Biodiversity-based Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Agroecosystem multifunctionality of apple orchards in relation to agricultural management and landscape context

Managing agricultural landscapes to simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem services is crucial to meet both environmental and societal demands. This not only requires surveying and modeling many ecosystem services at the same time, but also quantifying the impact of agricultural management and the surrounding landscape on agroecosystem multifunctionality. In this study, we assessed the agroecosystem multifunctionality of 12 organic apple orchards and 12 orchards with integrated pest management (IPM) using field data on 23 indicators for agronomical, ecological and economic performance. Furthermore, the ecological performance indicators were also quantified in 12 semi-natural grasslands to obtain a benchmark for the overall impact of agricultural management on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services. We found that organic farming at the field scale had relatively limited beneficial effects on ecological performance, yet it provided farmers with a similar income relative to IPM, despite lower yield levels. Overall orchard multifunctionality did not differ between organic and IPM orchards, regardless of hypothetical stakeholder interests, and a clear trade-off between biodiversity and yield was found within both orchard systems. Structural equation models revealed that in addition to orchard management, also within-orchard location, local biodiversity and characteristics of the surrounding landscape were directly and/or indirectly driving ecosystem service indicator levels. Surrounding semi-natural habitat and landscape complexity enhanced biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services, and the higher provisioning of several services in the semi-natural benchmark further emphasizes the importance of preserving semi-natural habitats within the agricultural landscape. Overall, our results indicate that reconciling ecological, agronomical and economic goals requires a vision that goes beyond the field-level agricultural management. Therefore, we argue that policy measures should not only address local farm management, but should also target actions towards other stakeholders such as land managers and agricultural markets.

Vineyard Management and Its Impacts on Soil Biodiversity, Functions, and Ecosystem Services

Healthy soils form the basis of sustainable viticulture, where soil characteristics have a direct impact on wine quantity and quality. Soil not only provides water and nutrients to vines, but is also a living medium containing micro- and macroorganisms that perform many ecological functions and provide ecosystem services. These organisms are involved in many processes, from decomposing organic matter to providing minerals to vine roots. They also control diseases, pests, and weeds, in addition to improving the soil structure in terms of its capacity to retain water and nutrients. Related to decomposition processes, the carbon content of vineyard soils influences fertility, erosion and biogeochemical cycles, with significant implications for the global climate. However, common agricultural practices represent strong threats to biodiversity and associated ecosystem services provided by vineyard soils. As consumers increasingly consider environmental aspects in their purchase decisions, winegrowers have to adapt their vineyard management strategies, raising the demand for sustainable pest- and weed-control methods. This article presents a comprehensive review of the impacts of vineyard practices on the soil ecosystem, biodiversity, and biodiversity-based ecosystem services, and provides future prospects for sustainable viticulture.

Niche complementarity drives increases in pollinator functional diversity in diversified agroforestry systems

Rising demand for food production poses a major threat to biodiversity by placing competing pressures on land. Diversified farming systems are one widely promoted nature-based solution to this challenge, which aim to integrate biodiversity-based ecosystem services into agricultural production. The underlying theory behind this approach is that diverse communities enhance ecosystem service provision, although the evidence to support this theory is often inconsistent for reasons that are not always clear. Here we investigate the contribution of pollinators to ecosystem function in a model example of a diversified farming system, silvoarable agroforestry comprising apple trees intercropped within arable fields. We assess pollinator species richness, species diversity, and functional trait diversity, between agroforestry fields and paired monoculture arable controls, and within agroforestry fields at set distances from tree rows, to quantify their potential contributions to pollination service. Species richness and diversity, and functional richness and dispersion, of wild bees were found to be significantly higher in agroforestry systems, despite weak effects on mean trait values. No significant effects were found for hoverflies. Supplemental bee species found in agroforestry systems were shown to increase functional diversity primarily by enhancing niche complementarity, effectively filling in gaps in niche space for traits, which could be partly attributed to a higher abundance and diversity of floral resources in the associated understorey. Nationally rarer bee species also contributed substantially to functional richness but not consistently to functional dispersion, suggesting that while they provide a unique functional role, their contributions to ecosystem services remain limited by low local abundances. These mechanistic insights reveal how the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning can be influenced by farm management practices through their effect on the spatial and temporal availability of habitat resources.

