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Ecological Intensification: Harnessing Ecosystem Services for Food Security
Abstract
Rising demands for agricultural products will increase pressure to further intensify crop production, while negative environmental impacts have to be minimized. Ecological intensification entails the environmentally friendly replacement of anthropogenic inputs and/or enhancement of crop productivity, by including regulating and supporting ecosystem services management in agricultural practices. Effective ecological intensification requires an understanding of the relations between land use at different scales and the community composition of ecosystem service-providing organisms above and below ground, and the flow, stability, contribution to yield, and management costs of the multiple services delivered by these organisms. Research efforts and investments are particularly needed to reduce existing yield gaps by integrating context-appropriate bundles of ecosystem services into crop production systems.
... This has incited governments, farmers and academics to explore production (e.g., soil fertility, resilience of the ecosystem, water availability)" (Leeuwis, 2004, p. 5). The main goal of using SAPs is to achieve more environment-friendly crop production (Bommarco et al., 2013). ...
... This has encouraged governments, farmers and scientists to explore alternative agricultural practices that have fewer negative effects on agro-ecosystems. A promising alternative to counter the adverse effects of AI is ecological intensification (EI) (Bommarco et al., 2013). EI is defined as "the means to make intensive and smart use of the natural functionalities of the ecosystem (support, regulation) to produce food, fiber, energy and ecological services in a sustainable way" (Tittonell, 2014, p. 58). ...
... EI is defined as "the means to make intensive and smart use of the natural functionalities of the ecosystem (support, regulation) to produce food, fiber, energy and ecological services in a sustainable way" (Tittonell, 2014, p. 58). EI also embraces the complexity of the rural landscape and local management interventions (Bommarco et al., 2013). EI includes concepts such as agroecology and organic, bio-diverse and restorative agriculture. ...
... L'intensification de l'agriculture a mené à une réduction drastique de la diversité génétique dans les systèmes cultivés (Bommarco et al., 2013). De ce fait, les plantes se retrouvent souvent à côté de leurs clones dans des systèmes de monoculture. ...
... Alors que la réintroduction de diversité génétique dans nos systèmes agronomiques montre de bons résultats en terme d'augmentation de la production (Reiss & Drinkwater, 2018), de réduction des intrants chimiques (Gaba et al., 2015) et de durabilité des systèmes (Bommarco et al., 2013), elle permet aussi une meilleure gestion des maladies (Raboin et al., 2012;Kristoffersen et al., 2020). Cependant, au-delà des effets des mélanges de variétés sur la reproduction et la dispersion des agents pathogènes, bien identifiés en conditions naturelles (Mundt 2002;Gaba et al., 2015), nos connaissances sur l'impact des interactions plante -plante sur la physiologie des plantes, notamment sur leur sensibilité aux agents pathogènes, restent limitées. ...
... Concernant les mélanges de variétés de la même espèce, de multiples avantages pour l'agriculture ont été démontrés en introduction de ce manuscrit. Pour rappel, les mélanges variétaux peuvent permettre de fournir de nombreux services agro-écologiques en augmentant la durabilité, la performance mais aussi la résilience des systèmes agricoles (Brooker et al., 2008;Bommarco et al., 2013). Ils ont été appliqués avec succès et ont permis d'augmenter la productivité moyenne de 2,2% (Barot et al., 2017;Reiss & Drinkwater, 2018; même si cette augmentation reste très variable selon les cas . ...
Depuis les années 2000, les mélanges variétaux connaissent un regain d'intérêt en agriculture. Mélanger des génotypes d’une même espèce est à l’origine d’une augmentation de la production, d’une réduction des intrants chimiques et d’une amélioration de la durabilité de nos systèmes agricoles. De plus, ces mélanges de variétés permettent une meilleure gestion des maladies en permettant notamment de réduire la dispersion des agents pathogènes. Outre ces effets d’ordre épidémiologiques, nous avons fait l’hypothèse que des interactions plante plante intra-spécifiques peuvent aussi modifier la sensibilité des plantes aux agents pathogènes dans les mélanges variétaux. Pour tester cette hypothèse, des mélanges de génotypes de riz ou de blé dur ont été inoculés manuellement dans des conditions contrôlées, en l’absence de propagation des agents pathogènes. Dans un premier temps, en inoculant plus de 400 mélanges binaires de riz ou de blé avec des agents pathogènes foliaires majeurs, nous avons pu quantifier la fréquence et le niveau des modifications de sensibilité déclenchées dans une plante focale en présence d’un voisin différent, mais de la même espèce. Ces modifications dues aux interactions plante plante sont parfois du même ordre de grandeur que les différences pouvant exister entre variétés. Par la suite et ce dans chaque espèce, les mécanismes sous-jacents à ces modifications ont été analysées plus précisément en se focalisant sur un couple de génotypes. Nous avons ainsi montré qu’une interaction dans le sol entre des plantes voisines de la même espèce peut modifier la sensibilité des plantes à différents agents pathogènes ainsi que leur immunité, et ce de manière constitutive. Cette modulation de la sensibilité de la plante focale ne nécessite pas que le voisin soit lui-même malade. Ces analyses ont été complétées par des analyses transcriptomiques montrant que différents voisinages produisent des modifications caractéristiques dans la plante focale. Enfin, nous avons étudié les déterminants génétiques du déclenchement par la plante voisine de la modulation de la sensibilité dans la plante focale en menant une expérience de génétique d’association. Cette analyse a permis de mettre en évidence un locus, dans le génotype voisin, qui conditionne ce déclenchement. Ensemble, nos résultats montrent donc que la réduction des maladies dans les mélanges variétaux pourrait également résulter d'interactions directes entre plantes, en plus des mécanismes affectant la propagation des agents pathogènes à l'échelle du champ. La mise en évidence de ce phénomène, appelé 'Neighbour-Modulated Susceptibility' (NMS), pourrait permettre de fournir de nouvelles façons de concevoir et surtout d’optimiser les mélanges variétaux.
... HANPP (harvest) relates to the concept of provisioning ecosystem services (Figure 1), and like the latter, involves trade-offs with cultural and regulating ecosystem services, some of which (soil formation, regulation of the water cycle, pollination, pest control, denitrification) are pre-requisites for harvesting NPP. The ecological intensification paradigm, for example, identifies the regula- tory ecosystem services that are limiting factors in agricultural production [27]. HANPP (land use) is human-induced changes in NPP, usually a decrease through urbanization or infrastructure development or various forms of land degradation, such as deforestation, desertification, soil erosion and human-induced fire. ...
... nd 2023, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW requisites for harvesting NPP. The ecological intensification paradigm, for examp tifies the regulatory ecosystem services that are limiting factors in agricultural pr [27]. HANPP (land use) is human-induced changes in NPP, usually a decrease urbanization or infrastructure development or various forms of land degradation deforestation, desertification, soil erosion and human-induced fire. ...
This paper analyzes the end uses—food, feed, fiber, fuel, and exports—of biomass production in the U.S. in 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012. They are also analyzed at the state level in 2012. Biomass production is measured as human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), an ecological footprint measured as carbon fixed through photosynthesis, derived from data on crop, timber and grazing yields. HANPP was allocated to end uses using publicly available sources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and internet-based sources publishing data on agricultural trade. HANPP was 717–834 megatons (MT) of carbon per year, which comprised 515–615 MT of crop-based, 105–149 MT timber-based, and 64–76 MT of grazed HANPP. Livestock feed commanded the largest proportion, but decreased from 395 (50%) to 305 MT (42%) of all HANPP and 320 to 240 MT (58–44%) of crop-based HANPP. The proportion allocated to exports was stable at 118–141 MT (17–18%) of total HANPP and 112–133 MT (21–23%) of crop-based HANPP. Biofiber decreased from 141 MT (18%) to 97 MT (13%) of all HANPP. Biofuel increased strongly from 11 MT to 98 MT, from 1% to 14% of all HANPP and 2% to 18% of crop-based HANPP, surpassing food and biofiber by 2012. Direct food commanded 89–105 MT, the lowest proportion at 12–13% of all HANPP, and 17–18% of crop-based HANPP. The highly fertile Midwest and the drought-prone Intermountain West stand out as regions where a very small percentage of biomass is allocated to direct human food. The high proportions of biomass production allocated to nonfood uses is consistent with the tragedy of ecosystem services and commodification of nature frameworks. Reducing these proportions presents opportunities for improving ecosystem services, food security, and human well-being.
... Global income is also expected to increase threeto four-fold and will result in diet diversification to include more meat and the associated need to produce more plant-based calories [3,4,14]. Agricultural solutions are needed that increase production of nutritious food globally and decrease the impact of agricultural production systems on the environment, both despite an increasingly erratic climate [15][16][17][18][19]. Food production doubled over the past several decades largely due to the use of irrigation, inorganic nutrients to manage soil fertility, synthetic chemical pesticides to control pathogens and pests, mechanical loosening of soil, and development of high-yielding crop cultivars [20][21][22][23]. New approaches and technologies are needed given the negative impacts of these production systems on the environment and, in some regions, a decline in crop yields [6,9,21,[24][25][26]. ...
... New approaches and technologies are needed given the negative impacts of these production systems on the environment and, in some regions, a decline in crop yields [6,9,21,[24][25][26]. There needs to be a focus on ecological intensification and other approaches/technologies directed at minimizing anthropogenic inputs and protecting and improving soil and water resources, as well as on agricultural intensification and climate resilience [1,9,12,15,20,27]. There is also a need to expand crop cultivar development programs so that yield and nutritional quality are maximized, together with resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and efficient water and soil nutrient use [18,[28][29][30]. ...
Achieving global food security requires better use of natural, genetic, and importantly, human resources—knowledge. Technology must be created, and existing and new technology and knowledge deployed, and adopted by farmers and others engaged in agriculture. This requires collaboration amongst many professional communities world-wide including farmers, agribusinesses, policymakers, and multi-disciplinary scientific groups. Each community having its own knowledge-associated terminology, techniques, and types of data, collectively forms a barrier to collaboration. Knowledge management (KM) approaches are being implemented to capture knowledge from all communities and make it interoperable and accessible as a “group memory” to create a multi-professional, multidisciplinary knowledge economy. As an example, we present KM efforts at the US Department of Agriculture. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is being developed to capture tacit and explicit knowledge assets including Big Data and transform it into curated knowledge products available, with permissions, to the agricultural community. Communities of Practice (CoP) of scientists, farmers, and others are being developed at USDA and elsewhere to foster knowledge exchange. Marrying CoPs to ICT-leveraged aspects of KM will speed development and adoption of needed agricultural solutions. Ultimately needed is a network of KM networks so that knowledge stored anywhere can be used globally in real time.
... Intensive agriculture pursuits promote crop productivity, but often at the cost of declining soil biodiversity and its multiple functions that are critical to soil health (Tilman et al., 2001;Tsiafouli et al., 2015). The transition from conventional intensification with heavily dependent on external fertilizers to ecological intensification relying on the biological functions of soil biodiversity could help to balance sustainable crop productivity and biodiversity conservation (Bommarco et al., 2013;Wanger et al., 2020). Increasing yield was an ongoing goal, but it was not the only purpose of agricultural management, especially considering agricultural biodiversity conservation and its contribution to long-term sustainability (Rillig et al., 2019). ...
... Our results supported the principles of ecological intensification that reducing fertilizer input and increasing use efficiency would have extra benefits by harnessing beneficial soil microbes for multiple ecosystem services (Bommarco et al., 2013;Oburger et al., 2022). We recommend farmers to control the N inputs to ca. 52 % of local doses, considering the maintenance of both crop growth and soil biodiversity. ...
Excessive nitrogen (N) inputs exacerbate ecological problems and compromise multiple ecosystem services delivered by soil biodiversity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) facilitated nutrient acquisition by plants from soil and alleviated reliance on external inputs. However, how N inputs influence the relationships between AMF diversity and crop performance, especially whether there exists an optimal threshold to maximize crop reliance on AMF and minimize reliance on external N remains unclear. A field experiment was conducted to monitor the responses of AMF diversity and maize growth among N input levels (0, 120, 240, and 360 kg urea-N ha − 1). Results showed that increasing N inputs decreased AMF colonization rate and spore density. Across the N input levels, the N inputs at 120 and 240 kg N ha − 1 increased AMF richness and biomass, respectively. Moreover, N input level at 360 kg ha − 1 (local doses) increased maize growth including yield and total biomass but decreased plant P content, indicating that the role of AMF was constrained under high N inputs. Notably, an optimal N input level that resulted in win-win support of AMF diversity and crop growth was obtained, which was ca. 52 % of local doses (i.e. 190 kg ha − 1). Together, understanding the relationships between beneficial microbes and crop with nutrient input gradients was critical for advancing future sophisticated fertilizer management harnessing multiple ecological services and crop productivity at the lowest external economic and environmental cost.
... Conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes while maintaining sufficiently high yields is a great challenge towards sustainable food production (Bommarco et al., 2013;Kremen & Merenlender, 2018). Ecosystem services essential for crop production like pollination or natural pest control are driven by the diversity and densities of organisms delivering these services (Dainese et al., 2019). ...
... However, agricultural intensification and landscape simplification in the pursuit of higher crop yield levels are detrimental to the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers in agricultural landscapes (Landis, 2017;Seibold et al., 2019). The diversification of agricultural systems by increasing crop and non-crop plant diversity has been identified as a solution to avert ecosystem services erosion and increase sustainability of agricultural production (Bommarco et al., 2013;Isbell et al., 2017). ...
