of vulnerability may be needed. However, we have a limited understanding of what transformative adaptation looks like in social-ecological systems and when it can be implemented. We applied an interdisciplinary perspective to describing social-ecological shifts driven by climate change. We reviewed 80 recent conceptual publications about responses of social, ecological, and social-ecological systems to climate change. Our review suggests that transformative adaptation is characterized as being restructuring, path-shifting, innovative, multiscale, systemwide, and persistent. Despite several barriers to implement transformative adaptation, policy makers and practitioners should consider this option in adaptation plans to help societies to anticipate, guide, or recover from radical climate change impact. Using transformative adaptation to navigate shifts driven by climate change can increase the efficiency and sustainability of climate solutions.

Resumen Introducción. El cambio climático afectará la distribución, productividad y rentabilidad del cultivo de café en América Central, perjudicando las economías nacionales y los medios de vida de los pequeños productores. Es necesario entender cómo el cambio climático está afectando a los pequeños caficultores en la región para promover medidas que permitan enfrentar estos cambios y adaptarse a ellos. Objetivo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue describir los sistemas cafetaleros costarricenses de pequeña escala en dos zonas productivas y explorar los esfuerzos de adaptación al cambio climático que realizan los productores. Materiales y métodos. Entre marzo y mayo de 2014, se realizaron encuestas estructuradas en hogares cafetaleros de dos paisajes vulnerables al cambio climático: Turrialba y Los Santos. El estudio se centró en las percepciones de los productores sobre los cambios en temperatura y lluvia, los impactos reportados como consecuencia de dichos cambios y las acciones de adaptación implementadas en las fincas. Resultados. Los resultados indicaron que el 98 % de los productores percibió cambios en el clima, gran parte de ellos los asociaron con impactos sobre su producción de café, y el 60 % de los encuestados realizó cambios en el manejo de sus cafetales para reducir los efectos del cambio climático. Las prácticas de adaptación más frecuentes fueron sembrar árboles e incrementar el uso de agroquímicos, en mayor medida en respuesta al incremento de temperatura. Conclusión. Este estudio destaca la necesidad de incrementar el apoyo técnico, financiero y político orientado a fomentar y diversificar la implementación de prácticas de adaptación entre pequeños caficultores e incrementar su resiliencia ante el cambio climático. Abstract Introduction. Climate change will affect the distribution, productivity and profitability of coffee production in Central America, negatively impacting national economies and small farmer livelihoods. There is a need to understand how climate change affects small coffee farmers in the region in order to promote measures that allow them to cope with and adapt to these changes. Objective. The objective of this study was to describe Costa Rican small-scale coffee systems in two vulnerable agricultural landscapesand explorethe adaptation efforts that coffee farmers have implemented in these two coffee systems. Materials and methods. Structured surveys were conducted with coffee-producing households in two highly vulnerable landscapes, Turrialba and Los Santos, in Costa Rica, from March-May 2014. The study was based on farmers’ perceptions of changes in temperature and rain, reported impacts of these changes and the adaptation actions implemented at farm level. Results. Ninety-eight percentof farmers perceived changes in local climate and most of them related these changes with impacts on production (increase in pests and diseases, floweringproblems and other reported impacts). Sixty percentof the surveyed farmers had modified the management of their farms in order to reduce climate change impacts. The most common adaptation measures used by farmers were the planting of trees and the increased use of agrochemical inputs, mostly in response to perceptions of increasing temperatures. Conclusion. This study highlights the need for greater technical, financial and policy support to help smallholder coffee farmers implement adaptation practices and become more resilient to climate change.

Resumen Introducción. Se espera que, a consecuencia del cambio climático, cultivos como el café (Coffea arabica L.), maíz (Zea mays) y frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) sean menos productivos en América Central. Esto perjudicará la economía regional y los medios de vida de los pequeños productores, quienes dependen de estos cultivos para su seguridad alimentaria y bienestar. Es necesario entender cómo el cambio climático está afectando a los pequeños productores agrícolas en Guatemala para promover medidas que permitan enfrentar estos cambios. Objetivo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar dos sistemas agrícolas de pequeña escala guatemaltecos, documentar cómo los pequeños productores perciben los impactos del cambio climático e identificar los esfuerzos de adaptación realizados. Materiales y métodos. Se realizaron encuestas estructuradas en hogares productores de café o granos básicos en los paisajes de Acatenango y Chiquimula, vulnerables al cambio climático, entre junio y julio de 2014. La investigación recogió las percepciones de los productores sobre cambios en temperatura y lluvia, los impactos reportados como consecuencia de dichos cambios y las acciones implementadas en las fincas a modo de respuesta. Resultados. Los resultados indicaron que el 95 % de los encuestados percibió cambios en el clima en la última década y el 81 % consideró que estos cambios afectaron negativamente su producción. El 41 % de los productores implementaron prácticas para adaptarse a los cambios percibidos, en mayor medida aquellos que producen café. Las prácticas de adaptación implementadas en las fincas difirieron entre paisajes, cultivos y cambio percibido, siendo la más utilizada la siembra de árboles para amortiguar los efectos del incremento de temperatura. Conclusión. Para lograr una mayor respuesta adaptativa de los pequeños productores y para promover el uso de prácticas que incrementen su resiliencia, es necesario incrementar el apoyo técnico, financiero y político orientado a facilitar la adaptación de los pequeños productores ante el cambio climático. Abstract Introduction. The productivity of certain crops such as coffee (Coffea arabica L.), maize (Zea mays) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is expected to decline in Central America because of climate change. This will impact regional economies and livelihoods of smallholder farmers relying on these crops for their food security and livelihoods. There is a need to understand how climate change is already impacting smallholder farmers in Guatemala in order to promote adaptation measures that will allow them to face these impacts. Objective. The objectives of this study were to characterize two Guatemalan small-scale agricultural systems, describe farmers’ perceptions of climate change and impacts, and document their adaptation efforts. Materials and methods. Structured surveys were carried out in households growing coffee or basic grains in Acatenango and Chiquimula landscapes, two climate change vulnerable landscapes, between June and July 2014. The research was based on farmers’ perceptions of changes in temperature and rainfall, the impacts related to these changes, and the adaptation actions implemented in response to perceived changes. Results. Results indicated that 95% of farmers perceived changes in climate, and 81% of them considered these changes to have negatively affected their production. Only 41% of farmers had implemented measures to adapt to these changes, mainly those farmers growing coffee. The implemented adaptation measures differed between landscapes , crops, and usefulness against perceived change with tree planting being the most common adaptation practice to buffer against temperature increases. Conclusion. In order to improve the adaptive response ofsmallholder farmers and to promote the use of practices that increase resilience, it is neecessaryto provide more technical, financial and political support to facilitate the adaptation of small farmers facing climate change.