Bats provide a critical ecosystem service by consuming a large diversity of agricultural pest insects

Biodiversity directly influences the delivery of multiple ecosystem services, most notably within agriculture. Projected future global demands for food, fiber and bioenergy will require enhancement of agricultural productivity, but favoring biodiversity-based ecosystem services generally remains underutilized in agricultural practice. In addition, agricultural intensification is a key driver of biodiversity loss. A significant obstacle preventing the adoption of ecologically sensitive practices is a lack of knowledge of the species delivering the services. Insectivorous bats have long been suggested to regulate insect pest populations and may be a critical component of biodiversity-based ecosystem services. Bats may also serve as agents of insect pest surveillance through environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring approaches. However, the biological and economic importance of bats to agriculture remains under-quantified. Here we catalogued the dietary niche of two North American bats, little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), through DNA metabarcoding of guano collected from seven roosting sites over a 26-week period. We measured the frequency of occurrence of known pest species in guano samples, compared interspecific differences in diet, and examined seasonal patterns in prey selection. Overall, we detected 653 unique prey species, 160 of which were known agricultural pests or disease vectors. Species diversity of prey species consumed varied by bat species and across the season, with big brown bats accounting for the majority of arthropod diversity detected. However, little brown bats consumed relatively more aquatic insects than big brown bats, suggesting that increased bat species richness in a landscape can amplify their net pest regulation service. Further, we hypothesized that detection probabilities of target insect pests would be higher in guano samples than in conventional survey methods. Multi-survey occupancy modeling revealed significantly lower detectability in bat guano than in conventional monitoring traps, however, highlighting important tradeoffs in selection of survey methods. Overall, the results presented here contribute to a growing evidence base supporting the role bats play in the provisioning of biodiversity-based ecosystem services.

Landscape Heterogeneity and Woody Encroachment Decrease Mesocarnivore Scavenging in a Savanna Agroecosystem

Increased agricultural intensification and extensive woody plant encroachment are having widespread effects on the functioning of grass-dominated systems at multiple spatial scales. Yet there is little understanding of how the provisioning of biodiversity-based ecosystem services might be altered by these ongoing changes. One fundamental ecosystem service that is decreasing globally, especially in human-altered landscapes, is scavenging that regulates disease processes, alters species distributions, and influences nutrient cycling. Accordingly, our goal was to understand how facultative scavenging, particularly that of mesocarnivores, was affected by landscape heterogeneity and woody encroachment in tropical-grassy savannas within an agricultural landscape mosaic. We baited (using chicken carcasses) plots across a gradient of land cover heterogeneity in areas with an open and closed canopy and subsequently measured scavenging rates. We found that scavenging efficiency of mesocarnivores and other small vertebrates was dependent on environmental variation at multiple spatial scales within our savanna agroecosystem. Mesocarnivores removed more bait when the overstory canopy at the plot (i.e., exact location of bait station) was more closed; in contrast, mesocarnivore scavenging was less efficient when patches (50 × 50 m area around the bait station) within the site had a higher density of shrubs. At the landscape scale, increased land cover fragmentation resulted in decreased amounts of scavenging by mesocarnivores. This study demonstrates that a relatively transformed agroecosystem can support the provision of important ecosystem services and offer an important buffer against loss of ecosystem services. Our results suggest that targeted woody encroachment control, protection of large trees, and management or mitigation of extreme levels of fragmentation can help maintain ecosystem service provision and biodiversity.

Prioritization of Loita Maasai medicinal plants for conservation

Medicinal plants provide biodiversity-based ecosystem services including health to many communities around the world and therefore, medicinal plant conservation is vital for sustainability. Here, we identify medicinal plants to be prioritized for conservation among the Loita Maasai who are pastoralists in the extensive East African savannah. A botanical survey and interviews were conducted with 91 villagers; 49 women and 42 men drawn randomly from 45 households. A conservation priority list was developed based on (1) the plant part harvested, (2) the species use value, and (3) its availability. These criteria were evaluated independently for each species on a scale from 1 to 4 and their sum was taken as the species’ score. The score for the species varied from 5 to 9. The higher the total score value of a species, the higher its priority for conservation. Among the medicinal plants used by the community, 20 species were shortlisted as regularly used and found around the village. Out of these, 12 species that had scores above seven were considered top priority for conservation. A total of 1179 use reports were obtained from the villagers and they were placed in 12 use categories as defined in the International Classification of Primary Care system. Plants used to treat digestive system disorder had most use reports (21%), followed by the muscular skeletal disorders (20%). This study identified 12 medicinal plant species that should be given conservation priority to make them available for the wellbeing of the people and sustainability of ecosystem products and services. An assessment of medicinal plants species using standard ecological methods is recommended.

