In Latin America, the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) plays a critical role in rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Over the last 20 years, coffee farms and landscapes across the region have undergone rapid and profound biophysical changes in response to low coffee prices, changing climatic conditions, severe plant pathogen outbreaks, and other drivers. Although these biophysical transformations are pervasive and affect millions of rural livelihoods, there is limited information on the types, location, and extent of landscape changes and their socioeconomic and ecological consequences. Here we review the state of knowledge on the ongoing biophysical changes in coffee-growing regions, explore the potential socioeconomic and ecological impacts of these changes, and highlight key research gaps. We identify seven major land-use trends which are affecting the sustainability of coffee-growing regions across Latin America in different ways. These trends include (1) the widespread shift to disease-resistant cultivars, (2) the conventional intensification of coffee management with greater planting densities, greater use of agrochemicals and less shade, (3) the conversion of coffee to other agricultural land uses, (4) the introduction of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) into areas not previously cultivated with coffee, (5) the expansion of coffee into forested areas, (6) the urbanization of coffee landscapes, and (7) the increase in the area of coffee produced under voluntary sustainability standards. Our review highlights the incomplete and scattered information on the drivers, patterns, and outcomes of biophysical changes in coffee landscapes, and lays out a detailed research agenda to address these research gaps and elucidate the effects of different landscape trajectories on rural livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and other aspects of sustainable development. A better understanding of the drivers, patterns, and consequences of changes in coffee landscapes is vital for informing the design of policies, programs, and incentives for sustainable coffee production.

Organic farming is often considered to be more sustainable than conventional farming. However, both farming systems comprise highly variable management practices. In this study, we show that in organic and conventional arable fields, the multifunctionality of soils decreases with increasing agricultural management intensity. Soil organic carbon content and bacterial biomass, respectively, were the strongest abiotic and biotic predictors of soil multifunctionality. Greater soil multifunctionality was associated with less-frequent inversion tillage and higher frequency of grass-legume cover cropping, and organic farming did not outperform conventional farming. Our results suggest that reducing management intensity will enhance soil multifunctionality in both conventional and organic farming. This implies that, in contexts where high-yielding, high-intensity agriculture prevails, the paradigm of sustainable intensification should be replaced by “productive deintensification.”

Attention to soil biodiversity and its importance for sustainable food production has markedly increased in recent years. In particular, the loss of soil biodiversity as a consequence of intensive agriculture, land degradation and climate change has raised concerns due to the expected negative impacts on ecosystem services, food security and human health. The result is a strong demand for ‘nature-based’ practices that stimulate soil biodiversity or beneficial soil organisms and enhance soil health. Here, we examine the origin of popular ideas on the role of soil biology in sustainable soil management, as well as their potential to address key global challenges related to agriculture. Three examples of such ideas are discussed: 1) a higher fungal:bacterial (F:B) biomass ratio favours soil carbon storage and nutrient conservation; (2) intensive agricultural practices lead to a decline in soil biodiversity with detrimental consequences for sustainable food production; (3) inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi reduces agriculture's dependency on synthetic fertilizers. Our analysis demonstrates how ecological theories, especially E.P. Odum's ( 1969 ) hypotheses on ecological succession, have inspired the promotion of agricultural practices and commercial products that are based on the mimicry of (soil biology in) natural ecosystems. Yet our reading of the scientific literature shows that popular claims on the importance of high F:B ratios, soil biodiversity and the inoculation with beneficial microbes for soil health and sustainable agricultural production cannot be generalized and require careful consideration of limitations and possible trade-offs. We argue that dichotomies and pitfalls associated with the normative use of nature as a metaphor for sustainability can be counterproductive given the urgency to achieve real solutions that sustain food production and natural resources. Finally, implications for soil ecology research and sustainable soil management in agriculture are discussed.