Coffee from the Sierra Otomí-Tepehua and its relevance for the biodiversity protection

Coffee from the Otomí-Tepehua region in the state of Hidalgo is not widespread and marketing is difficult due to access to the region. Given this, producers decide to sell their production to intermediaries despite its low price. Coffee plantations in indigenous areas provide environmental services that are important in the region, such as the protection and conservation of biodiversity. The objective of this work is to characterize the coffee of the region with the criteria shade coffee, protection of biodiversity and bird friendly coffee according to the methodology proposed by the Smithsonian Institution. Sites of 2000 m2 were surveyed within the coffee plantations, taking the emergent tree as the center to count the specimens and carry out dasometric, ecological and biological observations. 14 tree species were recorded, the most abundant being the chalahuite (Inga spuria) and the rarest the zopilote (Platimicium spp.), with the presence of epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads, nests and burrows, which in addition to providing shade, protect the wild fauna and flora. One of the trees with the greatest presence of nests was the chalame (Ficus cotinifolia).