Biodiversity-based ecosystem services for the management of monoculture plantation landscape using a transdisciplinary approach: a review

Doubling of the global population in the next 30 years will increase demand on the land and water resources that are in relatively fixed supply. Agriculture intensification will continue to be the main choice in the future. Intensified land use in agriculture is irrefutably the main reason for biodiversity-based ecosystem service loss. In Indonesia, the current area of agriculture land is approximately 40 million ha (21% of total land). Monoculture system is the most adopted practices in the agriculture landscape. Therefore, there is a need to develop an agricultural landscape that supports biodiversity-based ecosystem services. There is an observed linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem service in a tropical agricultural landscape. Redesigning agricultural landscapes for biodiversity-based ecosystem services is not a straightforward undertaking, especially in the developing country like Indonesia where many people already inhabit the agriculture landscape. There are so many socio-economic and policy aspects involved in its real implementation. It requires much effort to reach an agreement for appropriate landscape design that suits all socio-economic setting. We need to move beyond the scientific formalities to dialogue with farmers and other private and public agencies about the advantages and drawbacks of landscape design. We need the so-called transdisciplinary approach involving close collaboration with policymakers and all stakeholders to develop landscape-scale research into the agricultural landscape design.

Impacts of Agricultural Management Systems on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Highly Simplified Dryland Landscapes

Covering about 40% of Earth’s land surface and sustaining at least 38% of global population, drylands are key crop and animal production regions with high economic and social values. However, land use changes associated with industrialized agricultural managements are threatening the sustainability of these systems. While previous studies assessing the impacts of agricultural management systems on biodiversity and their services focused on more diversified mesic landscapes, there is a dearth of such research in highly simplified dryland agroecosystems. In this paper, we 1) summarize previous research on the effects of farm management systems and agricultural expansion on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services, 2) present four case studies assessing the impacts of management systems on biodiversity and ecosystem services across highly simplified dryland landscapes of the Northern Great Plains (NGP), USA, 3) discuss approaches to sustain biodiversity-based ecosystem services in drylands, and 4) present a conceptual framework for enhancing agricultural sustainability in the drylands through research, policy, economic valuation, and adaptive management. An analysis of the land use changes due to agricultural expansion within the Golden Triangle, a representative agricultural area in the NGP, indicated that the proportion of land conversion to agriculture area was 84%, 8%, and 7% from grassland, riparian, and shrubland habitats, respectively. Our results showed this simplification was associated with a potential reduction of pollination services. Also, our economic analysis projected that if 30% parasitism could be achieved through better management systems, the estimated potential economic returns to pest regulation services through parasitoids in Montana, USA alone could reach about $11.23 million. Overall, while dryland agroecosystems showed a significant loss of native biodiversity and its services, greater pest incidence, and a decrease in plant pollinator networks, these trends were moderately reversed in organically managed farming systems. In conclusion, although land use changes due to agricultural expansion and industrialized farming threaten the sustainability of dryland agroecosystems, this impact can be partially offset by coupling ecologically-based farming practices with adaptive management strategies.

Tillage intensity or landscape features: What matters most for wild bee diversity in vineyards?

