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Rasmussen LV, Grass I, Mehrabi Z, Smith OM, Bezner-Kerr R, Blesh J, Garibaldi LA, Isaac ME, Kennedy CM, Wittman H, Batáry P, Buchori D, Cerda R, Chará J, Crowder DW, Darras K, DeMaster K, Garcia K, Gómez M, Gonthier D, Guzman A, Hidayat P, Hipólito J, Hirons M, Hoey L, James D, John I, Jones AD, Karp DS, Kebede Y, Kerr CB, Klassen S, Kotowska M, Kreft H, Llanque R, Levers C, Lizcano DJ, Lu A, Madsen S, Marques RN, Martins PB, Melo A, Nyantakyi-Frimpong H, Olimpi EM, Owen JP, Pantevez H, Qaim M, Redlich S, Scherber C, Sciligo AR, Snapp S, Snyder WE, Steffan-Dewenter I, Stratton AE, Taylor JM, Tscharntke T, Valencia V, Vogel C, Kremen C. Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture. Science 2024; 384:87-93. [PMID: 38574149 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj1914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Agricultural simplification continues to expand at the expense of more diverse forms of agriculture. This simplification, for example, in the form of intensively managed monocultures, poses a risk to keeping the world within safe and just Earth system boundaries. Here, we estimated how agricultural diversification simultaneously affects social and environmental outcomes. Drawing from 24 studies in 11 countries across 2655 farms, we show how five diversification strategies focusing on livestock, crops, soils, noncrop plantings, and water conservation benefit social (e.g., human well-being, yields, and food security) and environmental (e.g., biodiversity, ecosystem services, and reduced environmental externalities) outcomes. We found that applying multiple diversification strategies creates more positive outcomes than individual management strategies alone. To realize these benefits, well-designed policies are needed to incentivize the adoption of multiple diversification strategies in unison.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Vang Rasmussen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
- Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy (KomBioTa), University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Zia Mehrabi
- Department of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Better Planet Laboratory, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Mortenson Center for Global Engineering and Resilience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Olivia M Smith
- Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Blesh
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Río Negro, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Marney E Isaac
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and Department of Global Development Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Hannah Wittman
- Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Péter Batáry
- Lendület Landscape and Conservation Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Botany, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Damayanti Buchori
- Department of Plant Protection, Bogor Agricultural University, Jalan Kamper, Kampus Darmaga, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Rolando Cerda
- Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Turri Alba, Costa Rica
| | - Julián Chará
- Center for Research on Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CIPAV), Cali, Colombia
| | - David W Crowder
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | | | - Kathryn DeMaster
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Karina Garcia
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Manuel Gómez
- Federación Colombiana de Ganaderos (FEDEGAN), Bogotá, Columbia
| | - David Gonthier
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Aidee Guzman
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Purnama Hidayat
- Department of Plant Protection, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Juliana Hipólito
- Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Biology Institute, Salvador, Brazil
- Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Conselho de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Universitário, Viçosa, MG, Brazil
- Brazil Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, INPA, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Mark Hirons
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lesli Hoey
- Urban and Regional Planning Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dana James
- Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Innocensia John
- Department of Agricultural Economics and Business, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Andrew D Jones
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Daniel S Karp
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yodit Kebede
- Eco&Sols, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Susanna Klassen
- Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Martyna Kotowska
- Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Holger Kreft
- Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Christian Levers
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Environmental Geography, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Thünen Institute of Biodiversity, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute - Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry, and Fisheries, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Diego J Lizcano
- The Nature Conservancy, Latin America North Andes and Central America Region, Bogota, Columbia
| | - Adrian Lu
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sidney Madsen
- Department of Global Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Rosebelly Nunes Marques
- Applied Ecology Graduate Program, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pedro Buss Martins
- Applied Ecology Graduate Program, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - America Melo
- The Nature Conservancy, Latin America North Andes and Central America Region, Bogota, Columbia
| | | | | | - Jeb P Owen
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Heiber Pantevez
- Federación Colombiana de Ganaderos (FEDEGAN), Bogotá, Columbia
| | - Matin Qaim
- Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sarah Redlich
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Museum Koenig, Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Science, Bonn, Germany
- Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Sieglinde Snapp
- Sustainable Agrifood Systems, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), El Batan, Mexico
| | - William E Snyder
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Anne Elise Stratton
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Department, Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Joseph M Taylor
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Department of Agroecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vivian Valencia
- Farming Systems Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
- Department of Environment, Agriculture and Geography at Bishop's University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Cassandra Vogel
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Claire Kremen
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Biodiversity Research Centre and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Olimpi EM, Daly H, Garcia K, Glynn VM, Gonthier DJ, Kremen C, M'Gonigle LK, Karp DS. Interactive effects of multiscale diversification practices on farmland bird stress. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13902. [PMID: 35212020 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13902] [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: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Farmland diversification practices (i.e., methods used to produce food sustainably by enhancing biodiversity in cropping systems) are sometimes considered beneficial to both agriculture and biodiversity, but most studies of these practices rely on species richness, diversity, or abundance as a proxy for habitat quality. Biodiversity assessments may miss early clues that populations are imperiled when species presence does not imply persistence. Physiological stress indicators may help identify low-quality habitats before population declines occur. We explored how avian stress indicators respond to on-farm management practices and surrounding seminatural area (1-km radius) across 21 California strawberry farms. We examined whether commonly used biodiversity metrics correlate with stress responses in wild birds. We used ∼1000 blood and feather samples and body mass and wing chord measurements, mostly from passerines, to test the effects of diversification practices on four physiological stress indicators: heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (H:L), body condition, hematocrit values, and feather growth rates of individual birds. We then tested the relationship between physiological stress indicators and species richness, abundance, occurrence, and diversity derived from 285 bird point count surveys. After accounting for other biological drivers, landscape context mediated the effect of local farm management on H:L and body condition. Local diversification practices were associated with reduced individual stress in intensive agricultural landscapes but increased it in landscapes surrounded by relatively more seminatural area. Feathers grew more slowly in landscapes dominated by strawberry production, suggesting that nutritional condition was lower here than in landscapes with more crop types and seminatural areas. We found scant evidence that species richness, abundance, occurrence, or diversity metrics were correlated with the individual's physiological stress, suggesting that reliance on these metrics may obscure the impacts of management on species persistence. Our findings underscore the importance of considering landscape context when designing local management strategies to promote wildlife conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elissa M Olimpi
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Hallie Daly
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Karina Garcia
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Victoria M Glynn
- Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - David J Gonthier
- Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
| | - Claire Kremen
- Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Leithen K M'Gonigle
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Daniel S Karp
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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