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Ausprey IJ, Newell FL, Robinson SK. Sensitivity of tropical montane birds to anthropogenic disturbance and management strategies for their conservation in agricultural landscapes. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e14136. [PMID: 37377175 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Tropical montane bird communities are hypothesized to be highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance because species are adapted to a narrow range of environmental conditions and display high rates of endemism. We assessed avian sensitivity at regional and continental scales for a global epicenter of montane bird biodiversity, the tropical Andes. Using data from an intensive field study of cloud forest bird communities across 7 landscapes undergoing agricultural conversion in northern Peru (1800-3100 m, 2016-2017) and a pan-Andean synthesis of forest bird sensitivity, we developed management strategies for maintaining avian biodiversity in tropical countrysides and examined how environmental specialization predicts species-specific sensitivity to disturbance. In Peru, bird communities occupying countryside habitats contained 29-93% fewer species compared with those in forests and were compositionally distinct due to high levels of species turnover. Fragments of mature forest acted as reservoirs for forest bird diversity, especially when large or surrounded by mixed successional vegetation. In high-intensity agricultural plots, an addition of 10 silvopasture trees or 10% more fencerows per hectare increased species richness by 18-20%. Insectivores and frugivores were most sensitive to disturbance: abundance of 40-70% of species declined in early successional vegetation and silvopasture. These results were supported by our synthesis of 816 montane bird species studied across the Andes. At least 25% of the species declined due to all forms of disturbance, and the percentage rose to 60% in agricultural landscapes. The most sensitive species were those with narrow elevational ranges and small global range sizes, insectivores and carnivores, and species with specialized trophic niches. We recommend protecting forest fragments, especially large ones, and increasing connectivity through the maintenance of early successional vegetation and silvopastoral trees that increase avian diversity in pastures. We provide lists of species-specific sensitivities to anthropogenic disturbance to inform conservation status assessments of Andean birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian J Ausprey
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Felicity L Newell
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Scott K Robinson
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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Daskalova GN, Kamp J. Abandoned land: Overestimated potential-Response. Science 2023; 381:278. [PMID: 37471553 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj1595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gergana N Daskalova
- Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Group, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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3
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Yamaura Y, Unno A, Royle JA. Sharing land via keystone structure: Retaining naturally regenerated trees may efficiently benefit birds in plantations. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2802. [PMID: 36550637 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Meeting food/wood demands with increasing human population and per-capita consumption is a pressing conservation issue, and is often framed as a choice between land sparing and land sharing. Although most empirical studies comparing the efficacy of land sparing and sharing supported land sparing, land sharing may be more efficient if its performance is tested by rigorous experimental design and habitat structures providing crucial resources for various species-keystone structures-are clearly involved. We launched a manipulative experiment to retain naturally regenerated broad-leaved trees when harvesting conifer plantations in central Hokkaido, northern Japan. We surveyed birds in harvested treatments, unharvested plantation controls, and natural forest references 1-year before the harvest and for three consecutive postharvest years. We developed a hierarchical community model separating abundance and space use (territorial proportion overlapping treatment plots) subject to imperfect detection to assess population consequences of retention harvesting. Application of the model to our data showed that retaining some broad-leaved trees increased the total abundance of forest birds over the harvest rotation cycle. Specifically, a preharvest survey showed that the amount of broad-leaved trees increased forest bird abundance in a concave manner (i.e., in the form of diminishing returns). After harvesting, a small amount of retained broad-leaved trees mitigated negative harvesting impacts on abundance, although retention harvesting reduced the space use. Nevertheless, positive retention effects on the postharvest bird density as the product of abundance and space use exhibited a concave form. Thus, small profit reductions were shown to yield large increases in forest bird abundance. The difference in bird abundance between clearcutting and low amounts of broad-leaved tree retention increased slightly from the first to second postharvesting years. We conclude that retaining a small amount of broad-leaved trees may be a cost-effective on-site conservation approach for the management of conifer plantations. The retention of 20-30 broad-leaved trees per ha may be sufficient to maintain higher forest bird abundance than clearcutting over the rotation cycle. Retention approaches can be incorporated into management systems using certification schemes and best management practices. Developing an awareness of the roles and values of naturally regenerated trees is needed to diversify plantations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuichi Yamaura
- Shikoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kochi, Japan
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Department of Forest Vegetation, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Akira Unno
- Forestry Research Institute, Hokkaido Research Organization, Bibai, Japan
| | - J Andrew Royle
- U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA
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Collas L, Crastes dit Sourd R, Finch T, Green R, Hanley N, Balmford A. The costs of delivering environmental outcomes with land sharing and land sparing. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lydia Collas
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Romain Crastes dit Sourd
- Centre for Decision Research, Management Department Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds Leeds UK
| | - Tom Finch
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Bedfordshire UK