Vineyard inter-rows can provide habitats for a range of plant and animal species especially when covered with vegetation. However, frequent tillage results in the degradation of habitat quality and the provision of biodiversity-based ecosystem services. Wild bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants and depend on both, floral resources and suitable nesting sites, which are influenced by the landscape configuration.We examined effects of field and landscape parameters on wild bee species’ richness, abundance and functional traits in Austrian vineyards over two years using Generalised Linear Mixed models, Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Random Forests. Alternating tillage was compared with no tillage in two inter-rows per vineyard. Forage availability in these inter-rows was estimated by flower coverage at each sampling date, and landscape features were analysed within a radius of 750 m around the vineyards.Across all vineyards we found 84 wild bee species with a mean abundance (±SD) of 29 (±16.6). Forage availability had the strongest positive effect on wild bee diversity and abundance. In comparison to no tillage, alternating tillage slightly increased wild bee diversity and abundance. Eusocial wild bees were more abundant in untilled inter-rows, whereas solitary wild bees were more closely associated with alternating tilled vineyards. At the landscape scale, the percentage of artificial areas (mostly villages) and distance to semi-natural elements raised wild bee diversity and abundance. The proportion of woodland increased the abundance of wild bees, in particular of eusocial taxa. Solitary wild bee abundance was enhanced by the number of solitary trees.Pollination provided by wild bees in viticultural areas can be enhanced by maintaining a diversity of different soil management strategies to improve forage availability in vineyards. Furthermore, semi-natural elements such as fallows or solitary trees providing floral resources and nesting habitat should be preserved within viticultural landscapes.

Pollinators diversity and their effects on rapeseed (Brassica campestris L. var. toria) production and productivity in Chitwan, Nepal

Crop pollination is crucial for increasing yield, ensuring food security and improving livelihoods. To quantify the response of pollinators on rapeseed, an experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) at three agro-ecological sites: Semi-natural (Megauli), organic (Fulbari) and intensive agriculture (Jutpani) Village Development Committees of Chitwan district in 2012/013 and 20013/014. The treatments were: i) open pollination; ii) plants caged with honeybees (Apis melifera L.); iii) hand pollination; and iv) control (plots caged without pollinators) replicated four times. Pollinators visiting rapeseed flowers, plant height, branch number, siliqua/plant, pods weight/ siliqua, test weight, and seed yield/hectare were recorded. The dominant pollinators were Hymenopterans mostly honeybees. The impact of pollinators on each system resulted in significantly increased yield attributes compared to no-pollination, which clearly indicates the need of integrating managed pollination and pollinators' conservation to sustain rapeseed production in Chitwan through biodiversity-based ecosystem services.

Designing agricultural landscapes for biodiversity-based ecosystem services

Sustainable and resilient agricultural systems are needed to feed and fuel a growing human population. However, the current model of agricultural intensification which produces high yields has also resulted in a loss of biodiversity, ecological function, and critical ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. A key consequence of agricultural intensification is landscape simplification, where once heterogeneous landscapes contain increasingly fewer crop and non-crop habitats. Landscape simplification exacerbates biodiversity losses which leads to reductions in ecosystem services on which agriculture depends. In recent decades, considerable research has focused on mitigating these negative impacts, primarily via management of habitats to promote biodiversity and enhance services at the local scale. While it is well known that local and landscape factors interact, modifying overall landscape structure is seldom considered due to logistical constraints. I propose that the loss of ecosystem services due to landscape simplification can only be addressed by a concerted effort to fundamentally redesign agricultural landscapes. Designing agricultural landscapes will require that scientists work with stakeholders to determine the mix of desired ecosystem services, evaluate current landscape structure in light of those goals, and implement targeted modifications to achieve them. I evaluate the current status of landscape design, ranging from fundamental ecological principles to resulting guidelines and socioeconomic tools. While research gaps remain, the time is right for ecologists to engage with other disciplines, stakeholders, and policymakers in education and advocacy to foster agricultural landscape design for sustainable and resilient biodiversity services.

Crop management modifies the benefits of insect pollination in oilseed rape

In a factorial field plot experiment, high and low levels of inorganic nitrogen and of insect pollinators visiting the crop were manipulated and their combined effects on oilseed rape yield were quantified. A third factor was also included, testing whether different cultivars responded differently to the tested factors. Insect pollination was required to reach high yield and seed quality (oil content). Final benefits of pollination service were, however, greatly modified by cultivar, where the seed yield of the open-pollinated cultivar largely depended on insect pollination whereas the two hybrid cultivars did not. A near significant interaction between nitrogen input and insect pollination was also found, i.e. benefits to crop yield from insect pollination seemed to increase with decreased nitrogen levels. The differential response of the three cultivars suggested opportunities to use cultivars that are less dependent on insect pollination in landscapes where this service has been deteriorated. Increased access of nitrogen seems to partly compensate yield losses from poor insect pollination. Integrating conservation, environmental and agronomic sciences is therefore crucial to sustain agriculture productions through optimized management of agronomic inputs and biodiversity-based ecosystem services.