In Latin America, the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) plays a critical role in rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Over the last 20 years, coffee farms and landscapes across the region have undergone rapid and profound biophysical changes in response to low coffee prices, changing climatic conditions, severe plant pathogen outbreaks, and other drivers. Although these biophysical transformations are pervasive and affect millions of rural livelihoods, there is limited information on the types, location, and extent of landscape changes and their socioeconomic and ecological consequences. Here we review the state of knowledge on the ongoing biophysical changes in coffee-growing regions, explore the potential socioeconomic and ecological impacts of these changes, and highlight key research gaps. We identify seven major land-use trends which are affecting the sustainability of coffee-growing regions across Latin America in different ways. These trends include (1) the widespread shift to disease-resistant cultivars, (2) the conventional intensification of coffee management with greater planting densities, greater use of agrochemicals and less shade, (3) the conversion of coffee to other agricultural land uses, (4) the introduction of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) into areas not previously cultivated with coffee, (5) the expansion of coffee into forested areas, (6) the urbanization of coffee landscapes, and (7) the increase in the area of coffee produced under voluntary sustainability standards. Our review highlights the incomplete and scattered information on the drivers, patterns, and outcomes of biophysical changes in coffee landscapes, and lays out a detailed research agenda to address these research gaps and elucidate the effects of different landscape trajectories on rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and other aspects of sustainable development. A better understanding of the drivers, patterns, and consequences of changes in coffee landscapes is vital for informing the design of policies, programs, and incentives for sustainable coffee production. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-021-00712-0.

To ensure food security among rural communities under a changing climate, policymakers need information on the prevalence and determinants of food insecurity, the role of extreme weather events in exacerbating food insecurity, and the strategies that farmers use to cope with food insecurity. Using household surveys in Guatemala and Honduras, we explore the prevalence of food insecurity among smallholder farmers on both a recurrent (seasonal) and episodic (resulting from extreme weather events) basis, analyze the factors associated with both types of food insecurity, and document farmer coping strategies. Of the 439 households surveyed, 56% experienced recurrent food insecurity, 36% experienced episodic food insecurity due to extreme weather events, and 24% experienced both types. Food insecurity among smallholder farmers was correlated with sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, education, migration) and asset ownership. The factors affecting food insecurity differed between type and prevalence of food insecurity. Our results highlight the urgent need for policies and programs to help smallholder farmers improve their overall food security and resilience to extreme weather shocks. Such policies should focus on enhancing farmer education levels, securing land tenure, empowering women, promoting generational knowledge exchange, and providing emergency food support in the lean season or following extreme weather events.

Sustainability agendas increasingly recognize that attaining conservation and development outcomes demands greater integration across sectors. Integrated landscape initiatives (ILIs) are a leading approach to reconciling multiple objectives. However, a characterization of the diversity of approaches under the ILI umbrella and the comparative performance of different types of approach is lacking. Here, we analyze questionnaire data obtained from project proponents to delimit four particular types of ILI: one type was dominated by agricultural interventions and another by conservation interventions, and these partially integrated ILIs engage local scales of governance; the remaining two types exhibit strong integration, with aims and actions across multiple sectors and scales of governance. We show that integrated projects were deemed to be more successful by project proponents. The typology offers the practitioner and research community an explicit set of strategies for selection, evaluation, and support and attests to the need for integration to achieve sustainable outcomes.

SummaryDecision-makers need readily accessible tools to understand the potential impacts of alternative policies on forest cover and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to develop effective policies to meet national and international targets for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and climate change mitigation. Land change modelling can support policy decisions by demonstrating potential impacts of policies on future deforestation and GHG emissions. We modelled land change to explore the potential impacts of expert-informed scenarios on deforestation and GHG emissions, specifically CO2 emissions, in the Ankeniheny–Zahamena Corridor in eastern Madagascar. We considered four scenarios: business as usual; effective conservation of protected areas; investment in infrastructure; and agricultural intensification. Our results highlight that effective forest conservation could deliver substantial emissions reductions, while infrastructure development will likely cause forest loss in new areas. Agricultural intensification could prevent additional forest loss if it reduced the need to clear more land while improving food security. Our study demonstrates how available land change modelling tools and scenario analyses can inform land-use policies, helping countries reconcile economic development with forest conservation and climate change mitigation commitments.

Small-scale livelihood projects are widely used in forest conservation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)+ initiatives; however, there is limited information on how effective these projects are at delivering livelihood and conservation benefits. We explored local perceptions of the effectiveness of small-scale livelihood projects in delivering livelihood and conservation benefits in eastern Madagascar. Our results suggest that small-scale livelihood projects vary greatly in their ability to deliver livelihood benefits, and that the type of livelihood project (e.g., agriculture, beekeeping, fish farming, or livestock production) has a significant impact on which livelihood benefits are delivered. Many small-scale livelihood projects, regardless of project type, are perceived to contribute to forest conservation efforts. Our study highlights that small-scale livelihood projects have the potential to contribute to both improved livelihoods and enhanced forest conservation, but also illustrates the need for more information on the factors that lead to project success.

SUMMARYProviding benefits to local people from forest conservation programmes is an important issue for policy makers. Livelihood projects are a common way to provide benefits, but there is little information about their costs. We analysed 463 livelihood projects in the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) pilot project in Madagascar to understand how different approaches to delivering livelihood projects affect costs. We compared costs across four approaches: conservation agreements, small grants, direct implementation and application of social safeguards. The approach impacted overall costs and the proportion of funds reaching communities. Projects implemented as safeguards were most expensive and had the lowest proportion of expenditures reaching the community. Projects provided as part of conservation agreements directed the highest proportion of expenditures to communities. Our results highlight that how livelihood projects are delivered has implications for project costs and community benefits and should be an important consideration in the design and implementation of REDD+ and forest conservation policies.