| | - Rhys Green
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Bedfordshire UK
| | - Nick Hanley
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow Glasgow UK
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5
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Landscape-scale connectivity and fragment size determine species composition of grassland fragments. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Features of the population dynamics of larks (Alaudidae, Aves) in the semi-desert zone of the Saratov Trans-Volga region. POVOLZHSKIY JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.35885/1684-7318-2022-3-307-321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The paper presents the results of our long-term monitoring of the family of larks (Alauda arvensis L., Melanocorypha calandra L., M. leucoptera Pallas, M. yeltoniensis J. R. Forster and Calandrella rufescens Vieillot) in the semi-desert zone of the Saratov Trans-Volga region. Bird censuses were carried out at 4 key sites on permanent routes during the nesting period, the total length of the census transects was 792 km. Statistical indicators of population dynamics were calculated, namely: the growth rates (Tnp.) and average density values (ind. / 100 ha) of each lark species. A statistical multivariate factor analysis (F-test) was carried out, with the help of which we were able to reveal the influence of a whole range of factors on the lark density dynamics. Changes in habitat conditions at the key areas (Fcrit. = 1.30, p = 0.003), as well as weather factors (Fcrit. = 1.39, p = 0.004) of particular years, have a significant impact on the density dynamics of larks. Evaluation of the variance showed heterogeneity of the sample (St = 0.119, p = 0.006), therefore, the average densities of larks differs significantly from each other. Thus, the structure of the lark community and the annual density of each species are the result of the environmental conditions of the habitats at each key site, and the weather conditions of particular years.
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Bartlett H, Holmes MA, Petrovan SO, Williams DR, Wood JLN, Balmford A. Understanding the relative risks of zoonosis emergence under contrasting approaches to meeting livestock product demand. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211573. [PMID: 35754996 PMCID: PMC9214290 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
It has been argued that intensive livestock farming increases the risk of pandemics of zoonotic origin because of long-distance livestock movements, high livestock densities, poor animal health and welfare, low disease resistance and low genetic diversity. However, data on many of these factors are limited, and analyses to date typically ignore how land use affects emerging infectious disease (EID) risks, and how these risks might vary across systems with different yields (production per unit area). Extensive, lower yielding practices typically involve larger livestock populations, poorer biosecurity, more workers and more area under farming, resulting in different, but not necessarily lower, EID risks than higher yielding systems producing the same amount of food. To move this discussion forward, we review the evidence for each of the factors that potentially link livestock production practices to EID risk. We explore how each factor might vary with yield and consider how overall risks might differ across a mix of production systems chosen to reflect in broad terms the current livestock sector at a global level and in hypothetical low- and high-yield systems matched by overall level of production. We identify significant knowledge gaps for all potential risk factors and argue these shortfalls in understanding mean we cannot currently determine whether lower or higher yielding systems would better limit the risk of future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harriet Bartlett
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mark A. Holmes
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Silviu O. Petrovan
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine's), St Catharine's College, Cambridge, UK
| | - David R. Williams
- Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - James L. N. Wood
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Oparin ML, Mamaev AB, Oparina OS, Trofimova LS. Analysis of the Long-Term Dynamics of the Lark Population (Alaudidae, Aves) in the Semi-Desert in the Northwestern Caspian Lowland. BIOL BULL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359021100332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Sidemo‐Holm W, Ekroos J, Smith HG. Land sharing versus land sparing—What outcomes are compared between which land uses? CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- William Sidemo‐Holm
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University Lund Sweden
- AgriFood Economics Centre, Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Johan Ekroos
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Science, Lund University Lund Sweden
- Department of Biology Lund University Lund Sweden
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Balmford A. Concentrating vs. spreading our footprint: how to meet humanity's needs at least cost to nature. J Zool (1987) 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Balmford
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
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11
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Outlook from the soil perspective of urban expansion and food security. Heliyon 2021; 7:e05860. [PMID: 33490664 PMCID: PMC7809189 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of soil as support for built-up areas represents only one of its several functions. Farmlands at the fringe of conurbations have more chance of being converted into built-up areas due to the favourable topography and the accessibility to existing infrastructure, being in the vicinity of urban areas. We analysed the global land-take during the period 2000-2014. The data are based on a global dataset describing the spatial evolution of human settlements using the Global Human Settlement Layer, which was derived from Landsat images collected in 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2014. Although the global land-take represents roughly 0.1% of the global terrestrial Earth, it affects 1% of the naturally fertile soils, according to the proposed Soil Productivity Indexes (SPI), based upon the potential soil productivity, calculated on the basis of the Harmonized World Soil Database. We have found that, few large conurbations develop on potentially high productive soil, while scarcely productive soils sustain the expansion of several megalopolises. On a global scale and through the centuries, considered comparatively as individual overall age of settlements, a trend between the intrinsic quality of the soils and its use for settlement purposes as major competitor, was not observed.