Sustainable food production requires agriculture to conserve biodiversity and facilitate ecosystem services to maintain productivity levels while reducing inputs detrimental to ecosystem functioning. Increasing within‐field vegetation diversity by legume intercropping seems promising to facilitate cropping system multi‐functionality. Effects of intercropping with legumes on biodiversity mediated ecosystem services such as pollination or natural pest control are, however, not sufficiently understood. Using 26 observation plots in a paired field design, we studied the effects of undersowing oats with a mixture of three annual clovers across different aspects of cropping system multi‐functionality. We investigated 16 below‐and above‐ground ecosystem service indicators related to soil mineral nitrogen, arable weed control, pollination, disease and pest pressures, natural pest control and crop yield. We found lower arable weed cover, higher flower cover and pollinator densities as well as decreased root‐feeding nematode densities in intercropped observation plots compared with the non‐intercropped controls. However, intercropping decreased spider activity densities and oat yield nitrogen content. Root diseases, pest damages, natural pest control and crop yield were not affected by intercropping. The biomass of undersown clovers was positively related with the differences in flower cover and pollinator densities, and negatively related with the differences in arable weed cover between the intercropped and the control treatment. Synthesis and applications: We demonstrate that undersowing annual clovers suppresses arable weeds and simultaneously support pollinators without reducing crop yields or taking land out of arable production. Undersown plant mixtures should, however, be tailored to support a wide spectrum of pollinators and benefit natural pest control in order to support a higher level of overall cropping system multi‐functionality.
... These show that the thinking of "nature for people" had already entered the convention and had resulted in a politicised and economised concept of biodiversity, going beyond the conservation of its respective components toward the utilisation of biodiversity as a resource for human needs. This socio-economically expanded understanding of biodiversity was paving the way for paradigms such as natural capital (TEEB 2018), bioeconomy (European Commission 2012) and ecological intensification (Bommarco et al. 2013). ...
... At the lower right end of the white curve ( Figure 5), concepts from bioeconomy may be applicable to foster crop diversification (Lichtenberg et al. 2017), ecological intensification (Bommarco et al. 2013) and digitalization of agricultural production (Basso and Antle 2020). At the upper left end of the curve, around the optimum of farmland biodiversity (EEA 2004), rural development for stabilising the social part of the socioecological farming systems may be required for preventing either abandonment or intensification of the production system, both resulting in loss of biodiversity (Fischer et al. 2012, Lomba et al. 2020). ...
Participants at this multistakeholder workshop shared a common aspiration to improve biodiversity in European agricultural landscapes and recognised the importance of safe food production in Europe. Working with co-designed scenarios, the workshop used an agreed set of common principles and criteria to identify
approaches to enhance biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and reduce barriers to their implementation.
Enhancing the development and uptake of available agroecological practices requires a transdisciplinary research approach in which the diversity of farmer experiences is considered and the effectiveness of specific approaches are demonstrated. The need to develop solutions tailored to local needs was highlighted, as was a lack of data required to facilitate such an advisory tool for farmers widely across the EU.
An intrinsic feature of agriculture is an alteration of the cultivated area in favour of the production of the crop species, thus altering biodiversity. However, both food security and biodiversity are important for a sustainable future and human wellbeing. How can negative influences of agriculture on biodiversity be reduced and positive interactions be enhanced toward an efficient and sustainable food production, that is, how can we optimise landscapes for food production and biodiversity? To this end a workshop based on participatory methods was organised under the auspices of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) with participants from a range of affiliations from academia, authorities, farming, industry and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) invited for their general or specific expertise and scientific knowledge.
The target was to identify consensual and targeted solutions to this optimisation of sustainable and efficient food production and maintaining / improving biodiversity.
The workshop was organised into four workshops of half-day sessions spread between December 2020 and June 2021 and was supported by a professional facilitator. The main stakeholder groups were successfully brought together. The trans disciplinary discussions between different stakeholders enabled to build trust and the willingness to adapt individual positions and increase the knowledge related to the different disciplines presented. Keynotes were offered to present a problem formulation, provide state of the art information on relevant topics and propose terms and verbiage for discussion. After the workshop, the discussions allowed to
formulate a set of recommendations in alignment with the pre-agreed criteria and principles, using the specific agricultural scenarios defined during the workshop as a guide.
To start with an open mind, participants were requested to envisage a future with thriving biodiversity and sustainable food production and imagine what farms and agricultural landscapes could look like in the future.
Many envisaged a diverse agricultural landscape with many crops farmed in a sustainable but also efficient way, using diverse farming practices and including non-productive areas (e.g., flower strips, hedgerows). Future farming would use lower energy and chemical input and employ modern technology and knowledge to
maintain efficient food production. Many also considered reduced animal production, valuation of food (and farmer’s work), acceptance of increased costs for such more sustainable and more local production, reduced food waste and meat consumption.
Four keynote lectures were provided: J. Dauber presented scientific background and some views to stimulate the discussion about the relationship between biodiversity and agriculture. T. Gäbert provided a keynote presenting a farmer’s view on optimising agriculture and biodiversity, illustrating how this works in practice.
The author is managing a large farm in Brandenburg, Germany, where they have implemented measures to enhance biodiversity adapted to local conditions while maintaining farm profitability. M. Obersteiner presented the results of a multi-model ensemble approach used to assess whether and how future biodiversity
trends from habitat loss and degradation in cultivated land can be reversed (“bending the curve of biodiversity decline”), while producing sufficient food for the growing human population, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals. F. Herzog presented agro-ecological innovations for sustainable production in
Switzerland and focused on agroforestry and flower strips and ways to improve acceptance of these measures.
A polarity mapping exercise was used to identify the positive and negative aspects of focusing just on biodiversity or just on food production when managing agricultural landscapes. Workshop participants were tasked with considering how to reconcile the opposed views identified in the polarity mapping from the
perspective of different stakeholders. Reconciliation requires: open and honest communication between different stakeholder groups; better understanding of the pros and cons of different approaches to managing agricultural landscapes; collaboration between all stakeholders to drive change and sustainable solutions; a
whole system approach that combines a suite of in field, on farm and off farm approaches and which takes the socio-economic context into consideration; application of new technologies and the tailoring of existing knowledge to develop effective solutions; incentivisation of farmers and fair food prices. An inventory of
approaches and tools, which may be promising with respect to achieving the overall target of safeguarding the necessary level of efficient food production while improving the biodiversity in agricultural landscapes was developed.
Four different farm scenarios were designed, and participants were asked to recommend which of the approaches and tools to use under the specific conditions of the selected scenario. Participants identified and agreed upon a set of principles and criteria to be considered when evaluating the various approaches (e.g.,
open, indiscriminate evaluation based on science, data or experiences and transparent reporting and decisionmaking) and using standard criteria such as effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and sustainability.
The exercise was executed at farm scale whilst envisaging the surrounding landscape. The suggested approaches were challenged for downsides, contradictory situations, ease of introduction and barriers to implementation. Such barriers like knowledge gaps, non-profitable investments or regulatory constraints were identified and described. Specific farm/farmer or landscape characteristics hampering or favouring the implementation of the approach were discussed. The measurability of effects is complex and can be demanding and very much depends on clear targets and adequate data collection. These aspects should not result in
delaying actions which benefit both biodiversity and agricultural production.
Four case studies (arable farm with degraded soil, a low productivity mixed farm, a medium-size intensive orchard and a large intensive arable farm) were conducted in order to illustrate how the approaches identified in the inventory (and any approach not previously mentioned during the inventory) could support an
improvement of biodiversity in different agricultural scenarios with no unacceptable loss of food production. The case studies reinforced the conclusion that a diversity of approaches exist, that include agronomic techniques, diversification at the crop and/or landscape level, habitat provision approaches, innovative and precision agriculture/application technologies and plant breeding as well as approaches such as agroforestry, active landscape management or transition to mixed farming systems. The scenarios also highlighted possible low hanging fruits or approaches that could be easily/further implemented, though the level of implementation
remains for some limited and deserves actions towards incentives, advisory service and training to facilitate their availability to farmers. Overall, the analysis of the proposals for all four scenarios illustrated that there is no “one approach fits all”, however the following was deduced from the analysis:
• The selection of the approaches to implement in a specific situation require to consider local agronomical, economic and environmental conditions as well as a clear vision on the biodiversity targets.
• In all situations, habitats are key for biodiversity, and small changes may provide good improvements.
• The farmer is key for the implementation of most approaches.
• Some approaches would need the support of financial or other types of incentives.
• The creation and/or reinforcement of extension services (assisted by up-to-date- IT tools) that support farmers with practical advice on agronomical and ecological aspects of the implementation of approaches is a critical element for the success of the approaches adopted.
To make a change and improve the situation regarding the workshop targets, actions of the various stakeholders are required. Therefore, participants were asked to identify approaches and activities already going in the right direction, to identify obstacles for their wider implementation, and to list possible next steps
that would contribute to making the desired change. The purpose was to jointly identify specific steps for each stakeholder group that would, in combination with steps identified from each other stakeholder group, contribute to the overarching goal to optimise the situation for improving biodiversity and ensuring safe food
production.
Developing solutions tailored to local needs and bringing them into action requires data collected at a regional scale about biodiversity and ecosystem services (both demand and supply) as well as of land use and management practices. Such data at the necessary spatial and temporal resolution are currently limited for
European countries, either because of the lack of monitoring programmes or because existing data are not readily accessible. There is therefore a need for enhanced monitoring programmes and the generation of open access databases that collate information on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services, land use and management practices for European agricultural landscapes. Integrated pest/crop management are key concepts in optimising food production and biodiversity. Enhancing the development and uptake of available
agroecological practices requires a transdisciplinary research approach in which the diversity of farmer experiences is considered and farmers take up a central role in testing and developing innovative and more sustainable farming practices. Increasing the awareness of farmers and farm advisors and demonstrating the
effectiveness of specific approaches could be achieved by using living laboratories to generate a robust evidence base on the ‘real-life’ implementation of agroecological approaches and the consequences of moving towards sustainable farming in a European context. Optimising food production and biodiversity will also
require the creation of an economic environment that enables farmers to ensure a viable income from their activities in food production and the delivery of other public goods and services.
The workshop has been successful in identifying consensual approaches which will lead to an improvement of biodiversity while maintaining efficient and safe food production in Europe. This was and can be achieved by an open minded and targeted collaboration between the relevant stakeholders based on impartial science, including farmer knowledge, and a transparent data-based evaluation of the various options.
... Agroecology is a discipline (science, practice, and social movement) that acknowledges the complexity of social and natural systems within the whole food production system, with their elements, interactions, and flows of matter, energy, and information (FAO 2018;Gliessman 2015;Wezel et al. 2009). Aiming to achieve a sustainable agricultural production, the theoretical agroecological framework offers the opportunity to meet food needs on a global scale, harness ecosystem services through the management of service-providing organisms, and achieve other social and environmental goals (Barrios et al. 2020;Bommarco, Kleijn, and Potts 2013;Tittonel 2014). Dealing with the question of sustainability evaluation of food systems and estimating the impact of possible agroecological transition requires a comprehensive understanding of the components, interactions, processes and emergent properties of those systems (Gamble, Wallace, and Thies 1996). ...
... Considering the agroecological principle of making appropriate matches between production and the natural productive potential and limitations of the land (Gliessman 2015), a sustainable approach for implementation of more intensive practices is that of ecological intensification (Tittonel 2014). Focusing on supporting and regulating services such as formation and conservation of soil, nutrient cycling and pollination would make it possible to harness these, contributing to agricultural production (Bommarco, Kleijn, and Potts 2013). ...
Specialization of agriculture in the Colombian Andes has increased smallholder vulnerability to climate change and global price fluctuations and has also affected the socio-economic and environmental conditions. Promoting sustainable agriculture in the region requires a holistic understanding of complex agroecosystems. This study identifies and analyzes the main challenges for agriculture and possibilities for agroecological transition of small-scale farms in Guachetá, Colombia. Using the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), 10 elements of agroecology and core performance criteria were evaluated on seven farms. Several key actors were then interviewed, to triangulate data and understand current challenges and possible future pathways. It was found that drier climate and variations in rainfall patterns pose major challenges to current production systems. Limited possibilities for participation in land governance, lack of interest in agriculture among young people, and lack of access to markets hinder the development of sustainable agriculture. Current specialized practices in dairy and potato production are associated with reduced agricultural biodiversity and dependency on agrochemicals, leading to weak synergies and low profitability within agroecosystems. Implementation of agroecological principles and practices such as crop and income diversification and promoting joint action in agricultural development could help overcome sustainability issues in Guachetá.
... reducing greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the use of fossil-fuel-based inputs and increasing soil carbon sequestration (Tuomisto et al. 2012;Kremen and Miles 2012;Stavi and Lal 2012;Rossing, Modernel, and Tittonell 2014). A growing body of work demonstrates that agroecological farming systems exhibit the high levels of diversity, productivity, and efficiency necessary to ensure the food supply of the growing global population in an environmentally friendly and socially equitable manner, while being more resilient to extreme weather events than conventional farming (Pretty, Morison, and Hine 2003;Altieri and Nicholls 2005;Francis and Altieri 2008;Flora 2010;Gianinazzi et al. 2010;Lin 2011;Koohafkan, Altieri, and Gimenez 2012;Kremen and Miles 2012;Kremen, Iles, and Bacon 2012;Bommarco, Kleijn, and Potts 2013;Wibbelmann et al. 2013;Dumont et al. 2014;Ferguson and Lovell 2014;Timmermann and Félix 2015;Altieri et al. 2015;Capellesso et al. 2015;Lescourret et al. 2015;Ponisio et al. 2015;Garbach et al. 2017; Herren, Haerlin, and IAASTD + 10 Advisory Group 2020; Leippert et al. 2020;Anderson et al. 2021;Bezner Kerr et al. 2021;Deaconu et al. 2021;Jones et al. 2021). ...