Climate change will cause geographic range shifts for pollinators and major crops, with global implications for food security and rural livelihoods. However, little is known about the potential for coupled impacts of climate change on pollinators and crops. Coffee production exemplifies this issue, because large losses in areas suitable for coffee production have been projected due to climate change and because coffee production is dependent on bee pollination. We modeled the potential distributions of coffee and coffee pollinators under current and future climates in Latin America to understand whether future coffee-suitable areas will also be suitable for pollinators. Our results suggest that coffee-suitable areas will be reduced 73-88% by 2050 across warming scenarios, a decline 46-76% greater than estimated by global assessments. Mean bee richness will decline 8-18% within future coffee-suitable areas, but all are predicted to contain at least 5 bee species, and 46-59% of future coffee-suitable areas will contain 10 or more species. In our models, coffee suitability and bee richness each increase (i.e., positive coupling) in 10-22% of future coffee-suitable areas. Diminished coffee suitability and bee richness (i.e., negative coupling), however, occur in 34-51% of other areas. Finally, in 31-33% of the future coffee distribution areas, bee richness decreases and coffee suitability increases. Assessing coupled effects of climate change on crop suitability and pollination can help target appropriate management practices, including forest conservation, shade adjustment, crop rotation, or status quo, in different regions.

International audience; Agroforestry systems provide diverse ecosystem services that contribute to farmer livelihoods and the conservation of natural resources. Despite these known benefits, there is still limited understanding on how shade trees affect the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time and the potential trade-offs or synergies among them. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified four major ecosystem services (regulation of pests and diseases; provisioning of agroforestry products; maintenance of soil fertility; and carbon sequestration) in 69 coffee agroecosystems belonging to smallholder farmers under a range of altitudes (as representative of environmental conditions) and management conditions, in the region of Turrialba, Costa Rica. We first analyzed the individual effects of altitude, types of shade and management intensity and their interactions on the provision of ecosystem services. In order to identify potential trade-offs and synergies, we then analyzed bivariate relationships between different ecosystem services, and between individual ecosystem services and plant biodiversity. We also explored which types of shade provided better levels of ecosystem services. The effectiveness of different types of shade in providing ecosystem services depended on their interactions with altitude and coffee management, with different ecosystem services responding differently to these factors. No trade-offs were found among the different ecosystem services studied or between ecosystem services and biodiversity, suggesting that it is possible to increase the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time. Overall, both low and highly diversified coffee agroforestry systems had better ability to provide ecosystem services than coffee monocultures in full sun. Based on our findings, we suggest that coffee agroforestry systems should be designed with diversified, productive shade canopies and managed with a medium intensity of cropping practices, with the aim of ensuring the continued provision of multiple ecosystem services.

Despite the Amazon’s natural wealth, food insecurity is a major concern among indigenous communities. Yet, little is known about the socio-ecological dynamics shaping the contributions of local ecosystems to food security. In this study we examine how ecological features interact with normative structures, lifestyles, and livelihoods to expose indigenous peoples to food shortages and how they attempt to cope with worsening food insecurity conditions through participatory exercises with ten indigenous communities along the Caqueta River, Colombia. Our results indicate that traditional food systems are sensitive to human and natural capital disruptions. However, severe food insecurity is prevented by the combination of a well-preserved environment and traditional social institutions, which facilitates widespread access to wild foods, farmland, environmental knowledge, supportive relations, and labour. Nevertheless, traditional adaptations appear insufficient when food insecurity results from health shocks. Our findings highlight the need for interventions that pursue conservation objectives whilst promoting social structures supporting resilience.

Although it has been hypothesized that men and women vary in the way they value ecosystem services, research on ecosystem services rarely incorporates a gender dimension. We conducted research with nine indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon to understand which ecosystem services men and women perceive as most important for their wellbeing and to rank them according to locally-defined criteria of importance. Participants identified a total of 26 ecosystem services and 20 different ranking criteria. Ecosystem services such as land for agricultural fields (a supporting service), and provision of fish and medicinal plants were equally important for both men and women. Wild fruits and resources to make handicrafts were more frequently mentioned by women, whereas timber, materials for making tools and coca leaves were more frequently mentioned by men. There were also differences in the criteria used to value ecosystem services, with 11 criteria mentioned by both men and women, five mentioned exclusively by women and another four only by men. Our results suggest that taking gender differences into account in ecosystem services assessments may result in the prioritization of different services in conservation and sustainable development programs, and may lead to different outcomes for ecosystem service provision and local livelihoods.

Despite global recognition of the social, economic and ecological impacts of deforestation, the world is losing forests at an alarming rate. Global and regional efforts by policymakers and donors to reduce deforestation need science-driven information on where forest loss is happening, and where it may happen in the future. We used spatially-explicit globally-consistent variables and global historical tree cover and loss to analyze how global- and regional-scale variables contributed to historical tree cover loss and to model future risks of tree cover loss, based on a business-as-usual scenario. Our results show that (1) some biomes have higher risk of tree cover loss than others, (2) variables related to tree cover loss at the global scale differ from those at the regional scale, and (3) variables related to tree cover loss vary by continent. By mapping both tree cover loss risk and potential future tree cover loss, we aim to provide decision makers and donors with multiple outputs to improve targeting of forest conservation investments. By making the outputs readily accessible, we anticipate they will be used in other modeling analyses, conservation planning exercises, and prioritization activities aimed at conserving forests to meet national and global climate mitigation targets and biodiversity goals.