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Kerven C, Robinson S, Behnke R. Pastoralism at Scale on the Kazakh Rangelands: From Clans to Workers to Ranchers. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.590401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eurasia contains the world's largest contiguous rangelands, grazed for millennia by mobile pastoralists' livestock. This paper reviews evidence from one Eurasian country, Kazakhstan, on how nomadic pastoralism developed from some 5,000 years ago to the present. We consider a timespan covering pre-industrial, socialist and capitalist periods, during which pastoral social formations were organized in terms of kinship, collective state farms, and private farms and ranches. The aim is to understand how events over the last 100 years have led to the sequential dissolution and re-formation of the social units necessary to manage livestock across a wide expanse of spatially heterogenous and seasonally variable rangeland ecosystems. It is argued that the social scale of extensive livestock management must be tailored to the geographical scale of biotic and abiotic conditions. The paper starts by pointing out the long duration of mobile pastoralism in the Kazakh rangelands and provides an overview of how events from the late 17th C onwards unraveled the relationships between Kazakh nomads' socio-economic units of livestock management and the rangeland environment. At present, mobile animal husbandry is not feasible for the majority of Kazakh livestock owners, who operate solely within small family units without state support. These reformulated post-Soviet livestock grazing patterns are still undergoing rapid change, influencing the composition of rangeland vegetation, wildlife biodiversity, and rates of carbon sequestration. By concentrating capital and landed resources, a minority of large-scale pastoralists have been able to re-extensify by combining mobility with selective intensification, including an increased reliance on cultivated feed. Current state and international efforts are leaving out the majority of small-scale livestock owners and their livestock who are unable to either intensify or extensify at sufficient scale, increasing environmental damage, and social inequality.
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14
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Abstract
One of humanity’s most significant challenges in the process of attaining the established sustainability goals is balancing the growing human demand for food and the need to conserve biodiversity. This challenge requires appropriate land uses that are able to conserve biodiversity while ensuring ample food supply. This study compares bird species diversity and abundance in areas undergoing land sharing and land sparing in northeastern Bangladesh (West Bhanugach Reserved Forest). Birds serve as useful biologic indicators because of their presence within different trophic levels and their well-studied ecology. To survey birds, we selected a total of 66 sampling sites within land-sharing (33) and land-sparing (33) land-use areas. Between May and June 2017, we observed and recorded bird calls within a 50-m radius around each sampling site. We counted 541 individuals from 46 species of birds. The Shannon bird diversity was higher in the land-sparing sites (1.52) than in the land-sharing sites (1.23). We found approximately 30% more bird species (39 vs. 30) and 40% more individuals (318 vs. 223) in the land-sparing areas than land-sharing areas. Three bird species, Arachnothera longirostra, Micropternus brachyurus and Copsychus malabaricus, were significantly associated with the land-sparing sites. This study shows that land sharing negatively affects bird diversity, richness and abundance compared to land-sparing. The use of chemical fertilizers and the lack of food, such as insects, for birds can explain the lower diversity, richness and abundance of birds in the land-sharing areas. Although land sharing is an effective means of producing food, land sparing is the most effective land-use practice for preserving bird diversity in northeastern Bangladesh.
