Servicios Ecosistémicos que proveen las Aves Asociadas a Sistemas Agroforestales de Theobroma cacao. Caso de Estudio: Jardín Clonal, Campus Limonal, Universidad Santo Tomás

Abstract

The rapid expansion of agroforestry systems can affect the diversity of birds and their natural habitats. However, birds offer ecosystem services to agroforestry systems such as pest control, pollination, seed dispersal, carrion consumption, and nutrient cycling; while the associated cultivation systems provide the birds with food, shelter, and nesting possibilities. But knowledge about the relationships between bird species and these environments is still scant and limited. To address this lack of information, the present study was carried out, which consisted of a bibliometric survey using the VOSviewer version 1.6.19 software from data obtained from Scopus, following a specific search equation. As a result, 58 documents were obtained, mostly published in 2021 and 2022, on the themes of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Sciences, where the domain of scientific articles stood out. Subsequently, through observation outings, 53 species of birds present in the Cocoa Clonal Garden were identified, where it was found that the best represented family was Tyrannidae with 12 species, an endemic species was recorded, 12 migratory species and the expected richness is greater than that observed for all the diversity indices analyzed. This could be related to the arrangement of the tree strata surrounding the cacao clones, since they offer better resources, can be considered conservation zones for a portion of the original diversity, maintain habitat connectivity, and create potential refuges for birds. The result of the case study allowed us to establish that the main ecosystem services provided by the avifauna to the Clonal Garden are seed dispersal, insect control and pollination. This will encourage research on the subject and the planting of cocoa agroforestry systems with complex tree structures that stimulate the conservation of the original land cover.