The impacts of climate change exacerbate the myriad challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the Tropics. In many of these same regions, there is a lack of current, consistent, and spatially-explicit data, which severely limits the ability to locate smallholder communities, map their adaptive capacity, and target adaptation measures to these communities. To explore the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers in three data-poor countries in Central America, we leveraged expert input through in-depth mapping interviews to locate agricultural landscapes, identify smallholder farming systems within them, and characterize different components of farmer adaptive capacity. We also used this input to generate an index of adaptive capacity that allows for comparison across countries and farming systems. Here, we present an overview of the expert method used, followed by an examination of our results, including the intercountry variation in expert knowledge and the characterization of adaptive capacity for both subsistence and smallholder coffee farmers. While this approach does not replace the need to collect regular and consistent data on farming systems (e.g. agricultural census), our study demonstrates a rapid assessment approach for using expert input to fill key data gaps, enable trans-boundary comparisons, and to facilitate the identification of the most vulnerable smallholder communities for adaptation planning in data-poor environments that are typical of tropical regions. One potential benefit from incorporating this approach is that it facilitates the systematic consideration of field-based and regional experience into assessments of adaptive capacity, contributing to the relevance and utility of adaptation plans.

In many tropical countries, smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to cyclones and experience significant crop losses, food insecurity and income loss when cyclones hit. Madagascar has one of the highest rates of cyclones globally and a population comprised primarily of smallholder farmers, yet there is little information on how Malagasy smallholder farmers prepare for and cope with the cyclones. We conducted interviews with 200 Malagasy smallholder farmers following the impacts of cyclone Giovanna (a category 4 cyclone that struck in February 2012) to understand how farmers prepared for the cyclone, how the cyclone impacted their livelihoods and what strategies farmers used to deal with these impacts. Most farmers prepared for the cyclone by storing clean water; some also secured their buildings and stored food and seeds. Cyclone Giovanna caused substantial damage to crops, stored grains and houses, and significantly reduced farmer food security. Farmers coped with the cyclone by replanting crop fields, rebuilding homes with local materials, reducing consumption of staple foods, harvesting wild foods and finding temporary work to buy food. Informal social networks were critical for providing food and rebuilding houses. There is an urgent need for governments, donors, and development organizations to reduce the vulnerability of Malagasy smallholder farmers to cyclones by improving early warning systems, increasing farmer preparedness for cyclones, creating formal safety nets to help farmers access food and essential supplies following cyclones, and promoting the use of adaptation measures to enhance the resiliency of smallholder farmers to future climate shocks.

Despite the growing interest in Ecosystem-based Adaptation, there has been little discussion of how this approach could be used to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, while ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services on which farming depends. Here we provide a framework for identifying which agricultural practices could be considered ‘Ecosystem-based Adaptation’ practices, and highlight the opportunities and constraints for using these practices to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. We argue that these practices are (a) based on the conservation, restoration or management of biodiversity, ecosystem processes or services, and (b) improve the ability of crops and livestock to maintain crop yields under climate change and/or by buffering biophysical impacts of extreme weather events or increased temperatures. To be appropriate for smallholder farmers, these practices must also help increase their food security, increase or diversify their sources of income generation, take advantage of local or traditional knowledge, be based on local inputs, and have low implementation and labor costs. To illustrate the application of this definition, we provide some examples from smallholders’ coffee management practices in Mesoamerica. We also highlight three key obstacles that currently constrain the use of Ecosystem-based Adaptation practices (i) the need for greater understanding of their effectiveness and the factors that drive their adoption, (ii) the development supportive and integrated agriculture and climate change policies that specifically promote them as part of a broader agricultural adaptation program; and (iii) the establishment and maintaining strong and innovative extension programs for smallholder farmers. Our framework is an important starting point for identifying which Ecosystem-based Adaptation practices are appropriate for smallholder farmers and merit attention in international and national adaptation efforts.

International audience; Crop losses caused by pests and diseases decrease the incomes and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of families worldwide. A good example of the magnitude of these impacts are the massive crop losses experienced by coffee farmers in Central America due to coffee leaf rust. Coffee farmers need agroecosystems that are capable of regulating the negative impacts of pests and diseases while providing other ecosystem services on which their households and society depend. In this study, we aimed to identify the most promising coffee agroforestry systems for regulating diseases and ensuring the provision of other ecosystem services. During two years, in a research network of 61 coffee plots under a wide variety of shade and management conditions in Turrialba, Costa Rica, we quantified primary and secondary coffee losses (yield and economic losses) and indicators of three other ecosystem services: provisioning of agroforestry products (bananas, plantains, other fruits, and timber), maintenance of soil fertility and carbon sequestration. We then performed an analysis of the relationships between losses and ecosystem service indicators. Based on the results of relationships and on three criteria, we identified the coffee agroforestry systems that had the lowest losses due to diseases and that provided desirable levels of agroforestry products, soil fertility and carbon sequestration. We found multiple significant relationships between losses and ecosystem services (including both tradeoffs and synergies) which allowed us to derive recommendations for better management strategies to reduce yield losses. We identified six coffee agroforestry systems (CAFs) as the most promising ones for reducing losses while simultaneously providing other ecosystem services. One of these CAFs was a simple agroforestry system (dominated by service trees), three were medium diversified CAFs and two were highly diversified CAFs (systems including service trees, timber trees, fruit trees and musaceas). The six CAFS differed in their cropping practices and farmer profitability objectives. The six CAFs offer several options for the design of new coffee plantations or for the transformation of existing plantations. Several of this promising CAFs use little fungicides, which is an indicator that the reduction of chemical inputs could be possible. Our results suggest that the regulation of diseases and associated losses in agroforestry systems should be based on, and take advantage of, the positive effects of plant biodiversity, adequate shade cover, good soil fertility, and minimal use of fungicides.