This dissertation explores the transition from conventional agriculture to agroecology in Nicaragua using a socio-technical systems lens. The objectives of the thesis are i) to document Nicaragua's agroecological transition, specifically the involved processes, institutions, and stakeholders and their interactions; and ii) to explore how interactions between processes, institutions, and stakeholders produce and shape the agroecological transition, and which factors enable or limit the development of the agroecological transition. Quantitative and qualitative data was gathered in Nicaragua in 2014 and 2016-2018, using a variety of methods (e.g. semi-structured interviews; participant observation; a closed-question survey; farm visits and walks; participation at local and national agroecology fairs, workshops, and conferences; review of grey and scientific literature and government documents). The overarching conceptual framework of the thesis is based in the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions, and frames the transition to agroecology as the formation of a new agroecological niche within the conventional agricultural regime. Each of the empirical chapters investigates how the agroecological transition is unfolding at a different location in the framework: at the micro-level of individual farmers; at the micro-meso level of individuals and organizations working in support of the agroecological niche; and at the niche-regime border, where the micro-meso levels interact with the macro level. The synthesis chapter identifies overarching themes that emerge when the empirical chapters' findings are brought together, and discusses these in light of the agroecology and sustainability transition literatures. From the cross-cutting analysis, main issues are identified that have implications for agroecological policy and practice. Recommendations are given for how these issues may be addressed by different stakeholder groups (national governments, civil society, private sector).
... However, species richness per se may have limited explanatory power due to redundancy, at least for broad ecosystem functions (Bommarco et al., 2013;Schirmel et al., 2012). Furthermore, taxonomic diversity may show only weak responses to environmental change due to species turnover (Duan et al., 2016;Zajicek et al., 2021), that is, the community composition might change by replacing part of the species with others without affecting the overall species richness (Schirmel et al., 2012). ...
1. Agricultural intensification and expansion has been suggested to be a major driver of the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Recent studies have shown that landscape-level effects in addition to on-site management are of significant importance for insect declines.
2. We here compared carabid beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages of wet meadows among three pairs of highly fragmented 'modern' and less fragmented 'traditional' agricultural landscapes, using pitfall trapping.
3. Taxonomic diversity and abundance of Carabidae did not differ between modern and traditional landscapes, whereas the proportions of brachypterous, large-bodied, and habitat specialist species were lower in modern compared to traditional landscapes. 4. These results suggest that landscape type affects functional rather than taxonomic carabid beetle diversity, based on species turnover.
5. To preserve functional diversity in agricultural landscapes, conservation strategies should consider the landscape level in addition to on-site management, by securing connectivity between remnants of semi-natural habitats.
... Approximately 75% of global food crops and nearly 90% of wild flowering plants are to some degree dependent on animal pollination [4,5], with insects being the most important pollinators in both natural and agricultural settings [6,7]. Pollination of crops is one of the main ecosystem services that affects agriculture [8,9], thus insect pollinators contribute to crop production, food security as well as ecosystem stability and biodiversity in agroecosystems [10,11]. ...
Apples depend on insect pollination but intensification of agriculture jeopardizes pollination services in agroecosystems. Concerns about the dependency of crop pollination exclusively on honey bees increase the interest in agricultural practices that safeguard wild pollinators in agroecosystems. The purpose of the study was to assess the potential of floral resource provision in apple orchards to enhance the conservation of hymenopterous pollinating insects and potentially the pollination service to the crop. For this reason, flowering plant mixtures sown in patches inside apple orchards were tested against wild plant patches. Pollinator taxa recorded on the sown and wild plant patches were honey bees, wild bees (Andrena, Anthophora, Eucera, Halictus, Lasioglossum, Megachilidae on both; Systropha only on wild plants; Bombus, Hylaeus, Sphecodes, Nomada, Xylocopa only on sown mixture), syrphids, bee flies. The most abundant pollinator of apple was A. mellifera but wild bees were also recorded (Andrena, Anthophora, Bombus, Xylocopa, Lasioglossum, Megachilidae). The sown mixture attracted a more diverse taxa of pollinators and in greater numbers compared to the weed flora, but it did not have an effect on pollinators visiting apple flowers. Groundcover management with patches of suitable flowering mixtures can enhance pollinator conservation in apple orchards.
... Plusieurs études mettent en évidence la corrélation positive entre les rendements et la biodiversité du sol, qui permet entre autres de structurer et d'augmenter les taux de matière organique présents dans les sols (Bona et al., 2017;Rozpadek et al., 2016;Trivedi et al., 2017). Bommarco et al. (2013) se basent sur le concept d'intensification écologique pour exprimer l'idée qu'une production agricole élevée dépend de la biodiversité et des services écosystémiques associés. Dans la récente méta-analyse de Gong et al. (2022), les auteurs n'observent pas de différence entre les rendements biologiques et conventionnels des cultures hors céréales, mais un gain de biodiversité de l'ordre de 20 %. ...
Résumé :
L’intensification de l’agriculture est une menace majeure pour la biodiversité. L’homogénéisation des paysages et les changements de pratiques réduisent la quantité et la qualité des habitats disponibles. Dans ce contexte, l’écologie des paysages peut être utilisée dans le but de proposer des modes de gestion agroécologique favorables à la biodiversité.
Dans cette thèse j’ai étudié les effets des interactions entre les bordures de parcelles et les pratiques agricoles ainsi qu’entre les bordures de parcelles et les milieux semi-naturels. J’ai pris pour modèle d’étude les paysages rizicoles du delta du Rhône en Camargue. Les paysages camarguais se caractérisent par de grands espaces de zones humides protégés en réserve, des zones de pâturage extensif et de marais à vocation cynégétique et des parcelles de grande culture. Selon leur localisation, ces cultures sont entourées de milieux semi-naturels ou dans des paysages d’openfields. En tant que zone humide majeure du bassin méditerranéen, il existe dans le delta du Rhône des enjeux de conservation de la biodiversité très importants. La Camargue est donc une zone d’étude intéressante pour travailler sur des modes de gestion agroécologique qui permettent de concilier la production alimentaire et la conservation de la biodiversité.
En étudiant l’effet de l’hétérogénéité du paysage le long d’un gradient d’intensité d’utilisation de pesticides, je montre que la présence de milieux semi-naturels surfaciques et de bordures de parcelles a un effet positif plus important pour la biodiversité dans les paysages agricoles intensifs. Ces milieux sont utilisés comme des zones refuges par différentes espèces. J’ai ensuite étudié l’effet des surfaces de bordures de parcelles le long d’un gradient de surface de milieux semi-naturels dans des paysages en agriculture biologique. J’ai ainsi mis en évidence le rôle d’habitat de substitution que peuvent avoir les bordures de parcelles pour les oiseaux nicheurs ainsi que leur utilisation comme habitat complémentaire pour les oiseaux hivernants. Cependant, la diversité des niches des espèces rencontrées dans les milieux agricoles camarguais induit des réponses contrastées aux variations de la quantité des différents types d’infrastructures agroécologiques. Afin de prendre en compte ces variations, j’ai modélisé l’effet de la plantation de haies dans le but d’optimiser la conservation de la biodiversité et la fourniture de services écosystémiques.
En conclusion, l’intensification agricole est une menace majeure pour la biodiversité, mais l’adoption de pratiques agroécologiques peut permettre de réduire ces impacts et même offrir des milieux favorables aux espèces. La prise en compte des milieux agricoles dans les programmes de conservation de la biodiversité en Europe est donc nécessaire.
Abstract:
Agricultural intensification is a major threat to biodiversity. The homogenization of landscapes and the changes of practices reduce the quantity and quality of available habitats. In this context, landscape ecology can be used to propose agroecological management methods that are favorable to biodiversity.
In this thesis, I studied the effects of interactions between field margins and agricultural practices and between field margins and semi-natural habitats. I used the rice paddy landscapes of the Rhone delta in the Camargue as a study model. The Camargue landscapes are characterized by large protected areas (wetlands mostly), extensive grazing areas and marshes for hunting purposes and crop fields surrounded by semi-natural habitats or, on the contrary, in open fields. Depending on their location, these crops are surrounded by semi-natural habitats or, on the contrary, in open fields. As a major wetland area of the Mediterranean basin, the Rhône delta has very important biodiversity conservation issues. The Camargue is therefore an interesting study area for working on agroecological management methods that reconcile food production and biodiversity conservation.
By studying the effect of landscape heterogeneity along a gradient of pesticide use intensity, I show that the presence of semi-natural habitats and field margins has a greater positive effect on biodiversity in intensive agricultural landscapes. These habitats are used as refuges by different species. I then studied the effect of field margins area along a gradient of semi-natural habitat surfaces in organic farming landscapes. I highlighted the role of field margins as substitute habitat for breeding birds and their use as complementary habitat for wintering birds. However, the diversity of niches of species found in the agricultural landscapes of the Camargue induces contrasting responses to variations in the quantity of the different types of agroecological infrastructure. In order to take these variations into account, I modeled the effect of hedgerow planting in order to optimize biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services.
In conclusion, agricultural intensification is a major threat to biodiversity, but the adoption of agroecological practices can reduce these impacts and even provide favorable habitats for species. It is therefore necessary to take into account agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation programs in Europe.
... There is increasing recognition that relying on a businessas-usual approach and entrenching reliance on nonrenewable and often hazardous inputs is unsustainable. Rather, an ecological intensification approach, in which ecosystem services such as those provided by robust communities of pollinators and natural enemies of pests, offers better scope to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience (Bommarco et al. 2013;Gurr et al. 2016;Loos et al. 2014). Aside from agricultural production, conservation of biodiversity, including that in terrestrial habitats where angiosperms and insects are the dominant higher taxa for plants and animals, respectively, is a priority (Losey & Vaughan 2006;Vanbergen & Insect Pollinators Initiative 2013). ...
The homoterpenes 4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene (DMNT) and 4,8,12‐trimethyl‐1,3,7,11‐tridecatetraene (TMTT) are volatile products of plant metabolism reported from diverse plant taxa and multiple plant tissues. As such, they have a range of potential ecological functions. Here, we review the key literature to assess evidence for roles in contrasting plant–arthropod interactions. TMTT, and DMNT especially, have been reported as sometimes dominant constituents of floral scents from angiosperm taxa ranging from primitive Magnoliales to more advanced, taxonomic orders of economic significance such as Fabales and Sapindales. Although all taxa producing TMTT and DMNT in floral scents are entomophilous (‘insect pollinated’), experimental evidence for an assumed role of these homoterpenes in pollinator attraction is limited. Representing a trade‐off, in some cases, homoterpenes in floral scents have been shown to act as kairomones, attracting herbivores. Additionally, both TMTT and DMNT are released by plant foliage in response to arthropod feeding, mechanical damage simulating feeding, or even egg deposition. Evidence for a functional role in herbivore‐induced plant volatile (HIPV) blends comes from a wide range of angiosperm orders, including anemophilous (‘wind pollinated’) taxa, as well as from gymnosperms. We conclude by considering how TMTT and DMNT function in community‐level interactions and highlighting research priorities that will reveal how plants avoid trade‐offs from contrasting ecological functions of DMNT and TMTT release and how homoterpene production might be exploited to develop improved crop varieties.
... Some production systems and landscapes may have the opportunity to capture many of the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity, such as pollination (Aizen et al. 2009) and pest control (Crowder et al. 2010), while other systems are more constrained to artificial inputs, such as fertiliser and lime. The issue is not whether we should spare or share land, but rather the need to identify opportunities to increase agricultural production while minimising the negative impacts on the environment and stemming further biodiversity loss -for example, managing ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes to maintain or enhance yield level rather than relying on external inputs (Bommarco et al. 2013). ...
... Ao fortalecer a agricultura orgânica, contribui-se para a manutenção da biodiversidade e, por consequente, o equilíbrio das relações do ecossistema, uma vez que a agricultura que rege em larga escala de maneira convencional produz efeitos negativos sobre estas relações. Terras cultivadas com sistemas de monocultivo, por possuírem objetivo de alta produtividade e rendimento, não ponderam a conservação da biota, uma vez que parte dessa biodiversidade é considerada como pragas que podem trazer prejuízos no rendimento, ao inserir no sistema um produto que as elimine, pode também, contribuir para o desaparecimento de espécies que realizam atividades benéficas para a agricultura, tais como bactérias fixadoras de nitrogênio, polinizadores, fungos micorrizas (BOMMARCO et al., 2013;BOMMARCO et al., 2018;LACOMBE et al.,2018). ...
