About 60 percent of the wild coffee species are threatened with extinction. British researchers working with the plant biologists Aaron P. Davis, from the research Institute of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew warn in the journal Science Advances before the impact on global coffee stocks.
no Matter whether the Espresso or filter coffee from Guatemala or Ethiopia dates back to, at the coffee places are always the species Coffea arabica or Coffea robusta. "Most coffee drinkers don't know that there is more than two or three varieties," the study's authors. About 124 wild coffee species, most in tropical Africa grow in nature. The free sprawling shrubs are different from the commercial kinds - some fruits do not contain caffeine. However, your genetic makeup is extremely important. By genetic crossing with wild plants, the defense can be strengthened forces of the consumption of coffee against pests, or the taste will improve. "Wild varieties of coffee are of crucial importance for the further development and future ability of the world's coffee production," the researchers write.
For their study, they applied the Red list criteria of the world conservation Union on the existing plant populations. After field work and Evaluation of Germ resources in scientific collections, the result is: 75 of 124 varieties are considered to be acutely threatened. Particularly, many of which grow in Madagascar.
climate change is particularly harmful for Coffea Arabica
The wild coffee plants are often particularly at niches in their environment adjusted. But climate change and lack of conservation. Monocultures make it easier for that disease to spread pathogens rapidly. Also, Coffea Arabica, could adapt to the changing climate, the study's authors.
coffee is a delicate Plant. Thus, the red coffee sprout cherries, there must be a constant warm and humid climate and the soil should ideally have an acidic pH-value. The majority of the world's coffee is still grown by small farmers alone in Ethiopia lives more than four million coffee farmers. Here "Ultimately, we need to protect the remaining wild species, to ensure genetic diversity," write the plant biologists. The African countries where the wild coffee grows, should be supported by the international community.