Resumen En Centroamérica, el maíz y el frijol son usualmente cultivados por agricultores que tienen pequeñas áreas de tierra y viven en situación de vulnerabilidad. El cambio climático representa una importante amenaza para estos pequeños agricultores de granos básicos, poniendo en peligro sus sistemas de producción y medios de vida. El uso de Adaptación basada en Ecosistemas (AbE) puede ayudarlos a enfrentar el cambio climático, pero existe poca información sobre el tema. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar las estrategias de AbE que los pequeños agricultores de granos básicos de cuatro paisajes de Guatemala y Honduras utilizan para aumentar su resiliencia frente al cambio climático. A través de entrevistas y mediciones en campo en 160 fincas, entre julio 2014 y junio 2015, 1) se exploró qué tan común es el uso de las diferentes prácticas de AbE, 2) se documentaron las características biofísicas de estas prácticas, y 3) se determinó si la implementación y características de las prácticas difieren entre paisajes. Los resultados indican que muchos de los pequeños agricultores de granos básicos usan prácticas de AbE, aun cuando cultivan áreas pequeñas (parcelas de maíz de ~0,68 ha), tienen un bajo nivel de educación y bajo acceso a capacitaciones o consejos técnicos. Las prácticas más comunes fueron el uso de árboles dispersos, huertos caseros y cercas vivas. Resultados de un análisis de ANDEVA indican que hubo diferencias significativas en el uso de diferentes prácticas entre agricultores, que sugiere que las adoptan en respuesta a sus medios de vida y condiciones biofísicas. El estudio sugiere que los pequeños agricultores de granos básicos tienen la experiencia y el conocimiento para utilizar prácticas de AbE, y que ven beneficios derivados de su implementación; sin embargo, para ampliar el uso de estas prácticas, se necesita más apoyo técnico, financiero y político. Abstract In Central America maize and beans are usually cultivated by farmers who have small landholdings and live in vulnerable situations. Climate change is an important threat to these smallholder basic grain farmers, putting at risk their production systems and their livelihoods. The use of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) can help them to adapt to climate change, however there is limited information on the use of EbA. The objective of the present work was to characterize the EbA strategies that smallholder basic grain farmers of four landscapes in Guatemala and Honduras use to increase their resilience to climate change. Using interviews and field measurements in 160 farms, between July 2014 and June 2015, we 1) explored how common the use of different EbA practices is, 2) documented the biophysical characteristics of these practices, and 3) explored if the implementation and characteristics of EbA practices differed among landscapes. Our results indicate that even though they own small land areas (mean maize plot area of ~0.68 ha), have low education levels and low access to technical training and advice, many smallholder basic grain farmers are using EbA practices in their farms. The most common EbA practices were the use of dispersed trees, home gardens and live fences. An ANOVA anlysis indicated significant differences in the use of different EbA practices among farmers, which suggests that farmers adapt practices in response to the social and biophysical conditions where they live. Our study suggests that smallholder basic grain farmers have the experience and the knowledge to use EbA practices and recognize the benefits derived from the implementation of such practices. However, in order to increase use of EbA practices, more technical, financial and political support is needed.

Background Smallholder farmers are one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change, yet efforts to support farmer adaptation are hindered by the lack of information on how they are experiencing and responding to climate change. More information is needed on how different types of smallholder farmers vary in their perceptions and responses to climate change, and how to tailor adaptation programs to different smallholder farmer contexts. We surveyed 860 smallholder coffee and basic grain (maize/bean) farmers across six Central American landscapes to understand farmer perceptions of climate change and the impacts they are experiencing, how they are changing their agricultural systems in response to climate change, and their adaptation needs. Results Almost all (95%) of the surveyed smallholder farmers have observed climate change, and most are already experiencing impacts of rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events on crop yields, pest and disease incidence, income generation and, in some cases, food security. For example, 87% of maize farmers and 66% of coffee farmers reported negative impacts of climate change on crop production, and 32% of all smallholder farmers reported food insecurity following extreme weather events. Of the farmers perceiving changes in climate, 46% indicated that they had changed their farming practices in response to climate change, with the most common adaptation measure being the planting of trees. There was significant heterogeneity among farmers in the severity of climate change impacts, their responses to these impacts, and their adaptation needs. This heterogeneity likely reflects the wide diversity of socioeconomic and biophysical contexts across smallholder farms and landscapes. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that climate change is already having significant adverse impacts on smallholder coffee and basic grain farmers across the Central American region. There is an urgent need for governments, donors and practitioners to ramp up efforts to help smallholder farmers cope with existing climate impacts and build resiliency to future changes. Our results also highlight the importance of tailoring of climate adaptation policies and programs to the diverse socioeconomic conditions, biophysical contexts, and climatic stresses that smallholder farmers face.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) presents an unprecedented opportunity to conserve biodiversity, but whether these biodiversity benefits are delivered will depend on how REDD+ is designed and implemented. In order to inform ongoing policy discussions on REDD+ and biodiversity, we examined how 80 existing REDD+ projects are addressing biodiversity issues, assessing the types of biodiversity benefits these projects aim to provide, the activities they are undertaking to achieve biodiversity goals, their plans for monitoring biodiversity, and the types of biodiversity impacts they are delivering. While all 80 REDD+ projects described biodiversity conservation goals, these goals typically lacked specificity. Furthermore, in 33 of 80 projects, there was a lack of coherence across the stated biodiversity goals, project activities and intended monitoring plans. The lack of specific goals and logical links between these goals, project interventions and monitoring suggests that the projects will have difficulty achieving and measuring biodiversity impacts. Future REDD+ projects and national level REDD+ programs could enhance the biodiversity outcomes by more explicitly articulating biodiversity goals, carefully identifying and addressing threats to biodiversity, tailoring interventions and monitoring plans to specific goals and threats, and more explicitly linking REDD+ activities to national biodiversity conservation efforts.

There is growing interest in promoting the use of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change, however there is limited information on how commonly these practices are used by smallholder farmers and what factors influence their use. Using participatory mapping and field surveys, we examined the prevalence and characteristics of EbA practices on 300 smallholder coffee and maize farmers in six landscapes in Central America and explored the socioeconomic and biophysical factors associated with their use. The prevalence of individual EbA practices varied across smallholder farms. Common EbA practices included live fences, home gardens, shade trees in coffee plantations, and dispersed trees in maize fields. We found a mean of 3.8 EbA practices per farm. Factors that were correlated with the total number of EbA practices on farms included the mean area of coffee plantations, farmer age, farmer experience, the farm type and the landscape in which farms were located. Factors associated with the presence or characteristics of individual EbA practices included the size of coffee plantations, farmer experience, farmer education, land tenure, landscape and farm type. Our analysis suggests that many smallholder farmers in Central America are already using certain EbA practices, but there is still scope for greater implementation. Policy makers, donors and technicians can encourage the broader use of EbA by smallholder farmers by facilitating farmer-to-farmer exchanges to share knowledge on EbA implementation, assessing the effectiveness of EbA practices in delivering adaptation benefits, and tailoring EbA policies and programs for smallholder farmers in different socioeconomic and biophysical contexts.