Embora a produção sustentável e a agroecologia tenham relevância e vasta quantidade de artigos, há insuficiência de materiais sistemáticos que auxiliem no emprego operativo das características sustentáveis na produção. Esse trabalho traz uma base conceitual que direciona para a sistematização pragmática, no que diz respeito à produção orgânica, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica. A produção de alimentos em sistemas agroecológicos tem por princípios a adoção de práticas de uso saudável e consciente dos recursos naturais. A produção de orgânicos no Brasil vem apresentando crescimento significativo. Esse avanço está sendo possível devido ao modelo diversificado dos mecanismos de controle de qualidade para produtos de origem ecológica, uma vez que há maior acesso para o registro dos mesmos. Porém, o setor enfrenta várias dificuldades, como problemas de logística, processos burocráticos na certificação e déficit de insumos, além de carência de informações técnicas. Para que tais barreiras sejam superadas, investimentos em pesquisas científicas para aprimorar as técnicas de produção e estratégias de marketing para promoção dos alimentos orgânicos são recursos indispensáveis para o avanço do sistema. Além disso, o governo deve desenvolver políticas para ampliação da produção, oferta e consumo de produtos orgânicos para fortalecer e incentivar tal modelo produtivo. Palavras-chaves: Alimentos Orgânicos. Certificação. Sistemas Agroecológicos, Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável. Abstract Although sustainable production and agroecology have relevance and a vast number of articles, there is a lack of systematic materials that assist in the operational use of sustainable characteristics in production. This work provides a conceptual basis that leads to pragmatic systematization, regarding organic production, through a bibliographic review. The food production in agroecological systems is based on the adoption of healthy and conscious use of natural resources practices. Organic production in Brazil has been showing significant growth. This progress is being made possible due to the diversified model of quality control mechanisms for ecological origin products, since there is greater access to their registration. However, the sector faces several difficulties, such as logistical problems, bureaucratic processes in certification and deficit of inputs, in addition to a lack of technical information. For these barriers to be overcome, investments in scientific research to improve production techniques and marketing strategies for promoting organic food are indispensable resources for the system advancement. In addition, the government must develop policies to expand the production, supply and consumption of organic products to strengthen and encourage such a productive model. Keywords: Organic Food. Certification. Agroecological Systems. Sustainable Rural Development.
... Since the rise of the Green Revolution, most countries in the world have begun to vigorously promote modern planting modes, strengthen irrigation and management, and raise the amount of fertilizer and pesticide application to increase the unit and total area output [1][2][3]. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers will have an impact on the agricultural ecological environment, including soil pollution and agricultural water pollution [4][5][6][7]. Therefore, it is essential to maintain sustainable agricultural development, protect soil ecosystems and promote the rational use of chemical fertilizers [8][9][10]. ...
Liquid fertilizer has many advantages, such as low production cost and little environmental pollution. Liquid fertilizer open furrow strip application method is widely used in fertilizer application operation. The widely used core-share furrow opener has a high operational resistance, disturbing the soil, hurting the crop roots, causing the liquid fertilizer to volatilize and deteriorating the fertilization effect. In this study, based on the streamline curve of the sturgeon body, we designed several bionic sturgeon liquid fertilizer deep application openers by combining bionics and analyzed the effects of several openers under different operating speeds on open furrow resistances and soil disturbance based on the discrete element method. The mechanism of open furrow resistances reduction and efficient soil backfill of the bionic structure were verified by indoor soil bin tests. The test results show that, compared with the core-share type furrow opener, both open furrow resistances and soil disturbance of the bionic sturgeon liquid fertilizer deep application opener are smaller. This study provides theoretical and practical references for the design of liquid fertilizer deep application openers.
... Rodent management issues are very important because of the damage they cause [14,16] and the sustainability of agriculture, which require coordinated eradication. Therefore, integrated pest management aims to minimize the use of rodenticides by recommending environmentally safer methods [17]. ...
Fruit and berry farms are anthropogenic habitats still inhabited by small mammals, though their presence is constantly affected by agricultural activities. Based on trapping data from 2018–2022, we analyzed the abundance and population structure of the dominant rodent species to assess changes in gender and age ratios by year and habitat, the annual and seasonal dynamics of relative abundance, and the relationship between breeding parameters and abundance. The relative abundance of the dominant species, common vole, yellow-necked mouse, striped field mouse, and bank vole, and their proportion in the investigated community varied according to year, season, and habitat. No outbreaks were recorded during the study period. The abundance of the striped field mouse exhibited a downward trend independently of habitat, while the abundance and proportions of the other three species were habitat-dependent. There was no consistent pattern between litter size and relative abundance in the same or following years. Given the ongoing conflict between biodiversity conservation in Europe and agriculture, the results contribute to a better understanding of the functioning and viability of rodent populations in fruit farms and may be used in agroecology and sustainable farming.
... In recent years, the concept of ecological intensification has been developed [6]. This concept aims to increase the contribution of natural cycles and resource flow in agricultural production by wide utilization of supporting and regulating ecosystem services provided mainly by beneficial organisms [7,8]. ...
In the paper, we overview the benefits of cereal-grain legume mixtures in low-input farming systems and identify the key factors affecting their agricultural performance. The review was based on the data collected from databases such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The gathered literature covered the original research articles, reviews, book chapters, and, in a few cases, conference proceedings. The focus was on literature coming from Mediterranean countries and Central-Eastern Europe, especially from Poland. Originating from two different plant families, legumes and cereals complement each other. The legumes provide biologically fixed nitrogen for the cereals in the mixture, but also increase its pool available to the following crops. Additional benefits include, but are not limited to more efficient pathogen and weed control, supply of high-quality fodder, and improved economic efficiency. Cultivation of crops after such mixtures usually results in higher and more stable yields. The productivity of cereal-grain legume mixtures largely depends on the soil factors (soil type, pH, water availability, etc.), crop species, crop variety, and crop management. Cereal-grain legume mixtures are particularly relevant to the poor (sandy) soils which are often unsuitable for the production of the components grown as a sole crop and are often linked with low-input farming systems.
... The mimicry of nature, as reflected in the adoption of natural measures to enhance ecosystem functioning, is core to ecological intensification and nature-based agricultural systems (Bommarco et al., 2013;Pulleman et al., 2022). Furthermore, such approaches help limit modern agriculture's heavy reliance on the high usage of external inputs, which tends to reduce environmental externalities towards attaining food and water security coupled with climate ideals (Donkor et al., 2019;Dynarski et al., 2020) (Fig. 2, blue cluster). ...
Land as a whole, and soil, in particular, plays a critical function in the climate system. The various types of land use, especially agriculture and forestry, account for nearly a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the world's soil is under pressure from many factors, including climate change and land use change. Increases in temperature, prolonged drought and floods put pressure on the soil. In order to contribute to a better understanding of these interactions, we conducted a review combining a narrative-focused approach, selecting examples worldwide, and a bibliometric analysis (VosViewer software). This review reports on a study that analyses how climate change and land use change may negatively influence soil biodiversity and related services. It also outlines some of the actions needed to increase the resilience of soil biodiversity in the context of a changing climate. Some key findings are: 1) Well-managed soils are critical for resilient production systems. 2) Integrated agricultural production systems have gained prominence as climate-resilient production systems. 3) Agricultural zoning may be a valuable tool in integrated systems to minimise the effects of climate change. However, it is vital to continuously monitor environmental variations so producers can be more prepared for climate change and extreme events. Finally, adequate water management is essential for soil functioning under climate change aggravating water scarcity. An intersectoral approach between critical sectors facilitates comprehensive water management.
... The contrast between biodiversity-based farming systems, which use ecosystem services substantially, and input-based farming systems defines the vertical axis of Thérond et al.'s (2017) analytical framework. The inputs that may be reduced using ecosystem services are those used for soil fertility and structure, pest and disease management, and water supply (Bommarco et al., 2013). Agricultural practices that promote ecosystem services also include choices of species and varieties (Thérond et al., 2017). ...
En France, le maraichage en agriculture biologique est un secteur dynamique, composé de fermesprésentant différents niveaux d’agroécologie laissant supposer une potentielle bifurcation entre desfermes biologiques « conventionnalisées » reposant sur l’utilisation d’intrants, et des fermes« agroécologiques » valorisant les ressources de l’écosystème. Cette hétérogénéité interroge sur ladiversité potentielle des impacts environnementaux associés. S’appuyant sur des donnéesessentiellement qualitatives collectées auprès de 165 fermes et sur un cadre d’analyse conceptuel, lathèse propose une caractérisation de la diversité des fermes et identifie quatre types : 1) lesmicrofermes diversifiées et utilisant peu d’intrants ; 2) les maraîchers diversifiés de taille moyenne ; 3)les producteurs spécialisés dans la culture sous abri ; et 4) les maraîchers spécialisés dans la culture deplein champ. Les caractéristiques des fermes et leur variabilité confirment l’existante de deux pôles« conventionnalisées » et « agroécologiques », tout en montrant qu’il s’agit d’une visionsimplificatrice, la majorité des fermes se trouvant entre ces deux pôles.Afin d’évaluer les performances environnementales de ces systèmes maraichers, l’analyse du cycle devie (ACV) a été mobilisée. Les fermes complexes, cultivant une grande diversité de légumes en lesassociant sur de petites surfaces dans une approche agroécologique systémique, posent des défis àcette méthode dans la prise en compte de leurs impacts sur la biodiversité et les interactions spatialeset temporelles sur lesquelles elles reposent. En adaptant le système expert SALCA-BD, j’ai comparédes fermes par rapport à leur impact sur la biodiversité, et mis en évidence l’importance des habitatssemi-naturels pour la biodiversité. SALCA-BD permet une évaluation détaillée de l’impact sur labiodiversité qui peut servir de base pour développer des méthodes d’évaluation combinant impactsglobaux et locaux dans un cadre d’ACV.Une approche système de l’ACV a été employée. Cette approche aborde la ferme comme un toutproduisant différents produits et où tous les intrants, opérations, et émissions sont rapportés à laproduction annuelle totale. Cette optique correspond à la logique de l'agroécologie, où beaucoupd’intrants sont raisonnés à l’échelle de la ferme et non à la culture, et où les cultures sontcomplémentaires les unes des autres. Préférée à une ACV par culture, l’approche système prend encompte les interactions au sein du système, et permet de comparer les systèmes entre eux. D’un pointde vue pratique, elle est adaptée au format des données souvent disponibles dans les fermesdiversifiées et évite des allocations.ivL’application de cette approche de l’ACV à trois fermes contrastées a permis l’analyse des forces etfaiblesses de ces fermes vis-à-vis de l’environnement, faisant apparaître de grandes différences entreles systèmes dans leurs principaux postes d’impact. Avec l’utilisation de plusieurs catégories d’impactet unités fonctionnelles, aucune ferme ne ressort clairement meilleure qu’une autre pourl’environnement. Exprimé par unité de surface, la ferme de plein champ, plus extensive, a le moinsd’impact et la ferme spécialisée sous tunnel a le plus d’impact, quelle que soit la catégorie d’impact.En revanche, quand les impacts sont exprimés par kg de produit ou par la valeur des produits (en Euro)les différences entre les trois fermes sont plus faibles. La comparaison des systèmes doit se faire engardant à l’esprit que les fermes ont des productions différentes et complémentaires. Les interactionset complémentarités entre ces modèles méritent d’être étudiées.Enfin, l’application de l’ACV système a permis d’identifier des perspectives de développementméthodologiques pour mieux estimer les émissions de nitrate, pour harmoniser l’évaluation desimpacts environnementaux des fertilisants organiques et pour intégrer la question de la pollution parles (micro)plastiques.
... Promoting synergies between agriculture production and biodiversity conservation is vital for achieving sustainable development in working landscapes (Bommarco et al 2013). Our results show that coffee yields benefit from multifunctional landscapes that preserve 20% or more of mature forests (older than 20 years), most likely through the enhancement of ecosystem service provision. ...
Restoration of native tropical forests is crucial for protecting biodiversity and ecosystem functions, such as carbon stock capacity. However, little is known about the contribution of early stages of forest regeneration to crop productivity through the enhancement of ecosystem services, such as crop pollination and pest control. Using data from 610 municipalities along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (30 m spatial resolution), we evaluated if young regenerating forests (less than 20 years old) are positively associated with coffee yield and whether such a relationship depends on the amount of preserved forest in the surroundings of the coffee fields. We found that regenerating forest alone was not associated with variations in coffee yields. However, the presence of young regenerating forest (within a 500 m buffer) was positively related to higher coffee yields when the amount of preserved forest in a 2 km buffer is above a 20% threshold cover. These results further reinforce that regional coffee yields are influenced by changes in biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services, which are explained by the amount of mature forest in the surrounding of coffee fields. We argue that while regenerating fragments may contribute to increased connectivity between remnants of forest fragments and crop fields in landscapes with a minimum amount of forest (20%), older preserved forests (more than 20 years) are essential for sustaining pollinator and pest enemy’s populations. These results highlight the potential time lag of at least 20 years of regenerating forests’ in contributing to the provision of ecosystem services that affect coffee yields (e.g., pollination and pest control). We emphasize the need to implement public policies that promote ecosystem restoration and ensure the permanence of these new forests over time.
... Agricultural productivity gains have been achieved at the expense of biodiversity, which is now seriously threatened (Dudley and Alexander 2017;Raven and Wagner 2021). Ecological intensification of agricultural systems, which consists in increasing the services delivered by biodiversity, offers a promising way to reduce environmental impacts of modern agriculture (Wratten et al. 2012;Bommarco et al. 2013). Among the key ecological processes embedded within ecological intensification, biological pest control, that consists in controlling pest populations by their natural enemies, is an important ecosystem service that can help in reducing crop damages and pesticide use (and multiple associated side effects e.g. ...
