Complementary effects of biodiversity and ecosystem services on spatial targeting for agri-environment payments

Abstract

Landscape multi-functionality is often valued by scientists and appreciated by citizens. In agro-ecosystems this often translates into policy that aims to protect biodiversity through conservation incentives, sometimes spatially targeted to decrease the impact of productive activities. Incentive schemes that aim at protecting a range of other benefits, are still rare. Resources are often limited and spatial heterogeneity can be high, so there is a need to investigate whether efficient schemes could be designed through the targeting of areas that offer both high biodiversity and ecosystem services. Using Scotland’s agricultural landscapes, we build on previous work to investigate whether there is spatial coincidence between species richness of species targeted by agri-environment schemes and four key ecosystem services, namely nutrient retention, carbon sequestration, pollination and prevention of soil erosion. We used models of the distribution of these ecosystem services and the distribution of 83 species of conservation value and relevant to lowland grasslands and croplands. Through spatial analysis we showed that complementarity depends on scale and that, at the landscape scale, it would be possible to define a zonation that encompasses areas that offer relatively higher levels biodiversity and ecosystem services. Conservation incentives schemes could become more inclusive and more efficient if they targeted the identified areas.