scholarly journals Benefits of crop diversification for biodiversity and ecosystem services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Beillouin ◽  
T. Ben-Ari ◽  
E. Malézieux ◽  
V. Seufert ◽  
D. Makowski
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Meta Analyses

AbstractIncreasing the diversity of cultivated crops, species or cultivars is expected to help preserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. But individual local experiments evaluating crop diversification practices and even meta-analytical synthesis of experimental studies are scattered in their scope, quality and geographical focus. In an effort to make sense of this trove of information, we integrate the results of 5,662 experiments representing more than 48,600 paired observations over 80 experimental years, through the compilation of 83 meta-analyses covering more than 120 crops and 85 countries. The diversification strategies analyzed in the literature are diverse and are here regrouped into five broad categories (i.e., agroforestry, associated plants, intercropping, crop rotation and cultivar mixture). Our exhaustive literature synthesis shows that overall, crop diversification significantly enhances crop yields (median effect +13%), associated biodiversity (+24%), and several ecosystem services including water quality (+84%), pest and disease control (+63%), and soil quality (+11%). While these aggregated global results support the many benefits of adopting more diversified cropping systems, we also identified high variability between meta-analyses for most of the diversification practices examined. This strong global heterogeneity highlights the importance of contextual information about agricultural diversification for local decision-making. Our global database provides important insights into the contextual performance of crop diversification practices that can provide this needed guidance to agricultural and environmental decision-making.

scholarly journals Agricultural diversification promotes multiple ecosystem services without compromising yield

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (45) ◽  
pp. eaba1715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Tamburini ◽  
Riccardo Bommarco ◽  
Thomas Cherico Wanger ◽  
Claire Kremen ◽  
Marcel G. A. van der Heijden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Context Dependency ◽  
Water Regulation ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Impact

Enhancing biodiversity in cropping systems is suggested to promote ecosystem services, thereby reducing dependency on agronomic inputs while maintaining high crop yields. We assess the impact of several diversification practices in cropping systems on above- and belowground biodiversity and ecosystem services by reviewing 98 meta-analyses and performing a second-order meta-analysis based on 5160 original studies comprising 41,946 comparisons between diversified and simplified practices. Overall, diversification enhances biodiversity, pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation without compromising crop yields. Practices targeting aboveground biodiversity boosted pest control and water regulation, while those targeting belowground biodiversity enhanced nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and water regulation. Most often, diversification practices resulted in win-win support of services and crop yields. Variability in responses and occurrence of trade-offs highlight the context dependency of outcomes. Widespread adoption of diversification practices shows promise to contribute to biodiversity conservation and food security from local to global scales.

scholarly journals Assessing Ecosystem Services Supplied by Agroecosystems in Mediterranean Europe: A Literature Review

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario V. Balzan ◽  
Renata Sadula ◽  
Laura Scalvenzi
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mediterranean

Agricultural landscapes in the Mediterranean region may be considered as social-ecological systems that are important for biodiversity conservation whilst contributing to a wide range of ecosystem services. This literature review aims to identify the current state and biases of ecosystem service assessment in agroecosystems within the Mediterranean region, evaluate pressures impacting on agroecosystems and their services, and practices that promote ecosystem service synergies in Mediterranean agroecosystems. A total of 41 papers were selected for analysis from a set of 573 potentially relevant papers. Most of the selected papers focused on supporting, regulating and provisioning services, and mostly assessed ecosystem structure or services in the European Mediterranean context. Literature about benefits and values ascribed to by communities and stakeholders remain limited. Results presented here support the notion of multifunctional Mediterranean agroecosystems and multiple synergies were recorded in this review. Publications dealing with pressures that related to agricultural practices and demographic changes were in the majority and impact on different cropping systems. This review highlights the need to carry out integrated ecosystem service assessments that consider the multiple benefits derived from agroecosystems and which may be used to identify management practices that lead to the improvement of ecosystem services capacities and flows.

scholarly journals Advancing Intercropping Research and Practices in Industrialized Agricultural Landscapes

Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Bybee-Finley ◽  
Matthew Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Relay Intercropping

Sustainable intensification calls for agroecological and adaptive management of the agrifood system. Here, we focus on intercropping and how this agroecological practice can be used to increase the sustainability of crop production. Strip, mixed, and relay intercropping can be used to increase crop yields through resource partitioning and facilitation. In addition to achieving greater productivity, diversifying cropping systems through the use of strategic intercrops can increase yield stability, reduce pests, and improve soil health. Several intercropping systems are already implemented in industrialized agricultural landscapes, including mixed intercropping with perennial grasses and legumes as forage and relay intercropping with winter wheat and red clover. Because intercropping can provide numerous benefits, researchers should be clear about their objectives and use appropriate methods so as to not draw spurious conclusions when studying intercrops. In order to advance the practice, experiments that test the effects of intercropping should use standardized methodology, and researchers should report a set of common criteria to facilitate cross-study comparisons. Intercropping with two or more crops appears to be less common with annuals than perennials, which is likely due to differences in the mechanisms responsible for complementarity. One area where intercropping with annuals in industrialized agricultural landscapes has advanced is with cover crops, where private, public, and governmental organizations have harmonized efforts to increase the adoption of cover crop mixtures.