ContextManipulating crop diversity in the landscape has been suggested as a promising management option to enhance biocontrol but how crop diversity independently of other important aspects of landscape structure affects predator and pest abundances remain largely unexplored.Objectives
Our study assessed the relative and interactive effects of crop composition and configuration on aphids and their generalist predators, i.e. ladybirds, spiders and lacewings.Methods
We sampled arthropods in 47 cotton fields and 21 wheat fields in Hebei, China, located along three landscape gradients: crop diversity (Shannon diversity of crops ranging from 0.27 to 1.32 corresponding to a crop richness varying from 2 to 7 different crops), crop configurational (crop edge density varying from 0.0012 m/ha to 0.066 m/ha) and proportion of semi-natural habitats (varying from 0.5% to 56%).ResultsCrop diversity never had any effect on arthropod communities and we found no effect of the proportion of semi-natural habitats on natural enemies’ abundances. Aphid abundance was positively correlated with the proportion of semi-natural habitats both in cotton and wheat fields. Lacewing abundance benefited from configurational heterogeneity as abundances increased with crop edge density.Conclusions
Our result provide evidence that crop diversity is probably not the best management option to enhance biocontrol of aphids in Chinese landscapes and confirms that the amount of semi-natural habitats in the landscape is a critical aspect shaping arthropod communities. It also indicates that manipulating crop edge density by promoting agricultural landscapes with small field size for instance can benefit natural enemies of crop pests.
... Monetary valuation of ecosystem services and natural capital would support evaluating the scale and magnitude of impacts and thus raise awareness of the importance of environment to policy makers [2,80]. Previous studies show that variations in ecosystem services will have substantial influence on agricultural productivity and enhance the food security (e.g., [84][85]. Our work further extends the impact assessment towards the overall economy and provides information needed for economic analysis and policy-making relevant to MU at national level by further incorporating natural capital into a CGE model. ...
The rapid development of offshore wind farms (OWFs) has raised concerns about the increasing conflicts and synergies with existing marine activities, especially the traditional fishery industry, from socioeconomic and environmental perspectives. Quantifying the conflicts and synergies require frameworks that can consider environment and economic systems simultaneously. This study builds on and extends a well-established computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to incorporate a natural capital and ecosystem service into the modelling framework, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the two-way interactions between the economy and natural environment. Our results suggest that expansion of OWFs has significant negative impacts on the seafood sectors, whereas fish stocks benefit slightly as fewer fish are harvested. Moreover, the increase in fish stocks due to the closed areas and artificial reef effect could bring benefits to the fishing sector, and pass onto the wider economy. The combined impacts of expansion of OWFs and increased fish stock demonstrate the potential benefits of multi-use of marine spaces by the OWFs and fishing activities. This modelling approach provides an illustration of the potential and importance of incorporating natural capital into CGE models in practice, which could be used for policy making regarding marine renewable energy and sustainable development planning in the marine environment.
... A new crop production paradigm based on the concepts of ecological intensification and sustainable soil management is needed to face both local and global challenges of providing food and material in a growing demand scenario while minimizing negative environmental impacts (Bommarco et al., 2013;Ramankutty et al., 2018;García-Palacios et al., 2019). In this regard, crop management based on diversification practices that enhance biodiversity in cropping systems can increase resource use efficiency and the stability of the agroecosystem production over time (Cardinale et al., 2012;Wagg et al., 2014;Renard and Tilman, 2019). ...
Soils provide key ecosystem services and are crucial to combat climate change. Agriculture provides important ecosystem services but also causes negative environmental effects depending on agricultural management. In this regard, crop diversification is a promising sustainable land management strategy to combat soil erosion and degradation, mitigate climate change and ensure food security. Here, we assess the combined short-term effects of crop diversification and no tillage on several key soil physico-chemical parameters related to soil functioning as well as on crop yields in a rainfed almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) orchard under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Almond trees were inter-cropped with Capparis spinosa L. (caper) or Thymus hyemalis Lange (winter thyme) and compared with the almond monocrop system. The experimental design consisted of three plots in a randomized-block design, with three replicates for each crop management treatment (almond monocrop, almond inter-cropped with caper, and almond inter-cropped with winter thyme). Along with crop yields, the combined effects of crop diversification and no tillage on a range of soil quality and health indicators including soil physical (bulk density, aggregate stability, water retention and availability) and chemical (total and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, ammonium and nitrate content, available macro- and micro-nutrients) properties were monitored in the topsoil and subsoil (at 0–10 and 10–30 cm depth, respectively) one and three years from establishment.
Results
from this study indicate that soil water retention capacity and water availability for plants were enhanced in both crop diversification systems after three years from their implementation at 0–30 cm depth. Likewise, improvements in particulate organic carbon and available N were observed in the subsoil of both crop diversifications. Crop diversification did not significantly affect the main crop yields, highlighting that crop diversification can be a promising sustainable management practice for improving soil health without compromising food security under semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Indeed, land equivalent ratios (LER) of almond trees inter-cropped with winter thyme were higher than those of their respective monocrop systems for two consecutive years, indicating that inter-cropping with aromatics can improve the productivity of rainfed woody monocrop systems under semiarid conditions. Our results emphasize the importance of selecting an appropriate secondary crop that ensures a permanent soil cover while contributes to enhance the agroecosystem productivity from the first year of establishment onwards to off-set plausible lower yields from the main crop. In this regard, preliminary assessments on soil condition and crop nutrient requirements are encouraged before designing and implementing a crop diversification in these low-input cropping systems.
Likewise, long-term studies are needed to provide evidence on the stability of the production of diversified crop management, particularly in these low-input cropping systems under harsh environmental conditions.
... Wild bee decline in Europe is strongly affected by agricultural intensification during the green revolution and associated largescale landscape conversion (Bommarco et al., 2013;Garibaldi et al., 2011;Goulson et al., 2008;Ollerton et al., 2014;Sánchez-Bayo & Wyckhuys, 2019). The increasing replacement of crop rotation with synthetic fertilizers (Bommarco et al., 2012;Goulson et al., 2005;Ollerton et al., 2014) and an enhanced application of pesticides (Cameron et al., 2011;Grixti et al., 2009) and herbicides (Marlin & LaBerge, 2001) amplified the negative effects. ...
Wild bee species are important pollinators in agricultural landscapes. However, population decline was reported over the last decades and is still ongoing. While agricultural intensification is a major driver of the rapid loss of pollinating species, transition zones between arable fields and forest or grassland patches, i.e., agricultural buffer zones, are frequently mentioned as suitable mitigation measures to support wild bee populations and other pollinator species. Despite the reported general positive effect, it remains unclear which amount of buffer zones is needed to ensure a sustainable and permanent impact for enhancing bee diversity and abundance. To address this question at a pollinator community level, we implemented a process-based, spatially explicit simulation model of functional bee diversity dynamics in an agricultural landscape. More specifically, we introduced a variable amount of agricultural buffer zones (ABZs) at the transition of arable to grassland, or arable to forest patches to analyze the impact on bee functional diversity and functional richness. We focused our study on solitary bees in a typical agricultural area in the Northeast of Germany. Our results showed positive effects with at least 25% of virtually implemented agricultural buffer zones. However, higher amounts of ABZs of at least 75% should be considered to ensure a sufficient increase in Shannon diversity and decrease in quasi-extinction risks. These high amounts of ABZs represent effective conservation measures to safeguard the stability of pollination services provided by solitary bee species. As the model structure can be easily adapted to other mobile species in agricultural landscapes, our community approach offers the chance to compare the effectiveness of conservation measures also for other pollinator communities in future.
... However, there is considerable evidence for ecological services provided by the organic matter supply to soils. According to Bommarco et al. (2013), increasing SOM amounts and diversifying crop rotations are the most effective measures to promote the support of ecological services in agroecosystems. Based on a large European survey, Garrat et al. (2018) showed that increased SOC in soil can partially replace nitrogen fertilizer and reduce pest pressure in cereals under conventional management, even without further agroecological optimization of farming systems. ...
... táblázat). Már korábbi vizsgálatok is igazolták, hogy a kertészeti kultúrákban a dísznövények és egyéb virágos növények beintegrálása a termesztésbe az ökológiai intenzifikáció egy lehetséges útja (Bommarco et al. 2013, Benjamin et al. 2014, Blanco-Canqui 2015, Garibaldi et al. 2016, ami hasznos eszköz lehet arra, hogy a pollinátorok számára kedvező feltételeket biztosítson a gazdálkodó, javítva az ökológiai állapotokon túl a saját gazdasági produkcióját is. ...
Az emberi népesség erőteljes növekedésével párhuzamos mezőgazdasági intenzifikáció következtében fokozottabban kell figyelnünk a források felelős használatára és az ökoszisztémák megfelelő működésének fenntartására. A megfelelő működésben kiemelkedő szerepet töltenek be a különböző megporzók, hiszen a gyümölcs- és zöldségtermesztés produkciójának körülbelül 84 %-át biztosítják, mely produkció mesterséges megporzással jelentős erőforrásokat igényel. Esettanulmányunkban három különböző, a Szentendrei-szigeten elhelyezkedő gazdálkodási rendszer (permakultúrás, ökológiai és konvencionális) hatásait mértük fel a pollinátorok fajcsoportjainak időbeli, átlagos gazdaságszintű egyedszáma és diverzitása tekintetében. Minden területen vizuális mintavételezést végeztünk 2019-ben, összesen négy időpontban (május 19., július 04., július 22. és szeptember 05.). A három gazdaság közül a permakultúrás gazdaságban volt a legmagasabb a pollinátorok összegyedszáma és taxonómiai csoportjainak diverzitása a vizsgált év négy időpontját összevetve. Konklúzióként elmondható, hogy a térben és időben jelentős mértékű és változatosságú méhlegelőt biztosító gazdaságok létesítése és fenntartása rendkívül fontos a megfelelő pollinátor egyedszám és diverzitás fenntartásában, és így a hosszútávon megfelelő rovarbeporzású növényi produkció biztosításában, amit esettanulmányunk eredményei alapján a három közül leginkább a permakultúrás gazdaság biztosíthat.
... The observed decline in functional crop diversity over time could indicate an average decline in the provisioning of ecosystem services on conventional Swedish crop producing farms over the last decade (Egli et al., 2021;Finney and Kaye, 2017;Hajjar et al., 2008;Iverson et al., 2014;Josefsson et al., 2017). This implies a fall in the capacity of Swedish crop producing farms to generate, capture and cycle resources within the farm, e.g., for crop protection and nutrition, making farms more dependent on externally acquired inputs and more exposed to changes in input prices (Bommarco et al., 2013;D'Annolfo et al., 2017). Given the positive association between farm size and all three metrics of crop diversity over the study period, it seems that larger farms currently are better equipped to tackle such challenges compared with smaller farms and, if correct, policies would need to be instituted that increase possibilities for small farms to diversify. ...
The diversity of cultivated crops is relevant on various spatial scales, from the field and farm to the landscape. We apply a decomposition of the Shannon diversity index that allows the differentiation of functional diversity of production. The decomposition separates diversity of functional crop groups from related diversity, which shows the species diversity within the crop groups. Using population-based field and farm-level data from Sweden 2001–2018, we are able to study the development of overall (Shannon), functional and related crop diversity among a total of 83770 farms. Crop diversity indices are calculated by farm and year based on the Swedish Land Parcel Identification system (LPIS). We find that functional crop diversity has declined among Swedish farms over the period. Related crop diversity has declined but regained in recent years. Accounting for farm size and pedoclimatic conditions, organic farms have a higher functional diversity, and the uptake of organic practices leads to an increase in functional crop diversity over the period.
... On environmental terms, agricultural subsidies intensify agricultural production, require higher use of pesticides and fertilizers, increase land use change and degradation, increase water pollution, and lead to biodiversity loss [10]. In fact, agricultural intensification causes negative impacts on the environment and biodiversity, including increased erosion, lower soil fertility, and an extensive conversion of land use with the loss of natural habitats [11,12], and it is among the leading causes of water pollution [13]. Moreover, the biological impoverishment associated with agricultural intensification may compromise the delivery of ecosystem services important for human welfare [14]. ...
In Chile, promotion of activities in the silvoagricultural sector has been made through the implementation of Instruments of Productive Promotion, which are governmental interventions oriented to increase productive systems by applying economic incentives. However, its use has not been exempted of criticism due to the poor articulation and coordination between the programs and because their implementation has lacked a coordinated territorial approach. Chile has committed to different international frameworks to protect biodiversity, including the Convention on Biological Diversity that, through the Aichi targets, aimed to either eliminate or reform incentives, including subsidies, to minimize negative impacts and to manage agriculture in a sustainable manner. Allocation of IPPs used to finance field work (IPP-FFWs) at the silvoagricultural sector was analyzed, including amounts granted, use of the funds, and geographical distribution; they explored eventual links with biodiversity trends, including identified drivers of biodiversity loss. We found that, in the last two decades, IPP-FFWs have more than quintupled; the activities funded relate to main anthropogenic factors associated with ecosystems deterioration, including land use change and plantations with exotic species; the funding mostly occurs where most relevant Chilean terrestrial biodiversity features concentrate and where most ecosystems that have been classified under risk are located.
