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Assessment of small mammal diversity in coffee agroforestry in the Western Ghats, India

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Abstract

Coffee agroforestry is a conservation strategy that has shown promise to support the diversity of bird, bat, and insect communities, but few studies have focused on non-volant mammals in coffee farms. We assessed mammal diversity within coffee agroforestry systems in Kodagu, India and investigated the impacts of the non-native shade tree species, Grevillea robusta, on mammal diversity. Twenty farms, with varying amounts of G. robusta planted within the coffee farm, were sampled throughout three rainfall zones during the 4-month study period. We captured six species of small mammals, with indirect methods yielding an additional five species, totaling 11 mammal species. Contrary to current ecological thought, we found that increased amounts of G. robusta did not have a negative impact on either abundance or richness of mammals. Small mammal abundances were higher at farms with greater amounts of herbaceous ground cover and larger, mature shade trees, while small mammal species richness was found to increase with an increase in tree species richness as well as greater amounts of herbaceous ground cover. Additionally, small mammal abundance was higher at coffee farms closer to forested areas. Based on these findings, we suggest the maintenance or cultivation of shade tree richness, mature shade trees, and herbaceous ground cover within coffee farms and preservation of forested areas within the landscape to enhance coffee agroforestry habitat for non-volant mammals. We hope that these habitat requirements will be incorporated into conservation strategies for the promotion of biodiversity within coffee agroforestry systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. C. Kushalappa for his assistance and support throughout the mammal study and Sanjay and Payal Molur for their insight and guidance. We would also like to thank Kate Vaast for her advice and assistance and S. Meederira for support with the field logistics. We are grateful to Dr. Nancy Karraker and the anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments and suggestions to strengthen this manuscript and Dr. Liliana Gonzalez for her assistance with the analysis. This study would not have been possible without the countless hours of hard work from the CAFNET mammal field team—Research Associates: Asha Tantry, Kiran Kumar, N. K. Chinnappa, Poornika Rani; field assistants: Machaiah, Nijil, Pratap, Sunil Subbaiah, Sharath; and drivers: Maduna and Sunil Subbaiah. In addition, we would like to thank the many farmers and agriculturalist for their participation in the study and for allowing us access to their coffee farms. We would also like to thank the United States Department of Agriculture International Science and Education Program for providing us with the funding to conduct this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, U.S.A

    S. Amanda Caudill & Thomas P. Husband

  2. Unité Mixte de Recherche en Ecologie, Fonctionnelle et Biogéochimie des Sols et Agro-écosystèmes, Centre de Coopération en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, 2 Place Viala, 34060, Montpellier Cedex 2, France

    Philippe Vaast

  3. World Agroforestry Centre, United Nations Avenue, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    Philippe Vaast

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  1. S. Amanda Caudill
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Correspondence to S. Amanda Caudill.

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Caudill, S.A., Vaast, P. & Husband, T.P. Assessment of small mammal diversity in coffee agroforestry in the Western Ghats, India. Agroforest Syst 88, 173–186 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-013-9664-3

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