Transformation of the coffee-growing landscape in central Veracruz, Mexico: collaboration, markets, and farmer characteristics mediate the effects of the coffee-leaf rust outbreak

Shade-grown coffee landscapes constitute a rich agroecological matrix of great ecological, social, and cultural value. In recent decades, environmental crises, including the coffee-leaf rust (CLR) outbreak, have transformed these landscapes, compromising their socioecological benefits and changing m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Regional environmental change 2025-03, Vol.25 (1), p.4
Main Authors: López-Arcadia, Carlos Alberto, Bonilla-Moheno, Martha, Porter-Bolland, Luciana, Hernández-Martínez, Gerardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cash crops
Climate Change
Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts
Coffee
Collaboration
Commercialization
Cooperation
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecological effects
Environment
Farmers
Forest growth
Geography
Information flow
Information management
Information processing
Landscape
Leaf rust
Leaves
Nature Conservation
Network analysis
Oceanography
Original Article
Outbreaks
Pest outbreaks
Regional/Spatial Science
Remote sensing
Social networks
Social organization
Sustainability management
Sustainable practices
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Shade-grown coffee landscapes constitute a rich agroecological matrix of great ecological, social, and cultural value. In recent decades, environmental crises, including the coffee-leaf rust (CLR) outbreak, have transformed these landscapes, compromising their socioecological benefits and changing management practices. Using remote sensing and social network analysis we evaluated the influence of smallholders’ collaboration strategies in the transformation of the coffee-growing landscape of Veracruz, Mexico following the CLR outbreak. Results suggest a loss of forest cover associated with the outbreak and a transition to cash crops. Farmers were differentially affected by the outbreak depending on their association strategy. Less vulnerable farmers maintained the highest tree cover; had the strongest flow of information in the production and commercialization processes; and associated themselves with alternative markets for commercialization. Promoting alternative markets for the commercialization of coffee could represent an effective strategy to decrease vulnerability against market fluctuations and maintain sustainable management practices in coffee landscapes.
ISSN:1436-3798
1436-378X
DOI:10.1007/s10113-024-02334-0