... It is essential and helpful to understand the impacts of agricultural management intensity on communities of soil fauna in order to sustain, re-establish, and enhance the roles of biodiversity in the soil function of agricultural areas [5]. Goals of conservation agriculture are to build a sustainable agricultural system that maximizes crop productivity while significantly decreasing adverse environmental effects [12,13]. To do this, agronomical techniques should incorporate ecological processes to depend on more efficiency in the self-regulation of agroecosystems [14,15]. ...
Agriculture itself has been considered one of the leading reasons for biodiversity loss because of the huge quantity of land dedicated to just this activity, and agricultural intensification has impacted soil organisms at several taxonomic levels. Soil biota is a vital component of the agricultural system, providing essential ecosystem services while also having synergistic impacts on crop yield. Preservation of their diversity becomes a major element of an agricultural sustainability strategy. Many studies focused on agricultural activities' effects on soil organisms, but few of them have focused on their effects on the co-occurrence patterns of their communities. Collembola communities are frequently employed as a substitute for soil organisms; thus, as a surface-dwelling arthropods representative, we investigated assemblages of soil Collembola in reaction to the arrangement of 6 treatments varying in crop rotation (MC: monoculture (corn) vs. CS: corn–soybean rotation) and tillage types (MP: mould ploughing; RT: ridge tillage; and NT: no-tillage). We hypothesized that Collembola communities with strong furca would respond well to the agricultural practices than those with weak furca, and there would be strong co-occurrence between species of Collembola communities belonging to the treatments with less intensity of soil disturbance and more variation in crop rotation. Our study found no clear evidence of a beneficial effect of crop rotation on Collembola communities. Although Collembola with strong furca shows higher abundances in plots with mold plowing, weak furca abundances were not showing any difference (differences in abilities to move fast from harsh habitats could be the reason for different responses of these two groups). Network analysis revealed that Collembola assemblages seem to occur more responsive to tillage intensity than crop rotation. Network graphs of treatments with ridge tillage are significantly more clustered than all others. For the first time, we can show that assemblages of springtails in agriculture were distinguished by a pattern of co-occurrence alongside agricultural practices (crop rotation, soil tillage), showing variations in the disturbance of soil and soil nutrients. Our results, contrary to our expectations, demonstrated that the effects of agricultural activities on Collembola abundance and diversity could be weak after long-term application of the same treatment, but still, they will clearly affect the bonds between Collembola species by affecting their co-occurrence pattern in Collembola communities.
... Being different from other models of biological control, as it is not based on the introduction nor mass release of exotic natural enemies (Gurr and You 2015;Heimpel and Mills 2017). The ecological intensification of agricultural production can help to enhance the crucial ecosystem function that naturally occurring biological control agents provide, which is the regulation of pest populations and contribution to crop productivity (Bommarco, Kleijn, and Potts 2013). ...
Biological control is an alternative strategy to control Cacopsylla bidens. The aim of this study was to untanglethe trophic network involving C. bidens as prey. Molecular techniques along with predator activity surveys were employed to evaluate predation on psylla. Feeding on C. bidens was detected for five predators: Chrysoperla externa, Chrysopidae sp., Hemerobiidae sp., Harmonia axyridis and Cycloneda sanguinea. All these predators begin to feed earlier in the season, apart from C. externawhich fedds from the third psylla generation. These results will allow the development of strategies to increase the presence of these predators in the orchards.
... Landscape pattern security and landscape quality security are two important references for ecological security assessment, but with the increasing interactions between human and landscape and the awareness of the influences of ecological services on the sustainability of landscape development, the value of landscape ecological services has raised considerably (Bommarco et al., 2013). The premise of a secure ecology is the positive ecological services provided by the ecosystem for human beings (Wang & Pan, 2019). ...
The spatial-temporal heterogeneity of landscape ecological security has been carried out for the Zhong County in this work based on the framework of “functionality-organization-stability” using the multidate Landsat TM image of 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018 as the basic data. During the research period, landscape ecological security situation in Zhong County indicates a trend of deteriorating. The high ecological security zone was constantly shifting to the low ecological security zone from 2000 to 2018. The ratios were 13.40%, 61.32%, 28.34%, and 13.33%. The low ecological security area in research area focuses on the northeast part and middle part, while the high-security area focuses on Yangtze river way and its both sides and Northwest. The main obstacle factor of landscape ecological security transfers into stability from functionality. Therefore it suggests to optimize land use pattern in landscape planning and construction in the future in order to raise the landscape ecological security level.
... A transition towards less pesticide-dependent approaches can spawn multiple societal benefits (Wyckhuys et al., 2022b). Much is to be gained from consolidating the agro-ecological foundation of integrated pest management (IPM) and by preventing pest attacks through sanitary practices, varietal resistance, diversification tactics or biological control (Bommarco et al., 2013;Deguine et al., 2021;Dively et al., 2018). ...
China is the world's second largest maize producer and consumer. In recent years, the invasive fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) has adversely affected maize productivity and compromised food security. To mitigate pest-inflicted food shortages, China's Government issued biosafety certificates for two genetically modified (GM) Bt maize hybrids, Bt-Cry1Ab DBN9936 and Bt-Cry1Ab/Cry2Aj Ruifeng125, in 2019. Here, we quantitatively assess the impact of both Bt maize hybrids on pest feeding damage, crop yield and food safety throughout China's maize belt. Without a need to resort to synthetic insecticides, Bt maize could mitigate lepidopteran pest pressure by 61.9 ~ 97.3%, avoid yield loss by 16.4 ~ 21.3% (range -11.9 ~ 99.2%) and lower mycotoxin contamination by 85.5 ~ 95.5% as compared to the prevailing non-Bt hybrids. Yield loss avoidance varied considerably between experimental sites and years, as mediated by on-site infestation pressure and pest identity. For either seed mixtures or block refuge arrangements, pest pressure was kept below established thresholds at 90% Bt maize coverage in Yunnan (where S. frugiperda was the dominant species) and 70% Bt maize coverage in other sites dominated by Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée). Drawing on experiences from other crop/pest systems, Bt maize in se can provide area-wide pest management and thus contribute to a progressive phase-down of chemical pesticide use. Hence, when consciously paired with agroecological and biodiversity-based measures, GM insecticidal crops can ensure food and nutrition security, contribute to the sustainable intensification of China's agriculture and reduce food systems' environmental footprint.
... Larger field sizes, decreased crop species diversity and removal of non-productive landscape elements such as hedgerows, trees and ponds all contributed to the simplification of the agricultural landscape, resulting in a decline in food resources, nesting sites and overwintering habitat for wild species (Clough et al., 2020;Rusch et al., 2016). Together with a high input of agrochemicals such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, these practices have not only affected farmland biodiversity, but also jeopardized the delivery of biodiversity-based ecosystem services that support agricultural production (Bommarco et al., 2013). In this context, there is a clear need for more sustainable farming systems that can better reconcile biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services provisioning and long-term food security. ...
Biological pest control, relying on naturally occurring predator‐prey dynamics, is considered a key element to achieve more sustainable farming systems. However, the combined effects of local management and landscape factors on communities of natural enemies as well as the cascading effects on pest infestations are rarely addressed, especially in perennial crops. Here, we used Piecewise Structural Equation Modelling (PSEM) to test direct and indirect effects of landscape composition, landscape configuration and local management practices on natural enemy communities, the pest control services they provide and ultimately on pest infestation and pest‐related yield damage in apple crops. To this end, we surveyed 12 organic and 12 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) orchards during three consecutive years, and we also established a semi‐natural benchmark to quantify the extent to which predator communities in the orchards were degraded. Natural enemies had a different community composition and were more abundant in organic orchards compared to IPM orchards. This had a small and positive effect on sentinel egg predation rates in organic orchards, but overall had very little impact on actual apple pest infestation. On the contrary, apple pest infestation levels were directly and positively affected by organic management practices and by increasing semi‐natural habitat cover and landscape edge density. Compared to a semi‐natural benchmark, both agricultural management systems showed degraded predator communities, which translated into an impaired delivery of biological control services. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that organic management and habitat conservation can enhance natural enemies and stimulate pest control, but also show that these factors can enhance pest infestations and can even lead to an overall increase in pest‐related crop damage. Our study thus highlights the complex interplay of ecosystem services and disservices provided by biodiversity, which should be taken into account when advising farmers, policy makers and land managers on effective and sustainable strategies to control pest species and safeguard crop production.
... While there are concerns about economic losses associated with bird activities in agro-ecosystems systems, such as seed predation, this is outweighed by the ecosystem services and economic gains they provide (Dhindsa and Saini, 1994;Borad et al., 2001;MEA, 2005;Kale et al., 2012). For example, while around 20% of agricultural production is destroyed by insects each year (Bonning and Chougule, 2014), enabling natural predators to control these insect populations can increase sustainable agricultural production systems and help improve crop resilience by preventing crop disasters (Bommarco et al., 2011(Bommarco et al., , 2013. Despite this, the demands of an increasing human population (Godfray et al., 2010), climate change (Mawdsley et al., 2009), and land use (McDonald, 2009) are major threats to birds in agricultural landscapes. ...
... Irrespective of farm size, ecologically sound practices ( e.g. minimum tillage, legume N-fixing crops, stubble retention) that can reduce environmental impacts, thereby enhancing climate neutrality and keeping food production systems in safe spaces, should be introduced ( Bommarco et al., 2013. Further, combining local measures with landscape management concepts ( through permanent green infrastructure, enhanced crop diversity, and coordinated placement of agri-environment schemes) provides a novel pathway to more sustainable agriculture . ...
Non-gene-editing microbiome engineering (NgeME) is the rational design and control of natural microbial consortia to perform desired functions. Traditional NgeME approaches use selected environmental variables to force natural microbial consortia to perform the desired functions. Spontaneous food fermentation, the oldest kind of traditional NgeME, transforms foods into various fermented products using natural microbial networks. In traditional NgeME, spontaneous food fermentation microbiotas (SFFMs) are typically formed and controlled manually by the establishment of limiting factors in small batches with little mechanization. However, limitation control generally leads to trade-offs between efficiency and the quality of fermentation. Modern NgeME approaches based on synthetic microbial ecology have been developed using designed microbial communities to explore assembly mechanisms and target functional enhancement of SFFMs. This has greatly improved our understanding of microbiota control, but such approaches still have shortcomings compared to traditional NgeME. Here, we comprehensively describe research on mechanisms and control strategies for SFFMs based on traditional and modern NgeME. We discuss the ecological and engineering principles of the two approaches to enhance the understanding of how best to control SFFM. We also review recent applied and theoretical research on modern NgeME and propose an integrated in vitro synthetic microbiota model to bridge gaps between limitation control and design control for SFFM.
This article is a systematic review of the knowledge of technical-economic and environmental performance in agroecological transition. The data collected in the Scopus and dimension database concerned exclusively published articles and journals, using the relevant terms. Thus, 227 documents exported from Scopus and dimension were submitted to a bibliometric analysis with the Citespace software, then the inclusion and exclusion criteria were carried out according to the ROSES standards. The results reveal that the annual production of studies related to the technical-economic and environmental performance in agro-ecological transition is increasing with an annual growth rate of about 1.3%. There is a common understanding of agroecological transition. The agroecological transition addresses the problems of the food system from field to plate, covering all activities and actors involved in the cultivation based on natural resources. Among the agroecological practices analyzed, the application of compost seems the most promising to be scaled up to improve economic and environmental performance.
More sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, including ecological intensification, are needed to reduce biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. We evaluated the potential of ecological intensification through the enhancement of pollination services in an intensively managed and insect‐pollinated crop, Macadamia integrifolia. We compared the effects and importance of agronomic practices that include agronomic input (i.e. irrigation and managed honeybees), orchard design requiring no external inputs (i.e. spatial orchard structure) and landscape factors in 10 South African macadamia orchards. In comparison to experimental pollinator exclusion, insect pollination increased the initial and final nut set by 304% and 23%, respectively. However, nut set was pollination limited as hand pollination further improved nut set. Flower visitation rates increased with the cover of semi‐natural habitats in the surrounding landscape (1 km radius). This effect was outperforming the effect of the number of managed honeybee colonies, as agronomic practice. Initial nut set increased with orchard design and flower visitation rates. Perpendicular orientation of the planted macadamia rows towards the semi‐natural habitats increased initial nut set more than threefold compared to parallel row orientation. The initial nut set was 80% higher at the edge to semi‐natural habitats than in the orchard centre. In contrast, agronomic practices, such as irrigation, did not increase initial nut set. Final nut set depended on the preconditions of the initial nut set, additionally, high altitudes and the position in the centre of the orchard had positive effects. Synthesis and applications: Pollination services were prerequisites for high yields in macadamia and could be improved without further agronomic input. Especially, the orchard design, that is, spatial arrangement of tree rows and semi‐natural habitats at local and landscape scales, was more important to boost insect pollination and the initial development of macadamia nuts than agronomic practices, such as high levels of irrigation. Considering the urgency to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural production, we highlight the high potential of ecological intensification by a smart orchard design and the restoration and conservation of semi‐natural habitats in the orchards and their surrounding landscape. Pollination services were prerequisites for high yields in macadamia and could be improved without further agronomic input. Especially, the orchard design, that is, spatial arrangement of tree rows and semi‐natural habitats at local and landscape scales, was more important to boost insect pollination and the initial development of macadamia nuts than agronomic practices, such as high levels of irrigation. Considering the urgency to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural production, we highlight the high potential of ecological intensification by a smart orchard design and the restoration and conservation of semi‐natural habitats in the orchards and their surrounding landscape.