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Macchi L, Decarre J, Goijman AP, Mastrangelo M, Blendinger PG, Gavier‐Pizarro GI, Murray F, Piquer‐Rodriguez M, Semper‐Pascual A, Kuemmerle T. Trade‐offs between biodiversity and agriculture are moving targets in dynamic landscapes. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Macchi
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER) CONICET ‐ Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Tucumán Argentina
| | - Julieta Decarre
- Instituto de Recursos Biológicos (IRB‐CIRN) Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Andrea P. Goijman
- Instituto de Recursos Biológicos (IRB‐CIRN) Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Matías Mastrangelo
- Grupo de Estudios de Agroecosistemas y Paisajes Rurales (GEAP) CONICET ‐ Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Pedro G. Blendinger
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER) CONICET ‐ Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Tucumán Argentina
| | - Gregorio I. Gavier‐Pizarro
- Instituto de Recursos Biológicos (IRB‐CIRN) Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Francisco Murray
- Agencia de Extensión Rural San Luis Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) San Luis Argentina
| | - María Piquer‐Rodriguez
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER) CONICET ‐ Universidad Nacional de Tucumán Tucumán Argentina
| | | | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human‐Environment Systems (IRI‐THESys) Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
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16
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Redhead JW, Powney GD, Woodcock BA, Pywell RF. Effects of future agricultural change scenarios on beneficial insects. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2020; 265:110550. [PMID: 32292173 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Insects provide vital ecosystem services to agricultural systems in the form of pollination and natural pest control. However, there are currently widespread declines in the beneficial insects which deliver these services (i.e. pollinators and 'natural enemies' such as predators and parasitoids). Two key drivers of these declines have been the expansion of agricultural land and intensification of agricultural production. With an increasing human population requiring additional sources of food, further changes in agricultural land use appear inevitable. Identifying likely trajectories of change and predicting their impacts on beneficial insects provides a scientific basis for making informed decisions on the policies and practices of sustainable agriculture. We created spatially explicit, exploratory scenarios of potential changes in the extent and intensity of agricultural land use across Great Britain (GB). Scenarios covered 52 possible combinations of change in agricultural land cover (i.e. agricultural expansion or grassland restoration) and intensity (i.e. crop type and diversity). We then used these scenarios to predict impacts on beneficial insect species richness and several metrics of functional diversity at a 10km (hectad) resolution. Predictions were based on species distribution models derived from biological records, comprising data on 116 bee species (pollinators) and 81 predatory beetle species (natural enemies). We identified a wide range of possible consequences for beneficial insect species richness and functional diversity as result of future changes in agricultural extent and intensity. Current policies aimed at restoring semi-natural grassland should result in increases in the richness and functional diversity of both pollinators and natural enemies, even if agricultural practices remain intensive on cropped land (i.e. land-sparing). In contrast, any expansion of arable land is likely to be accompanied by widespread declines in richness of beneficial insects, even if cropping practices become less intensive (i.e. land-sharing), although effects of functional diversity are more mixed.
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Affiliation(s)
- John W Redhead
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK; School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Harborne Building, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6AS, UK.
| | - Gary D Powney
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Ben A Woodcock
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Richard F Pywell
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK
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Baumann M, Kamp J, Pötzschner F, Bleyhl B, Dara A, Hankerson B, Prishchepov AV, Schierhorn F, Müller D, Hölzel N, Krämer R, Urazaliyev R, Kuemmerle T. Declining human pressure and opportunities for rewilding in the steppes of Eurasia. DIVERS DISTRIB 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Baumann
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group Institute of Landscape Ecology University of Münster Münster Germany
| | | | - Benjamin Bleyhl
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human‐Environment Systems (IRI THESys) Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Andrey Dara
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Brett Hankerson
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Alexander V. Prishchepov
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen København K Denmark
- Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS) Orenburg Russia
| | - Florian Schierhorn
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Daniel Müller
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human‐Environment Systems (IRI THESys) Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group Institute of Landscape Ecology University of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Roland Krämer
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) Leipzig Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Ruslan Urazaliyev
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group Institute of Landscape Ecology University of Münster Münster Germany
- Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) Nur‐Sultan Kazakhstan
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human‐Environment Systems (IRI THESys) Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
