Abstract:
Coffee production in Uganda is done on small-scale farms containing a very significant tree component. However, there is little
information on how tree species abundance, richness and diversity change in coffee farms as distance from forest changes. The
main objectives of this study, therefore, were to assess (a) abundance and (b) diversity of tree species in the coffee production
systems in proximity to disturbed and undisturbed forest around Mabira forest, one of Uganda’s Robusta coffee-growing areas.
Seventy-nine 0.1 ha plots were established in nine villages close to undisturbed and disturbed forest, and over 5 km from the
forest. A total of 875 trees belonging to 63 species were recorded. There was significant similarity in species composition
among the three study sites (analysis of similarity R = 0.09, p < 0.01; analysis of variance: F3,12 = 0.353, p = 0.79). Non-metric
dimensional scaling supported these findings (stress value = 0.224 at k = 2) and showed that tree species composition in the
three proximity categories was very similar. These results demonstrate that tree species composition and diversity is similar in
coffee farms regardless of their distance from the nearest natural forest and forest exploitation history.