Neste trabalho, foi avaliado o potencial das plantas alimentícias não convencionais (PANC) no fornecimento de recursos para as abelhas e seu uso na intensificação ecológica. O Assentamento São José da Boa Morte (Cachoeiras de Macacu, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) foi tomado como estudo de caso, onde foi realizado os levantamentos das PANC espontâneas e do calendário de cultivo da comunidade. Foram encontradas 28 espécies de PANC, de 17 famílias, com grande potencial para a disponibilização de recursos e a conservação da comunidade de abelhas. O calendário produtivo, composto de 13 cultivos, que apresentam desequilíbrio na oferta recursos ao longo do ano. As espécies Bidens pilosa, Urena lobata, Emilia sonchifolia e Cajanus cajan se apresentam com maior potencial para a intensificação ecológica no Assentamento São José da Boa Morte em função da oferta de recursos e vasta rede de interações.
Perennial farmlands such as fruit orchards and vineyards often substitute for natural habitats and provide nesting and foraging habitats for birds. Bird use of perennial farmlands has been investigated mainly in Europe and North America, but far less in Asia, which hosts one-third of identified biodiversity hotspots. We aimed to fill this knowledge gap by performing a systematic review of bird studies in fruit orchards and vineyards in Japan. We screened literature written in English or Japanese including both published and non-peer-reviewed (grey material, e.g., books, abstracts of annual meetings, blogs, and unpublished surveys). The review identified 31 bird species, including four Red List species, that nest in orchards and vineyards in Japan. Several studies have provided insights into the habitat quality of fruit orchards, which appears to vary among bird species. Other studies have reported: (1) the effects of orchard management on bird diversity (e.g., positive effects of organic farming and grass cover on bird richness and abundance); and (2) the ecosystem services by birds (e.g., reduction of pest rodents by predatory Ural Owls Strix uralensis). Our review demonstrates the potential importance of fruit orchards and vineyards to bird species that have adapted to human-modified landscapes, although more quantitative studies are needed to investigate the actual breeding performance of birds. We also illustrate the importance of non-English-language literature, including grey literature, to mitigate ecological knowledge gaps in countries where English is not the first language.
Agricultural intensification has resulted in a decline in insect biodiversity and threatens the provision of valuable ecosystem services. Agri-environment schemes (AESs) have been implemented in an effort to conserve biodiversity on farmland and increase agricultural sustainability, but their effectiveness can vary widely. To better determine which factors influence AES effectiveness, the relative roles of local habitat features, habitat quality, and landscape context need to be further explored. The aim of this study was to determine the most important factors influencing field margin AES effectiveness in commercial apple orchards, in terms of arthropod biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision. We surveyed wild bees and aphid natural enemies in field margins and apple trees in 20 orchards, ten bordered by hedgerow field margins (an AES) and ten with herbaceous field margins (no hedgerows present, not an AES). We considered field margin floral resources and the cover of semi-natural habitat in the surrounding landscape as indicators of local habitat quality and landscape context, respectively. We furthermore quantified pollination and pest control as measures of ecosystem service delivery and the relationship between arthropod communities and apple yield (initial and final fruit set) and quality. We found that hedgerow presence strongly predicted both pollinator and natural enemy communities and that these relationships were more pronounced than those with local habitat quality and landscape context. Hedgerows were negatively related to wild bee richness and abundance within the orchard, and positively related to natural enemy richness and abundance at the field margin but not within the orchard. We found no relationships between local and landscape factors and ecosystem service delivery, and no relationship between wild bee communities and apple yield, suggesting that apple is not pollen limited in our study system. There was, however, a negative relationship between natural enemy richness and initial fruit set. We conclude that annually cut hedgerows can benefit the conservation of natural enemies, but have limited arthropod-mediated private benefits for apple production, and likely need to be supplemented with additional local habitat resources for the conservation of wild bees. Our findings indicate that local habitat factors can strongly influence biodiversity regardless of landscape context, but that AESs likely need to be designed with separate biodiversity and ecosystem service targets, and specific taxonomic groups, in mind.
Pollinating insects act as vital stakeholders for reproductive success of majority of the angiosperm plants as they help in their propagation by providing pollination services. In lieu of these unintentionally performed services, the pollinating insects are rewarded with their food (pollen and nectar) by the flowering plants they visit. The International Community has recognized the importance of pollinators as an element of agricultural diversity supporting human livelihoods. The insect pollinators play a major role in global food production, which makes them a key element of crop production all over the world. The bees form the most important group of pollinators; however, different kinds of insects, such as flies, beetles, weevils, butterflies, moths and wasps are also important pollinators of several crops. To ensure a reliable source of pollinators, both managed and native, a more comprehensive strategy for management of crop pollination is needed. Several insect species are known for their use in managed pollination systems of important crops.This chapter covers and discusses the co-evolution of angiosperms and insect pollinators, types of pollination and pollinators occurring in the nature, types of insect pollinators and their diversity, impact of insect pollination on the crop production, importance of insects as pollinating agents for managed pollination, major insect pollinators of different crops and effects of managed pollination on native ecosystem with conclusive remarks on the importance of conserving pollinators for a brighter future of the crop production.KeywordsPollinatorsPollinationCrop productionManaged pollinationConservation
This article is a systematic review of the knowledge of technical-economic and environmental performance in agroecological transition. The data collected in the Scopus and dimension database concerned exclusively published articles and journals, using the relevant terms. Thus, 227 documents exported from Scopus and dimension were submitted to a bibliometric analysis with the Citespace software, then the inclusion and exclusion criteria were carried out according to the ROSES standards. The results reveal that the annual production of studies related to the technical-economic and environmental performance in agro-ecological transition is increasing with an annual growth rate of about 1.3%. There is a common understanding of agroecological transition. The agroecological transition addresses the problems of the food system from field to plate, covering all activities and actors involved in the cultivation based on natural resources. Among the agroecological practices analyzed, the application of compost seems the most promising to be scaled up to improve economic and environmental performance.
Crop rotation with species diversification contributes to the control of pests, diseases and weeds and improves soil fertility and conservation, which can lead to increased profitability in grain production systems. The objectives of this study were to determine whether grain production systems that employ crop rotation with species diversification are more productive and profitable than double-cropping rotations without diversification and to analyze the revenues and production costs of these cropping systems. An experiment was conducted in a region with subtropical climate between the crop years of 2014–2015 and 2019–2020. The experiment consisted of a randomized block design with six treatments and four replicates. The treatments consisted of six grain production systems, including five rotations with varied levels of species diversification and a corn–soybean rotation without species diversification, all under no-tillage. Productivity, revenue, production cost and profit indicators were analyzed. Productivity was compared by Duncan’s test (p ≤ 0.05). The grain production systems with species diversification showed better productivity and profitability than the corn–soybean system. The profit of the systems with species diversification was on average 37% higher than that of the system with corn–soybean rotation. In summary, grain production systems that employ crop rotation with species diversification showed higher productivity and profitability than the corn–soybean rotation without species diversification.
Natural pest control has the potential to reduce pesticide use. Therefore, it has an essential role to play in the transition towards a more sustainable agriculture. For the prediction of natural pest control, it is essential to understand the distribution of the species providing this ecosystem service. The presence of pests and natural enemies depends on a combination of abiotic and biotic factors, each playing a determining role at different spatial scales. We developed a hierarchical model composed of environmental predictors including bioclimatic and land use variables at the European scale, as well as landscape complexity and biotic interactions at the landscape scale. This paper presents the predicted distribution of 111 species from seven different arthropod families (two pest aphid species and their natural enemy species) in an agricultural region in northern Germany. The hierarchical framework allows determining the capacity of landscapes to support pest control ecosystem services provided by arthropods at the local scale and informs on vulnerable areas or potential mismatches between natural pest control demand and supply. Thereby it can support the design of local scale measures for habitat improvement, biodiversity conservation and the increase of ecosystem services supply. The hierarchical approach can be adapted to other agroecosystems and leaves potential for further adaptations to improve the prediction of pests and their natural enemy distribution, dynamics and factors influencing their spatial distribution.
Optimization of agroecosystem health is based on two pillars: habitat manipulation and soil fertility enhancement. The latter is achieved through management of organic matter and conservation of belowground biodiversity, and is the focus of the present chapter. The chapter first looks at ways in which soil fertility management can reduce plant susceptibility to pests both directly by mediating plant health and indirectly via interactions between above-ground and below-ground biodiversity. Appropriate management of organic soil fertility may reduce crop damage by increasing plant resistance by improving the foliage’s nutritional balance or by reducing pest populations via enhancement of natural enemies . In organically fertilised systems, several insect herbivores consistently show lower abundance due to emerging synergies between plant diversity, natural enemies and soil fertility. Healthy soil is probably more important than currently acknowledged in determining individual plant response to stresses such as pest pressure. Combining crop diversification and organic soil enhancement is a key strategy to sustainable agroecosystem management.
The cultivation of tropical Asian rice, which may have originated 9000 yr ago, represents an agricultural ecosystem of unrivaled ecological complexity. We undertook a study of the community ecology of irrigated tropical rice fields on Java, Indonesia, as a supporting study for the Indonesian National Integrated Pest Management Programme, whose purpose is to train farmers to be better agronomists and to employ the principles of integrated pest management (IPM). Two of our study objectives, reported on here, were (1) to explore whether there exist general and consistent patterns of arthropod community dynamics related to natural or intrinsic levels of biological control, and (2) to understand how the existing levels of biological control are affected by insecticide use, as well as by large-scale habitat factors relating to differing patterns for vegetational landscapes, planting times, and the length of dry fallow periods. We performed a series of observational studies and two experimental studies. Abundant and well-distributed populations of generalist predators can be found in most early-season tropical rice fields. We took samples from plants and water surface using a vacuum-suction device, and from the subsurface using a dip net. Our results show that high populations of generalist predators are likely to be supported, in the early season, by feeding on abundant populations of detritus feeding and plankton-feeding insects, whose populations consistently peak and decline in the first third of the season. We hypothesize that since this abundance of alternative prey gives the predator populations a "head start" on later-developing pest populations, this process should strongly suppress pest populations and generally lend stability to rice ecosystems by decoupling predator populations from a strict dependence on herbivore populations. We experimentally tested our hypothesis of trophic linkages among organic matter, detritivores and plankton feeders, and generalist predators and showed that by increasing organic matter in test plots we could boost populations of detritivores and plankton-feeders, and in turn significantly boost the abundance of generalist predators. These results hold for populations found on the plant, on the water surface, and below the water surface. We also demonstrated the link between early season natural enemy populations and later-season pest populations by experimentally reducing early-season predator populations with insecticide applications, causing pest populations to resurge later in the season. Overall, these results demonstrate the existence of a mechanism in tropical irrigated rice systems that supports high levels of natural biological control. This mechanism depends on season long successional processes and interactions among a wide array of species, many of which have hitherto been ignored as important elements in a rice ecosystem. Our results support a management strategy that promotes the conservation of existing natural biological control through a major reduction in insecticide use, and the corresponding increase in habitat heterogeneity. detritivores and plankton feeders; field experiment; green revolution; insecticide use and pest outbreaks; integrated pest management; Java, Indonesia; rice-field ecology; rice landscape patterns; synchronous vs. nonsynchronous plantings.
The following values have no corresponding Zotero field:
PB - The Resilience Alliance
P1 - 2012
C7 - 40
Biological diversity appears to enhance the resilience of desirable ecosystem states, which is required to secure the production of essential ecosystem services. The diversity of responses to environmental change among species contributing to the same ecosystem function, which we call response diversity, is critical to resilience. Response diversity is particularly important for ecosystem renewal and reorganization following change. Here we present examples of response diversity from both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and across temporal and spatial scales. Response diversity provides adaptive capacity in a world of complex systems, uncertainty, and human-dominated environments. We should pay special attention to response diversity when planning ecosystem management and restoration, since it may contribute considerably to the resilience of desired ecosystem states against disturbance, mismanagement, and degradation.
This text combines two basically different views on pest control namely the scientific researcher's view on pest control and the pesticide regulator's views on pesticide control aiming at a common and pragmatic ecological approach. A set of practicable ’tools’ are discussed that can be used to monitor and reduce environmental impact on agro-ecosystems where the ultimate goal is to move towards a more environmentally sustainable agriculture. General principles governing farming systems and pest control strategies are illustrated with pesticide use and pesticide risk reduction measures in coffee and rice cultivations. Adaptive pest control based on Integrated Pest Management with a rational use of pesticides as a last resort is suggested to be the most viable way forward.
Changes in the global production of major crops are important drivers of food prices, food security and land use decisions. Average global yields for these commodities are determined by the performance of crops in millions of fields distributed across a range of management, soil and climate regimes. Despite the complexity of global food supply, here we show that simple measures of growing season temperatures and precipitation—spatial averages based on the locations of each crop—explain ~30% or more of year-to-year variations in global average yields for the world's six most widely grown crops. For wheat, maize and barley, there is a clearly negative response of global yields to increased temperatures. Based on these sensitivities and observed climate trends, we estimate that warming since 1981 has resulted in annual combined losses of these three crops representing roughly 40 Mt or $5 billion per year, as of 2002. While these impacts are small relative to the technological yield gains over the same period, the results demonstrate already occurring negative impacts of climate trends on crop yields at the global scale.