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Butsic V, Kuemmerle T, Pallud L, Helmstedt KJ, Macchi L, Potts MD. Aligning biodiversity conservation and agricultural production in heterogeneous landscapes. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02057. [PMID: 31837241 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and agricultural production has become a fundamental question in sustainability science. Substantial research has focused on how species' populations respond to agricultural intensification, with the goal to understand whether conservation policies that spatially separate agriculture and conservation or, alternatively, integrate the two are more beneficial. Spatial heterogeneity in both species abundance and agricultural productivity have been largely left out of this discussion, although these patterns are ubiquitous from local to global scales due to varying land capacity. Here, we address the question of how to align agricultural production and biodiversity conservation in heterogeneous landscapes. Using model simulations of species abundance and agricultural yields, we show that trade-offs between agricultural production and species' abundance can be reduced by minimizing the cost (in terms of species abundance) of agricultural production. We find that when species' abundance and agricultural yields vary across landscapes, the optimal strategy to minimize trade-offs is rarely pure land sparing or land sharing. Instead, landscapes that combine elements of both strategies are optimal. Additionally, we show how the reference population of a species is defined has important influences on optimization results. Our findings suggest that in the real world, understanding the impact of heterogeneous land capacity on biodiversity and agricultural production is crucial to designing multi-use landscapes that jointly maximize conservation and agricultural benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Van Butsic
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations in Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
| | - Leo Pallud
- ENSTA ParisTech, 828 Bd des Marechaux, 91120, Palaiseau, France
| | - Kate J Helmstedt
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia
| | - Leandro Macchi
- Geography Department, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
- Instituto de Ecología Regional, UNT - CONICET, Residencia Universitaria Horco Molle, Edificio las Cúpulas, 4107, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Matthew D Potts
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
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Finch T, Green RE, Massimino D, Peach WJ, Balmford A. Optimising nature conservation outcomes for a given region‐wide level of food production. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tom Finch
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science RSPB The Lodge Sandy UK
| | - Rhys E. Green
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | | | - Will J. Peach
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science RSPB The Lodge Sandy UK
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Conservation Science Group Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
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20
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Finch T, Gillings S, Green RE, Massimino D, Peach WJ, Balmford A. Bird conservation and the land sharing-sparing continuum in farmland-dominated landscapes of lowland England. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:1045-1055. [PMID: 30900280 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Empirical evidence from many regions suggests that most species would be least negatively affected if human food demand were met through high-yield agricultural production and conservation of nonfarm ecosystems (land sparing), rather than through wildlife-friendly farming over a larger area (land sharing). However, repeated glaciation and a long history of agriculture may lead to different results in regions such as western Europe. We compared the consequences of land sparing and land sharing on breeding bird species in 2 lowland regions of England, The Fens, with 101 species, and Salisbury Plain, with 83. We derived density-yield responses for each species and then estimated regional population size under regional food production strategies, including land sharing and land sparing, a range of intermediate strategies, and a novel mixed strategy. In both regions, more species achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing than land sharing. In The Fens, the majority of birds were loser species (estimated to have smaller populations under all food production strategies than in the preagricultural baseline scenario), whereas in Salisbury Plain the majority were winners (smaller populations in the preagricultural baseline scenario). Loser species overwhelmingly achieved maximum regional population size under land sparing, whereas winner species achieved maximum regional population size under either land sharing or an intermediate strategy, highlighting the importance of defining which groups of species are the target of conservation. A novel 3-compartment strategy (combining high-yield farming, natural habitat, and low-yield farming) often performed better than either land sharing or land sparing. Our results support intermediate or 3-compartment land-sparing strategies to maximize bird populations across lowland agricultural landscapes. To deliver conservation outcomes, any shift toward land sparing must, however, ensure yield increases are sustainable in the long term, do not entail increased negative effects on surrounding areas, and are linked to allocation of land for nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Finch
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, U.K
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K
| | | | - Rhys E Green
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, U.K
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K
| | | | - Will J Peach
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, U.K
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K
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21
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Feniuk C, Balmford A, Green RE. Land sparing to make space for species dependent on natural habitats and high nature value farmland. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191483. [PMID: 31455194 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Empirical evidence from four continents indicates that human food demand may be best reconciled with biodiversity conservation through sparing natural habitats by boosting agricultural yields. This runs counter to the conservation paradigm of wildlife-friendly farming, which is influential in Europe, where many species are dependent on low-yielding high nature value farmland threatened by both intensification and abandonment. In the first multi-taxon population-level test of land-sparing theory in Europe, we quantified how population densities of 175 bird and sedge species varied with farm yield across 26 squares (each with an area of 1 km2) in eastern Poland. We discovered that, as in previous studies elsewhere, simple land sparing, with only natural habitats on spared land, markedly out-performed land sharing in its effect on region-wide projected population sizes. However, a novel 'three-compartment' land-sparing approach, in which about one-third of spared land is assigned to very low-yield agriculture and the remainder to natural habitats, resulted in least-reduced projected future populations for more species. Implementing the three-compartment model would require significant reorganization of current subsidy regimes, but would mean high-yield farming could release sufficient land for species dependent on both natural and high nature value farmland to persist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Feniuk
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy SG19 2DL, UK
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Rhys E Green
