Shade trees and agrochemical use affect butterfly assemblages in coffee home gardens

• Published in: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment ecosystems & environment, 2021-10, Vol.319, p.107547, Article 107547
• Main Authors: Campera, Marco, Balestri, Michela, Manson, Sophie, Hedger, Katherine, Ahmad, Nabil, Adinda, Esther, Nijman, Vincent, Budiadi, Budiadi, Imron, Muhammad Ali, Nekaris, K.A.I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agroforest; Biodiversity; Indonesia; Lepidoptera; Organic; Pollination
• ISSN: 0167-8809; 1873-2305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2021.107547

Agroforestry systems have been recognised as a possible refuge for biodiversity especially when bordering intact landscapes. The intensification of crop management to increase yields is usually associated with a reduction of shade trees and heavy use of chemicals, typically correlated with a decrease in biodiversity. The relationship between intensity of crop management and biodiversity, however, is not clear-cut and is dependent on environmental and geographical differences. We assessed the influence of different shade cover, shade tree richness, richness of other crops, distance from the forest, and use of chemicals on the diversity, richness and abundance of butterflies, a bioindicator in coffee home gardens. We collected data in 42 coffee home gardens in West Java, Indonesia, via Pollard transects, totalling 15.1 km (July-August 2019 and July-August 2020). We found 54 species of butterflies in the gardens. Via Generalised Additive Mixed Models, we found that the use of chemicals negatively influenced the abundance (p = 0.001) and richness (p = 0.039) of butterflies, while shade tree richness positively influenced the abundance (p