Human impacts on the natural environment have reached such proportions that in addition to an ‘extinction crisis’, we now also face a broader ‘biome crisis’. Here we identify the world's terrestrial biomes and, at a finer spatial scale, ecoregions in which biodiversity and ecological function are at greatest risk because of extensive habitat conversion and limited habitat protection. Habitat conversion exceeds habitat protection by a ratio of 8 : 1 in temperate grasslands and Mediterranean biomes, and 10 : 1 in more than 140 ecoregions. These regions include some of the most biologically distinctive, species rich ecosystems on Earth, as well as the last home of many threatened and endangered species. Confronting the biome crisis requires a concerted and comprehensive response aimed at protecting not only species, but the variety of landscapes, ecological interactions, and evolutionary pressures that sustain biodiversity, generate ecosystem services, and evolve new species in the future.
Managing ecosystem services is critical to human survival, yet we do not know how large natural areas must be to support these services. We investigated how crop pollination services provided by native, unmanaged, bee communities varied on organic and conventional farms situated along a gradient of isolation from natural habitat. Pollination services from native bees were significantly, positively related to the proportion of upland natural habitat in the vicinity of farm sites, but not to any other factor studied, including farm type, insecticide usage, field size and honeybee abundance. The scale of this relationship matched bee foraging ranges. Stability and predictability of pollination services also increased with increasing natural habitat area. This strong relationship between natural habitat area and pollination services was robust over space and time, allowing prediction of the area needed to produce a given level of pollination services by wild bees within this landscape.
More than 75% of all rice is produced on irrigated land. Although the green revolution was driven by both an expansion of irrigated rice area and increased yield per unit land area, the next quantum leap must come exclusively from increasing yields on existing crop land. We review the structural changes that have accompanied the intensification process, and examine the major biophysical and economic challenges that confront Asian farmers who must further intensify irrigated rice systems to achieve a yield increase of more than 60% by the year 2025.
The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper.
Future trajectories of food prices, food security, and cropland expansion are closely linked to future average crop yields in the major agricultural regions of the world. Because the maximum possible yields achieved in farmers' fields might level off or even decline in many regions over the next few decades, reducing the gap between average and potential yields is critical. In most major irrigated wheat, rice, and maize systems, yields appear to be at or near 80% of yield potential, with no evidence for yields having exceeded this threshold to date. A fundamental constraint in these systems appears to be uncertainty in growing season weather; thus tools to address this uncertainty would likely reduce gaps. Otherwise, short-term prospects for yield gains in irrigated agriculture appear grim without increased yield potential. Average yields in rainfed systems are commonly 50% or less of yield potential, suggesting ample room for improvement, though estimation of yield gaps for rainfed regions is subject to more errors than for irrigated regions. Several priorities for future research are identified.
We explore empirical and theoretical evidence for the functional significance of plant-litter diversity and the extraordinary high diversity of decomposer organisms in the process of litter decomposition and the consequences for biogeochemical cycles. Potential mechanisms for the frequently observed litter-diversity effects on mass loss and nitrogen dynamics include fungi-driven nutrient transfer among litter species, inhibition or stimulation of microorganisms by specific litter compounds, and positive feedback of soil fauna due to greater habitat and food diversity. Theory predicts positive effects of microbial diversity that result from functional niche complementarity, but the few existing experiments provide conflicting results. Microbial succession with shifting enzymatic capabilities enhances decomposition, whereas antagonistic interactions among fungi that compete for similar resources slow litter decay. Soil-fauna diversity manipulations indicate that the number of trophic levels, species identity, and the presence of keystone species have a strong impact on decomposition, whereas the importance of diversity within functional groups is not clear at present. In conclusion, litter species and decomposer diversity can significantly influence carbon and nutrient turnover rates; however, no general or predictable pattern has emerged. Proposed mechanisms for diversity effects need confirmation and a link to functional traits for a comprehensive understanding of how biodiversity interacts with decomposition processes and the consequences of ongoing biodiversity loss for ecosystem functioning.
The soil environment is likely the most complex biological community. Soil organisms are extremely diverse and contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services that are essential to the sustainable function of natural and managed ecosystems. The soil organism community can have direct and indirect impacts on land productivity. Direct impacts are those where specific organisms affect crop yield immediately. Indirect effects include those provided by soil organisms participating in carbon and nutrient cycles, soil structure modification and food web interactions that generate ecosystem services that ultimately affect productivity. Recognizing the great biological and functional diversity in the soil and the complexity of ecological interactions it becomes necessary to focus in this paper on soil biota that have a strong linkage to functions which underpin ‘soil based’ ecosystem services. Selected organisms from different functional groups (i.e. microsymbionts, decomposers, elemental transformers, soil ecosystem engineers, soil-borne pest and diseases, and microregulators) are used to illustrate the linkages of soil biota and ecosystem services essential to life on earth as well as with those associated with the provision of goods and the regulation of ecosystem processes. These services are not only essential to ecosystem function but also a critical resource for the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. Research opportunities and gaps related to methodological, experimental and conceptual approaches that may be helpful to address the challenge of linking soil biodiversity and function to the provision of ecosystem services and land productivity are discussed. These include: 1) integration of spatial variability research in soil ecology and a focus on ‘hot spots’ of biological activity, 2) using a selective functional group approach to study soil biota and function, 3) combining new and existing methodological approaches that link selected soil organisms, the temporal and spatial dynamics of their function, and their contribution to the provision of selected ‘soil based' ecosystem services, 4) using understanding about hierarchical relationships to manage soil biota and function in cropping systems, 5) using local knowledge about plants as indicators of soil quality, remote sensing and GIS technologies, and plant-soil biota interactions to help understand the impacts of soil biota at landscape scale, and 6) developing land quality monitoring systems that inform land users about their land's ecosystem service performance, improve capacities to predict and adapt to environmental changes, and support policy and decision-making.
It has been claimed that natural enemies of pests perform important ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. These services have rarely been evaluated in yield or monetary terms at farm level. We have examined the degree to which ground-living natural enemies of the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi (L.)) reduced aphid abundance and influenced barley yields on ten commercial farms in central Sweden. On average, ground-living natural enemies of pests increased barley yields by 303 kg/ha. This corresponded to a potential 52% reduction in yield loss from R. padi compared with a scenario where no natural enemies were present. Measured as the percentage increase of actual yield, ground-living natural enemies of aphids increased the yield by 23%. The increase in yields in absolute terms was larger on conventional farms than organic farms, but the percentage increase of yields was larger on organic farms. The study only considered 1 year, with high aphid abundance. However, we also discuss the effects of predators as well as insecticides in the long-term. Our study shows that yield increases attributable to predators can be compared with yield increases from insecticide use for the evaluation of different management strategies.
SummaryWe measured the impact of natural enemies on the population development on the bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) on conventional and organic farms. By pairing farms with similar landscape features but different farming systems, we were able to separate the effects of farming practice and landscape features on the influence of natural enemies on R. padi abundance. Natural enemies had a greater impact on R. padi establishment on organic farms than on conventional farms. Irrespective of farming system, landscapes with abundant field margins and perennial crops were associated with low R. padi establishment. After establishment, there was no difference in ground-living enemy impact on R. padi population growth rate between farming systems, but impact was greater in landscapes where arable land was contiguous.Wir untersuchten die Wirkung natürlicher Feinde auf die Populationsentwicklung der Haferblattlaus (Rhopalosiphum padi) in konventionell und organisch bewirtschafteten landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben. Indem wir Betriebe paarten, die ähnliche Landschaftseigenschaften aber unterschiedliche Betriebsformen aufwiesen, konnten wir die Wirkung der Bewirtschaftung und der Landschaftseigenschaften auf den Einfluß der natürlichen Feinde auf die Abundanz von R. padi trennen. Die natürlichen Feinde hatten in organisch bewirtschafteten Betrieben eine größere Wirkung auf die Ansiedlung von R. padi als in konventionell bewirtschafteten Betrieben. Unabhängig von der Bewirtschaftungsform waren Landschaften mit zahlreichen Feldrainen und perennierenden Feldkulturen mit einer geringen Ansiedlung von R. padi verbunden. Die Wirkung bodenlebender Feinde auf die Wachstumsrate der Populationen von R. padi nach der Ansiedlung unterschied sich nicht zwischen den Bewirtschaftungsformen. Die Wirkung war jedoch in Landschaften größer, die zusammenhängende Ackerflächen aufwiesen.
Food production requires application of fertilizers containing phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium on agricultural fields in order to sustain crop yields. However modern agriculture is dependent on phosphorus derived from phosphate rock, which is a non-renewable resource and current global reserves may be depleted in 50–100 years. While phosphorus demand is projected to increase, the expected global peak in phosphorus production is predicted to occur around 2030. The exact timing of peak phosphorus production might be disputed, however it is widely acknowledged within the fertilizer industry that the quality of remaining phosphate rock is decreasing and production costs are increasing. Yet future access to phosphorus receives little or no international attention. This paper puts forward the case for including long-term phosphorus scarcity on the priority agenda for global food security. Opportunities for recovering phosphorus and reducing demand are also addressed together with institutional challenges.
Ecosystems worldwide are receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) through anthropogenic activities. Although the effects of increased N inputs on plant communities have been reasonably well studied, few comparable studies have examined impacts on whole soil bacterial communities, though they play critical roles in ecosystem functioning. We sampled soils from two long-term ecological research (LTER) experimental N gradients, both of which have been amended with NH4NO3; a grassland at Cedar Creek (27 years of N additions) and an agricultural field at Kellogg Biological Station (8 years of N additions). By examining shifts in bacterial communities across these contrasting ecosystem types, we could test competing hypotheses about the direct and indirect factors that might drive bacterial responses to elevated N inputs. Bacterial community structure was highly responsive to N additions. We observed predictable and consistent changes in the structure of the bacterial communities across both ecosystem types. Our results suggest that bacterial communities across these gradients are more structured by N and/or soil carbon availability than by shifts in the plant community or soil pH associated with the elevated nitrogen inputs. In contrast to the pronounced shifts in bacterial community composition and in direct contrast to the patterns often observed in plant communities, increases in N availability did not have consistent effects on the richness and diversity of soil bacterial communities.
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the simplification of land uses associated with a strong dependence on agrochemical inputs is decreasing environmental quality, threatening biodiversity, and increasing the likelihood of pest outbreaks. The development of farming systems with greater reliance on ecosystem services, such as biological control of insect pests, should increase the sustainability of agroecosystems. However, the factors responsible for the maintenance or enhancement of natural pest control remain unclear. The goal of this review is, therefore, to expose which elements, from the field to the landscape scale, influence natural enemy populations and pest regulation. We present here the principal effects of seminatural habitats, farming systems, and crop management on the abundance of insect pests and their biological control, with a view to evaluating their relative importance and identifying key elements that regulate natural pest control interactions. Because of the range of spatial and temporal scales experienced by these organisms, we advocate, in studies investigating trophic relations and biological pest control, a clear description of cropping systems and an explicit consideration of seminatural habitats and more generally of the surrounding landscape. Through this review, we also indicate gaps in knowledge and demonstrate the interest of linking agronomy and landscape ecology to understand trophic interactions, maximize natural pest control, and limit pesticide applications. Quantifying the relative importance of both local and landscape scales is a fundamental step in the design and assessment of ecologically sound integrated pest management strategies for farmers.
Biodiversity and carbon (C) cycling have been the focus of much research in recent decades, partly because both change as a result of anthropogenic activities that are likely to continue. Soils are extremely species-rich and store approximately 80% of global terrestrial C. Soil organisms play a key role in C dynamics and a loss of species through global changes could influence global C dynamics. Here, we synthesize findings from published studies that have manipulated soil species richness and measured the response in terms of ecosystem functions related to C cycling (such as decomposition, respiration and the abundance or biomass of decomposer biota) to evaluate the impact of biodiversity loss on C dynamics. We grouped studies where one or more biotic groups had been manipulated to include a richness of ≤10 species or >10 species in order to reflect ‘low’ and ‘high’ extents of diversity manipulations. There was a positive relationship between species richness and C cycling in 77–100% of low-diversity experiments, even when the richness of just one biotic group was manipulated, whereas positive relationships occurred less frequently in studies with greater richness (35–64%). Moreover, when positive relationships were observed, these often indicated functional redundancy at low extents of diversity or that community composition had a stronger influence on C cycling than did species richness. Initial reductions in soil species richness resulting from global changes are unlikely to alter C dynamics significantly unless particularly influential species are lost. However, changes in community composition, and the loss of species with an ability to facilitate specialized soil processes related to C cycling, as a result of global changes, may have larger impacts on C dynamics.
Soil biodiversity vastly exceeds aboveground biodiversity, and is prerequisite for ecosystem stability and services. This review presents recent findings in soil biodiversity research focused on interrelations with agricultural soil management. Richness and community structure of soil biota depend on plant biodiversity and vice versa. Soil biota govern nutrient cycling and storage, soil organic matter (SOM) formation and turnover. Agriculture manipulates plants, soils and SOM. With intensification, regulation of functions through biodiversity is replaced by regulation through agricultural measures. Fertilizers and agrochemicals exert strong effects on soil biodiversity and functioning. Resulting community shifts feed back on soil functions such as carbon and nutrient cycling and pest control. Therefore, agricultural systems with less inputs may promote self-regulating systems and higher biodiversity.