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy SG19 2DL, UK
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22
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Lamb A, Finch T, Pearce-Higgins JW, Ausden M, Balmford A, Feniuk C, Hirons G, Massimino D, Green RE. The consequences of land sparing for birds in the United Kingdom. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony Lamb
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | - Tom Finch
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge; Sandy UK
| | - James W. Pearce-Higgins
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery; Thetford Norfolk UK
| | - Malcolm Ausden
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge; Sandy UK
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | - Claire Feniuk
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
| | - Graham Hirons
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge; Sandy UK
| | - Dario Massimino
- British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery; Thetford Norfolk UK
| | - Rhys E. Green
- Department of Zoology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge; Sandy UK
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23
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Hankerson BR, Schierhorn F, Prishchepov AV, Dong C, Eisfelder C, Müller D. Modeling the spatial distribution of grazing intensity in Kazakhstan. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210051. [PMID: 30633752 PMCID: PMC6329506 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
With increasing affluence in many developing countries, the demand for livestock products is rising and the increasing feed requirement contributes to pressure on land resources for food and energy production. However, there is currently a knowledge gap in our ability to assess the extent and intensity of the utilization of land by livestock, which is the single largest land use in the world. We developed a spatial model that combines fine-scale livestock numbers with their associated energy requirements to distribute livestock grazing demand onto a map of energy supply, with the aim of estimating where and to what degree pasture is being utilized. We applied our model to Kazakhstan, which contains large grassland areas that historically have been used for extensive livestock production but for which the current extent, and thus the potential for increasing livestock production, is unknown. We measured the grazing demand of Kazakh livestock in 2015 at 286 Petajoules, which was 25% of the estimated maximum sustainable energy supply that is available to livestock for grazing. The model resulted in a grazed area of 1.22 million km2, or 48% of the area theoretically available for grazing in Kazakhstan, with most utilized land grazed at low intensities (average off-take rate was 13% of total biomass energy production). Under a conservative scenario, our estimations showed a production potential of 0.13 million tons of beef additional to 2015 production (31% increase), and much more with utilization of distant pastures. This model is an important step forward in evaluating pasture use and available land resources, and can be adapted at any spatial scale for any region in the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett R. Hankerson
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Florian Schierhorn
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Alexander V. Prishchepov
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
| | - Changxing Dong
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Christina Eisfelder
- German Remote Sensing Data Center (DFD), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
| | - Daniel Müller
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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24
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Balmford B, Green RE, Onial M, Phalan B, Balmford A. How imperfect can land sparing be before land sharing is more favourable for wild species? J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ben Balmford
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of Oxford Oxford UK
- Land, Environment, Economics and Policy InstituteUniversity of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Rhys E. Green
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeConservation Science Group Cambridge UK
| | - Malvika Onial
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeConservation Science Group Cambridge UK
| | - Ben Phalan
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeConservation Science Group Cambridge UK
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and SocietyOregon State University Corvallis Oregon
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of CambridgeConservation Science Group Cambridge UK
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25
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Balmford A, Amano T, Bartlett H, Chadwick D, Collins A, Edwards D, Field R, Garnsworthy P, Green R, Smith P, Waters H, Whitmore A, Broom DM, Chara J, Finch T, Garnett E, Gathorne-Hardy A, Hernandez-Medrano J, Herrero M, Hua F, Latawiec A, Misselbrook T, Phalan B, Simmons BI, Takahashi T, Vause J, Zu Ermgassen E, Eisner R. The environmental costs and benefits of high-yield farming. NATURE SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [PMID: 30450426 DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0138-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
How we manage farming and food systems to meet rising demand is pivotal to the future of biodiversity. Extensive field data suggest impacts on wild populations would be greatly reduced through boosting yields on existing farmland so as to spare remaining natural habitats. High-yield farming raises other concerns because expressed per unit area it can generate high levels of externalities such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nutrient losses. However, such metrics underestimate the overall impacts of lower-yield systems, so here we develop a framework that instead compares externality and land costs per unit production. Applying this to diverse datasets describing the externalities of four major farm sectors reveals that, rather than involving trade-offs, the externality and land costs of alternative production systems can co-vary positively: per unit production, land-efficient systems often produce lower externalities. For GHG emissions these associations become more strongly positive once forgone sequestration is included. Our conclusions are limited: remarkably few studies report externalities alongside yields; many important externalities and farming systems are inadequately measured; and realising the environmental benefits of high-yield systems typically requires additional measures to limit farmland expansion. Yet our results nevertheless suggest that trade-offs among key cost metrics are not as ubiquitous as sometimes perceived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Balmford
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Tatsuya Amano
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1SG, UK
| | - Harriet Bartlett
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Dave Chadwick
- Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Adrian Collins
