ABSTRACT
The importance of coffee and its sensitivity to climate has stimulated research on its current and future distribution. Potential for Mexico has been predicted at 3 million hectares based on climate. In past decades an average 700 000 hectares of coffee have been reported. This contribution explores the extent to which DSM may contribute to pinpoint the suitability areas for coffee in Mexico. MaxEnt potential distributions at 1 km2 resolution were modeled based on bioclimatic and soil properties separately. DSM products included textural classes and pH at three depths. Training data consisted of 372 observations. Intersecting areas with both adequate soil and climate conditions of 5.5 million hectares resulted. Within highland coffee areas and with high probability values (>0.6) a closer figure to the reported coffee growing area resulted. DSM products proved useful and accurate when contrasted with the plot centroids of a coffee grower’s organization in the state of Oaxaca.