Forest conservation and REDD+ projects invest millions of dollars each year to reduce local communities’ dependence on forests and prevent forest loss and degradation. However, to date, there is limited evidence on whether these investments are effective at delivering conservation outcomes. We explored the relationships between 600+ small-scale conservation and development investments that occurred from 2007 to 2014 and conservation outcomes (deforestation rates and fire detections) within Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor in Madagascar using linear fixed effects panel regressions. We derived annual changes in forest cover and fires from satellite remote sensing. We found a statistically significant correlation between presence of any investment and reduced deforestation rates in 2010 and 2011 –years with accelerated deforestation elsewhere in the study area. This result indicated investments abated deforestation rates during times of political instability and lack of governance following a 2009 coup in Madagascar. We also found a statistically significant relationship between presence of any investment and reduced fire detections in the study area, suggesting investments had an impact on reducing burning of forest for agriculture. For both outcomes (i.e., deforestation rates and fire detections), we found that more dollars invested led to greater conservation outcomes (i.e. fewer fires or less deforestation), particularly when funding was sustained for one to two years. Our findings suggest that conservation and development investments can reduce deforestation and fire incidence, but also highlight the many challenges and complexities in assessing relationships between investments and conservation outcomes in a dynamic landscape and a volatile political context.

Approaches to integrated landscape management are currently garnering new interest as scientists, policymakers, and local stakeholders recognize the need to increase the multi-functionality of agricultural landscapes for food production, livelihood improvement, and ecosystem conservation. Such approaches have been attempted in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) but to date there has been no systematic assessment of their characteristics, outcomes, and limitations. To fill this gap, we surveyed participants and managers in integrated landscape initiatives throughout the LAC region to characterize these initiatives’ contexts, motivations and objectives, stakeholders and participants, activities and investments, outcomes, and major successes and shortcomings. Results from 104 initiatives in 21 countries indicate that integrated landscape management is being applied across the region to address a variety of challenges in diverse contexts, and that use of this approach is expanding. Initiatives reported investing across four key “domains” of landscape multi-functionality: agricultural production, ecosystem conservation, human livelihoods, and institutional planning and coordination. Initiatives reported positive outcomes across all four domains, but particularly with respect to institutional planning and coordination. Initiatives with larger numbers of objectives, investments, and participating stakeholder groups all reported significantly higher numbers of positive outcomes, suggesting significant value in the core precepts of the integrated landscape management approach. Key challenges identified by survey respondents—including the long time horizon required to achieve results at scale, unsupportive policy frameworks, and difficulty in engaging the private sector and other important stakeholders—offer insights for improving the future effectiveness of integrated landscape initiatives.

In tropical regions where forests have been replaced by agriculture, the future of biodiversity is increasingly dependent on the presence of remnant forest patches and on-farm tree cover within agricultural landscapes. While there is growing evidence of the importance of tree cover within agricultural landscapes, most studies have been conducted in a single landscape, making it difficult to ascertain whether the conservation value of different types of tree cover can be generalized across landscapes. To explore whether use of different forms of tree cover by birds is consistent across landscapes, we compared the number of individuals, species richness, and diversity of birds associated with different forms of tree cover in four agricultural landscapes in Central America, using a standardized methodology and sampling effort. In each landscape, we compared bird assemblages in six tree cover types (secondary forests, riparian forests, forest fallows, live fences, pastures with high tree cover, and pastures with low tree cover). We observed a total of 10 723 birds of 283 species, with 83-196 species per landscape. The specific patterns of bird species richness, number of individuals, and diversity associated with tree cover types varied across the four landscapes, but these variables were consistently higher in the forest forms of tree cover (riparian forests, secondary forests, and forest fallows) than in non-forest habitats. In addition, forest forms of tree cover had distinct species composition from non-forest forms in all landscapes. There was also consistency in the use of different types of tree cover by forest birds across the four landscapes, with higher richness and number of individuals of forest birds in forested than non-forested forms of tree cover, and more forest bird species in pastures with high tree cover than in pastures with low tree cover. Our findings indicate that riparian and secondary forests are consistently of higher value for bird conservation (particularly for forest species) than live fences and pastures with tree cover. Consequently, agricultural and land use policies that promote the retention of secondary and riparian forests and increase tree cover within pastures would greatly benefit bird conservation, regardless of the landscape in which they are applied.

By promoting the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, policymakers have a unique opportunity to mitigate climate change while providing social and environmental benefits. Here we highlight how nature-based mitigation strategies for multiple benefits can be supported by three key areas of scientific research, drawing upon examples of research by Conservation International and its partners. First, monitoring of ecosystems can quantify the magnitude of emissions released from conversion and degradation, and can inform prioritization and planning efforts. Second, understanding the synergies and tradeoffs between climate change mitigation and other ecosystem benefits can aid in designing policy instruments, selecting management techniques and geographically targeting actions. And third, research on the design of policies, incentives and practices can enhance mitigation initiatives’ provision of both climate and noncarbon benefits. Achieving multiple benefits can in turn increase the sustainabili...

Climate change will have serious repercussions for agriculture, ecosystems, and farmer livelihoods in Central America. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on agriculture and ecosystem services for their livelihoods. There is an urgent need to develop national and local adaptation responses to reduce these impacts, yet evidence from historical climate change is fragmentary. Modeling efforts help bridge this gap. Here, we review the past decade of research on agricultural and ecological climate change impact models for Central America. The results of this review provide insights into the expected impacts of climate change and suggest policy actions that can help minimize these impacts. Modeling indicates future climate-driven changes, often declines, in suitability for Central American crops. Declines in suitability for coffee, a central crop in the regional economy, are noteworthy. Ecosystem models suggest that climate-driven changes are likely at low- and high-elevation montane forest transitions. Modeling of vulnerability suggests that smallholders in many parts of the region have one or more vulnerability factors that put them at risk. Initial adaptation policies can be guided by these existing modeling results. At the same time, improved modeling is being developed that will allow policy action specifically targeted to vulnerable groups, crops, and locations. We suggest that more robust modeling of ecological responses to climate change, improved representation of the region in climate models, and simulation of climate influences on crop yields and diseases (especially coffee leaf rust) are key priorities for future research. International Development Research Centre/[AC3]/IDRC/Canada Universidad de Costa Rica/[805-B6-143]/UCR/Costa Rica Universidad de Costa Rica/[805-B4-227]/UCR/Costa Rica Universidad de Costa Rica/[805-B3-600]/UCR/Costa Rica Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones/[]/MICIT/Costa Rica UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI)