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK
| | - David Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, South Yorks S10 2TN, UK
| | - Rob Field
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK
| | - Philip Garnsworthy
- School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Rhys Green
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Pete Smith
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Helen Waters
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | | | - Donald M Broom
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Julian Chara
- CIPAV, Centre for Research on Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems, Carrera 25 No 6-62, Cali 760042, Colombia
| | - Tom Finch
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, UK
| | - Emma Garnett
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Alfred Gathorne-Hardy
- School of Geosciences, Crew Building, Kings Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JN, UK
- Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Campus, Edinburgh EH25 9RG, UK
- Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, Somerville College, Oxford OX2 6HD, UK
| | - Juan Hernandez-Medrano
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Av. Universidad 3000, Col. UNAM, CU, Coyoacan, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Mario Herrero
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia
| | - Fangyuan Hua
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Agnieszka Latawiec
- Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Department of Geography and Environment, R. Marquês de São Vicente, 225 - Gávea, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22451-000, Brazil
- Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Informatics, Faculty of Production and Power Engineering, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Balicka 116B, 30-149 Kraków, Poland
| | | | - Ben Phalan
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Universidade Federal da Bahia, Rua Barão de Jeremoabo, 147, Ondina, Salvador 40170-115, Bahia Brazil
| | - Benno I Simmons
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Taro Takahashi
- Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK
- University of Bristol, British Veterinary School, Office Dolberry Building, Langford House, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK
| | - James Vause
- UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK
| | - Erasmus Zu Ermgassen
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Rowan Eisner
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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26
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Carbon Storage and Land-Use Strategies in Agricultural Landscapes across Three Continents. Curr Biol 2018; 28:2500-2505.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Williams DR, Alvarado F, Green RE, Manica A, Phalan B, Balmford A. Land-use strategies to balance livestock production, biodiversity conservation and carbon storage in Yucatán, Mexico. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:5260-5272. [PMID: 28614629 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Balancing the production of food, particularly meat, with preserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services is a major societal challenge. Research into the contrasting strategies of land sparing and land sharing has suggested that land sparing-combining high-yield agriculture with the protection or restoration of natural habitats on nonfarmed land-will have lower environmental impacts than other strategies. Ecosystems with long histories of habitat disturbance, however, could be resilient to low-yield agriculture and thus fare better under land sharing. Using a wider suite of species (birds, dung beetles and trees) and a wider range of livestock-production systems than previous studies, we investigated the probable impacts of different land-use strategies on biodiversity and aboveground carbon stocks in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico-a region with a long history of habitat disturbance. By modelling the production of multiple products from interdependent land uses, we found that land sparing would allow larger estimated populations of most species and larger carbon stocks to persist than would land sharing or any intermediate strategy. This result held across all agricultural production targets despite the history of disturbance and despite species richness in low- and medium-yielding agriculture being not much lower than that in natural habitats. This highlights the importance, in evaluating the biodiversity impacts of land use, of measuring population densities of individual species, rather than simple species richness. The benefits of land sparing for both biodiversity and carbon storage suggest that safeguarding natural habitats for biodiversity protection and carbon storage alongside promoting areas of high-yield cattle production would be desirable. However, delivering such landscapes will probably require the explicit linkage of livestock yield increases with habitat protection or restoration, as well as a deeper understanding of the long-term sustainability of yields, and research into how other societal outcomes vary across land-use strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Williams
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fredy Alvarado
- División de Posgrado, Instituto de Ecología, A. C. Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Rhys E Green
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, UK
| | - Andrea Manica
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ben Phalan
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Andrew Balmford
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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29
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Agricultural intensification without biodiversity loss is possible in grassland landscapes. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:1136-1145. [PMID: 29046565 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0227-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Grassland biodiversity in managed landscapes is threatened by land-use intensification, but is also dependent on low-intensity management. Solutions that allow for both agricultural production and species conservation may be realized either on individual grasslands, by adjusting management intensity, or at the landscape level, when grasslands are managed at different intensities. Here we use a dataset of more than 1,000 arthropod species collected in more than 100 grasslands along gradients of productivity, to assess the reaction of individual species to changes in productivity. We defined a range of land-use strategies and evaluated their effects on overall production and on species abundances. We show that conservation of arthropods can be improved without reducing overall production. We also find that production can be increased without jeopardizing conservation. Conservation and production could, however, not be maximized simultaneously at the landscape level, emphasizing that management goals need to be clearly defined.
