Land Cover in a Managed Forest Ecosystem: Mexican Shade Coffee

Abstract Managed forest ecosystems like shade coffee supply valuable ecological services. Yet little is known about the drivers and characteristics of clearing in such systems. We present a spatial econometric analysis of land cover in a shade coffee region in southern Mexico. We find that plots close to large cities are less likely to be cleared all other things being equal—the opposite of the pattern usually observed in natural forests. In addition, we find that membership in coffee‐marketing cooperatives, farm size, and certain soil types are associated with tree cover, while proximity to small town centers is associated with clearing.