We evaluate the potential of a proposed policy model that would explicitly link the cultivation of biofuels with forest conservation (Biofuel þ FC ) as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The model postulates that a ratio of 4:1 forest conservation to biofuel cultivation be linked to proposals for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD þ Biofuel ), while a ratio of 9:1 biofuel cultivation to reforestation on degraded landscape (RDL þ Biofuel ) be linked to the afforestation/ reforestation component of the Clean Development Mechanism. Both biofuel production options would be limited to the cultivation of woody perennial biofuel species on low biomass landscapes in order to maximize the carbon benefits of the proposed policy model. The potential to conserve forest, avoid GHG emissions, improve carbon sequestration, and produce renewable energy are evaluated by an illustrative model for five case studies (Para´ e Brazil, East Kalimantan e Indonesia, Madagascar, Colombia and Liberia). The Biofuel þ FC policy model is then compared with three counterfactual scenarios: REDD Alone with no biofuel cultivation; Biofuel Alone with expanded biofuel cultivation in the absence of REDD and a Most Likely scenario where REDD and biofuel cultivation are implemented without explicit regulatory linkages. The proposed policy model would leverage forest carbon with biofuel markets, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve biodiversity, as well as improve human welfare in developing countries, a winewinewin strategy for sustainable development.

The extent to which an international mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) can also provide biodiversity co-benefits will depend on whether the mechanism results in the retention of forest in countries harboring substantial biodiversity. Countries’ decisions whether or not to participate in REDD+ will be influenced by their national reference level of emissions from deforestation, below which their verified emissions can be credited as reductions. In this article, we explore the reduction in extinctions of forest species achieved under four alternative national reference level designs and three alternative levels of finance for REDD+. We use an 85-country partial equilibrium model and species-area relationships to estimate extinction rates for 2,472 nationally endemic forest-dependent amphibian, bird and mammal species if a REDD+ mechanism had been in place during 2005–2010. Our results indicate that elements of REDD+ that are most effective for climate change mitigation—greater finance combined with reference levels which reduce leakage by promoting broad participation across countries with both high and low historical deforestation rates—also offer the greatest benefits for biodiversity conservation.

The United Nations climate negotiations on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) provide a rare opportunity for conservation of tropical forests and biodiversity. Here, we explore the implications of REDD design and implementation options on biodiversity conservation and ways to link REDD with biodiversity conservation. From both a mitigation and biodiversity perspective, the most important immediate steps are to ensure that REDD is included in the new global climate agreement and maximizes the area of tropical forest conserved. It may also be possible to include guidelines or incentives within a REDD framework or in national implementation to channel funding to areas of high biodiversity. However, if the immediate steps above are not taken first, REDD will reach neither its mitigation nor its biodiversity conservation potential.

The future of tropical forest biodiversity depends more than ever on the effective management of human-modified landscapes, presenting a daunting challenge to conservation practitioners and land use managers. We provide a critical synthesis of the scientific insights that guide our understanding of patterns and processes underpinning forest biodiversity in the human-modified tropics, and present a conceptual framework that integrates a broad range of social and ecological factors that define and contextualize the possible future of tropical forest species. A growing body of research demonstrates that spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity are the dynamic product of interacting historical and contemporary human and ecological processes. These processes vary radically in their relative importance within and among regions, and have effects that may take years to become fully manifest. Interpreting biodiversity research findings is frequently made difficult by constrained study designs, low congruence in species responses to disturbance, shifting baselines and an over-dependence on comparative inferences from a small number of well studied localities. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the potential prospects for biodiversity conservation can be explained by regional differences in biotic vulnerability and anthropogenic legacies, an ever-tighter coupling of human-ecological systems and the influence of global environmental change. These differences provide both challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation. Building upon our synthesis we outline a simple adaptive-landscape planning framework that can help guide a new research agenda to enhance biodiversity conservation prospects in the human-modified tropics.

To truly understand the current status of tropical diversity and to forecast future trends, we need to increase emphasis on the study of biodiversity in rural landscapes that are actively managed or modified by people. We present an integrated landscape approach to promote research in human-modified landscapes that includes the effects of landscape structure and dynamics on conservation of biodiversity, provision of ecosystem services, and sustainability of rural livelihoods. We propose research priorities encompassing three major areas: biodiversity, human–environment interactions, and restoration ecology. We highlight key areas where we lack knowledge and where additional understanding is most urgent for promoting conservation and sustaining rural livelihoods. Finally, we recommend participatory and multidisciplinary approaches in research and management. Lasting conservation efforts demand new alliances among conservation biologists, agroecologists, agronomists, farmers, indigenous peoples, rural social movements, foresters, social scientists, and land managers to collaborate in research, co-design conservation programs and policies, and manage human-modified landscapes in ways that enhance biodiversity conservation and promote sustainable livelihoods.