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30
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Wertebach TM, Hölzel N, Kämpf I, Yurtaev A, Tupitsin S, Kiehl K, Kamp J, Kleinebecker T. Soil carbon sequestration due to post-Soviet cropland abandonment: estimates from a large-scale soil organic carbon field inventory. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2017; 23:3729-3741. [PMID: 28161907 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 triggered cropland abandonment on a continental scale, which in turn led to carbon accumulation on abandoned land across Eurasia. Previous studies have estimated carbon accumulation rates across Russia based on large-scale modelling. Studies that assess carbon sequestration on abandoned land based on robust field sampling are rare. We investigated soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks using a randomized sampling design along a climatic gradient from forest steppe to Sub-Taiga in Western Siberia (Tyumen Province). In total, SOC contents were sampled on 470 plots across different soil and land-use types. The effect of land use on changes in SOC stock was evaluated, and carbon sequestration rates were calculated for different age stages of abandoned cropland. While land-use type had an effect on carbon accumulation in the topsoil (0-5 cm), no independent land-use effects were found for deeper SOC stocks. Topsoil carbon stocks of grasslands and forests were significantly higher than those of soils managed for crops and under abandoned cropland. SOC increased significantly with time since abandonment. The average carbon sequestration rate for soils of abandoned cropland was 0.66 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 (1-20 years old, 0-5 cm soil depth), which is at the lower end of published estimates for Russia and Siberia. There was a tendency towards SOC saturation on abandoned land as sequestration rates were much higher for recently abandoned (1-10 years old, 1.04 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 ) compared to earlier abandoned crop fields (11-20 years old, 0.26 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 ). Our study confirms the global significance of abandoned cropland in Russia for carbon sequestration. Our findings also suggest that robust regional surveys based on a large number of samples advance model-based continent-wide SOC prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim-Martin Wertebach
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Immo Kämpf
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
- Vegetation Ecology and Botany Group, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Andrey Yurtaev
- Tyumen State University, Semakova Str. 10, Tyumen, 625003, Russia
| | - Sergey Tupitsin
- Tyumen State University, Semakova Str. 10, Tyumen, 625003, Russia
| | - Kathrin Kiehl
- Vegetation Ecology and Botany Group, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Till Kleinebecker
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
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31
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Wu J, Zhao Y, Yu C, Luo L, Pan Y. Land management influences trade-offs and the total supply of ecosystem services in alpine grassland in Tibet, China. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2017; 193:70-78. [PMID: 28189931 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Revised: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Developing sustainable use patterns for alpine grassland in Tibet is the primary challenge related to conserving these vulnerable ecosystems of the 'world's third pole' and guaranteeing the well-being of local inhabitants. This challenge requires researchers to think beyond the methods of most current studies that are limited to a single aspect of conservation or productivity, and focus on balancing various needs. An analysis of trade-offs involving ecosystem services provides a framework that can be used to quantify the type of balancing needed. In this study, we measured variations in four types of ecosystem services under five types of grassland management including grazing exclusion, sowing, combined plowing and grazing exclusion, combined plowing and sowing, and natural grassland, from 2013 to 2015. In addition, we accessed the existence and changing patterns of ecosystem service trade-offs using Spearman coefficients and a trade-off index. The results revealed the existence of trade-offs among provisioning and regulating services. Plowing and sowing could convert the trade-off relationships into synergies immediately. Grazing exclusion reduced the level of trade-offs gradually over time. Thus, the combined plowing and sowing treatment promoted the total supply of multiple ecosystem services when compared with natural grassland. We argue that the variations in dry matter allocation to above- and belowground serve as one cause of the variation in trade-off relationships. Another cause for variation in trade-offs is the varied species competition between selection effects and niche complementarity. Our study provides empirical evidence that the effects of trade-offs among ecosystem services could be reduced and even converted into synergies by optimizing management techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junxi Wu
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yan Zhao
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Chengqun Yu
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Liming Luo
- Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College of Tibet University, Linzhi, 860000, China
| | - Ying Pan
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
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Fleischer E, Khashimov I, Hölzel N, Klemm O. Carbon exchange fluxes over peatlands in Western Siberia: Possible feedback between land-use change and climate change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 545-546:424-433. [PMID: 26748007 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2015] [Revised: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/16/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The growing demand for agricultural products has been leading to an expansion and intensification of agriculture around the world. More and more unused land is currently reclaimed in the regions of the former Soviet Union. Driven by climate change, the Western Siberian grain belt might, in a long-term, even expand into the drained peatland areas to the North. It is crucial to study the consequences of this land-use change with respect to the carbon cycling as this is still a major knowledge gap. We present for the first time data on the atmosphere-ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and methane of an arable field and a neighboring unused grassland on peat soil in Western Siberia. Eddy covariance measurements were performed over one vegetation period. No directed methane fluxes were found due to an effective drainage of the study sites. The carbon dioxide fluxes appeared to be of high relevance for the global carbon and greenhouse gas cycles. They showed very site-specific patterns resulting from the development of vegetation: the persistent plants of the grassland were able to start photosynthesizing soon after snow melt, while the absence of vegetation on the managed field lead to a phase of emissions until the oat plants started to grow in June. The uptake peak of the oat field is much later than that of the grassland, but larger due to a rapid plant growth. Budgeting the whole measurement period, the grassland served as a carbon sink, whereas the oat field was identified to be a carbon source. The conversion from non-used grasslands on peat soil to cultivated fields in Western Siberia is therefore considered to have a positive feedback on climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Fleischer
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, Climatology Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
| | - Ilhom Khashimov
- Institute of Earth Science, Physical Geography and Geoecology Department, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia.
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
| | - Otto Klemm
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, Climatology Research Group, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
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Ekroos J, Ödman AM, Andersson GKS, Birkhofer K, Herbertsson L, Klatt BK, Olsson O, Olsson PA, Persson AS, Prentice HC, Rundlöf M, Smith HG. Sparing Land for Biodiversity at Multiple Spatial Scales. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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