El estudió se realizó en la microcuenca del río Sesesmiles, Departamento de Copán, Honduras. El propósito fue explorar el efecto del ancho de franja de los bosques ribereños sobre la riqueza y abundancia de especies de aves que visitan estos bosques. Se encontraron 1 294 aves pertenecientes a 145 especies en bosques ribereños. La diversidad de aves estuvo ligada al ancho de franja de los bosques ribereños: se encontró mayor número de especies e individuos, en anchos iguales o mayores a 50 m. Las especies pertenecientes al grupo alimenticio de los insectívoros y nectarívoros fueron las más abundantes en las franjas ribereñas. Todas las especies de aves identificadas dependen de los bosques ribereños y responden al ancho del bosque; aún las especies más generalistas tienen algún grado de dependencia a las franjas ribereñas más anchas. Para conservar las poblaciones de aves en los paisajes agrícolas fragmentados es de suma importancia mantener franjas ribereñas que sean mayores a 50 m de ancho y que brinden suficientes habitas y recursos.Richness and abundance of birds in riparian forest belts of varied breadths at the Sesesmiles river microwatershed, Copan, Honduras. Riparian forests protect many species of plants and animals. We studied bird communities in riparian forest belts of the Sesesmiles river microwatershed, Copan, Honduras (140o 43’ 12" - 140o 58’ 35" N, 88o 53’ 23" - 89o 14’ 17" W). The main goal was to explore the effects of belt breadth on the richness and abundance of avian species visiting these forests. We selected 20 belts, and randomly established 30 observation points to monitor bird presence in the dry (March-April 2005) and rainy (June-July 2005) season (N= 60 observations). A total of 1 294 birds belonging to 145 species were recorded. Bird diversity was significantly correlated to the breadth of the riparian belts, with a greater number of species and individuals in belts 50 m wide or wider. Insectivorous and nectarivorous birds were the most abundant guilds. All bird species identified depend to some degree on riparian forests and are affected by belt breadth. Riparian belts over 50 m should be kept or established in order to conserve bird populations within agricultural and fragmented landscapes in similar tropical areas. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (1): 355-369. Epub 2008 March 31.

CELIA A. HARVEY,∗‡‡‡ OLIVER KOMAR,† ROBIN CHAZDON,‡ BRUCE G. FERGUSON,§ BRYAN FINEGAN,∗∗ DANIEL M. GRIFFITH,†† MIGUEL MARTINEZ-RAMOS,‡‡ HELDA MORALES,§ RONALD NIGH,§§ LORENA SOTO-PINTO,§ MICHIEL VAN BREUGEL,∗∗∗ AND MARK WISHNIE††† ∗Department of Agriculture and Agroforestry, CATIE, Apdo 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica †Programa de Ciencias para la Conservacion, SalvaNATURA, Colonia Flor Blanca, 33 Avenida Sur #640, San Salvador, El Salvador ‡Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268-3043, U.S.A. §Departamento de Agroecoloǵia, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Carretera Panamericana y Periferico Sur s-n, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico ∗∗Department of Natural Resources and Environment, CATIE, Apdo 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica ††Biodiversity of BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve, Saint Louis Zoo, Managua, Nicaragua ‡‡Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas, UNAM, AP 27-3 Santa Maŕia de Guido, CP 58089, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico §§Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropoloǵia Social, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico ∗∗∗Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands †††Equator Environmental, LLC, 250 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003, U.S.A.

Summary 1. Natural regeneration of forest trees in grazed pastures could potentially contribute to the conservation of tree diversity within the fragmented and agricultural landscapes that dominate much of the tropics. To understand this potential, we evaluated the effects of several widely used pasture management practices on tree regeneration in pastures in a tropical dry forest (subhumid) region of central Nicaragua. 2. Species richness, density, diversity and composition of seedlings, saplings and adult trees were compared in 46 pastures under different management conditions. The management conditions included three different types of grasses ( Brachiaria spp., Cynodon spp. and naturalized pastures) and two categories of fire history (recently burnt and not recently burnt). 3. Thirty-seven of the 85 tree species present in the pastures were regenerated under the current management conditions. The remaining 48 species may have had reduced natural regeneration because of limitations in either germination, dispersal, establishment or growth, as well as because of negative effects of pasture management practices. 4. The richness, density and species composition of tree seedlings within pastures were explained by grass species composition, the density and richness of adult trees, cattle management and the distance of the pasture to forest. In contrast, no clear effect of fire history was found. 5. Synthesis and applications. Current management practices allow the regeneration of almost half of the tree species in grazed pastures. However, to enhance the regeneration of species that show limited regeneration, management strategies, such as the retention of adult trees, protection of saplings and seedlings from weeding and grazing and use of enrichment plantings, may be necessary. These changes in pasture management would help contribute to the long-term conservation of tree diversity within agricultural landscapes across the tropics.

Cocoa agroforests that retain a floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopy have the potential to harbour significant levels of biodiversity, yet few studies have documented the plant and animal species occurring within these systems or within landscapes dominated by cocoa production. In this special issue, we bring together nine studies from Latin America, Africa and Asia that document the contribution of cocoa agroforestry systems to biodiversity conservation, and explore how the design, management and location of these systems within the broader landscape influence their value as habitats, resources and biological corridors. Tree diversity within the cocoa production systems is variable, depending on management, cultural differences, location and farm history, among other factors. Animal diversity is typically highest in those cocoa agroforests that have high plant diversity, structurally complex canopies, and abundant surrounding forest cover. In general, both plant and animal diversity within cocoa agroforests is greater than those of other agricultural land uses, but lower than in the original forest habitat. There are several emerging threats to biodiversity conservation within cocoa production landscapes, including the loss of remaining forest cover, the simplification of cocoa shade canopies and the conversion of cocoa agroforestry systems to other agricultural land uses with lower biodiversity value. To counter these threats and conserve biodiversity over the long-term, land management should focus on conserving native forest habitat within cocoa production landscapes, maintaining or restoring floristically diverse and structurally complex shade canopies within cocoa agroforests, and retaining other types of on-farm tree cover to enhance landscape connectivity and habitat availability.

Over the past two decades, various organizations have promoted cacao agroforestry systems as a tool for biodiversity conservation in the Bribri-Cabecar indigenous territories of Talamanca, Costa Rica. Despite these efforts, cacao production is declining and is being replaced by less diverse systems that have lower biodiversity value. Understanding the factors that influence household land use is essential in order to promote cacao agroforestry systems as a viable livelihood strategy. We incorporate elements of livelihoods analyses and socioeconomic data to examine cacao agroforestry systems as a livelihood strategy compared with other crops in Talamanca. Several factors help to explain the abandonment of cacao agroforestry systems and their conversion to other land uses. These factors include shocks and trends beyond the control of households such as crop disease and population growth and concentration, as well as structures and processes such as the shift from a subsistence to a cash-based economy, relative prices of cacao and other cash crops, and the availability of market and government support for agriculture. We argue that a livelihoods approach provides a useful framework to examine the decline of cacao agroforestry systems and generates insights on how to stem the rate of their conversion to less diverse land uses.