scholarly journals Contributions of Hedgerows to People: A Global Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
David García de León ◽  
José M. Rey Benayas ◽  
Enrique Andivia
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Agricultural Fields ◽  
Climate Type ◽  
Scale Field ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Provisioning Services

Hedgerows are linear landscape features of woody vegetation usually located around agricultural fields. An increasing number of studies have addressed the effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study is aimed to synthesize these effects and compare the levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland with hedgerows and (1) farmland without hedgerows and (2) nearby natural habitat at the global scale. We hypothesized that farmland with hedgerows (1) enhances biodiversity and ecosystem services as compared to farmland without hedgerows but (2) supports lower levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services than natural habitat. Our systematic literature review retained 835 observations from 170 primary studies, which were analyzed following the standard methodology in meta-analyses. Our results partially support both hypotheses. Farmland with hedgerows exhibited higher levels of biodiversity and provisioning services than farmland without hedgerows (H1). Farmland with hedgerows provided similar levels of biodiversity (edge effects) but lower levels of ecosystem services than natural habitat (H2). The effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services depended on control ecosystem type (grassland/meadow or forest/woodland) but were largely independent of climate type (temperate or tropical) and the focus of spatial scale (field or landscape). In conclusion, conservation and restoration of hedgerows contribute to people in several ways by enhancing biodiversity and multifunctionality in agricultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Mineral-Ecological Cropping Systems—A New Approach to Improve Ecosystem Services by Farming without Chemical Synthetic Plant Protection

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1710
Author(s):  
Beate Zimmermann ◽  
Ingrid Claß-Mahler ◽  
Moritz von Cossel ◽  
Iris Lewandowski ◽  
Jan Weik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Provisioning Ecosystem Services

The search for approaches to a holistic sustainable agriculture requires the development of new cropping systems that provide additional ecosystem services beyond biomass supply for food, feed, material, and energy use. The reduction of chemical synthetic plant protection products is a key instrument to protect vulnerable natural resources such as groundwater and biodiversity. Together with an optimal use of mineral fertilizer, agroecological practices, and precision agriculture technologies, a complete elimination of chemical synthetic plant protection in mineral-ecological cropping systems (MECSs) may not only improve the environmental performance of agroecosystems, but also ensure their yield performance. Therefore, the development of MECSs aims to improve the overall ecosystem services of agricultural landscapes by (i) improving the provision of regulating ecosystem services compared to conventional cropping systems and (ii) improving the supply of provisioning ecosystem services compared to organic cropping systems. In the present review, all relevant research levels and aspects of this new farming concept are outlined and discussed based on a comprehensive literature review and the ongoing research project “Agriculture 4.0 without Chemical-Synthetic Plant Protection”.

scholarly journals A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. eaax0121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Dainese ◽  
Emily A. Martin ◽  
Marcelo A. Aizen ◽  
Matthias Albrecht ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Global Database

Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield–related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services in addition to and independent of abundance and dominance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society.

scholarly journals Spatial and Ecological Farmer Knowledge and Decision-Making about Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kpienbaareh ◽  
Rachel Bezner Kerr ◽  
Isaac Luginaah ◽  
Jinfei Wang ◽  
Esther Lupafya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Farmer Knowledge ◽  
Farm Level

Amid climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity, there is the growing need to draw synergies between micro-scale environmental processes and practices, and macro-level ecosystem dynamics to facilitate conservation decision-making. Adopting this synergistic approach can improve crop yields and profitability more sustainably, enhance livelihoods and mitigate climate change. Using spatially explicit data generated through a public participatory geographic information system methodology (n = 37), complemented by spatial analysis, interviews (n = 68) and focus group discussions (n = 4), we explored the synergies between participatory farmer-to-farmer agroecology knowledge sharing, farm-level decisions and their links with macro-level prioritization of conservation strategies. We mapped farm conditions and ecosystem services (ES) of two village areas with varying knowledge systems about farming. Results of the farm-level analysis revealed variations in spatial perception among farmers, differences in understanding the dynamics of crop growth and varying priorities for extension services based on agroecological knowledge. The ES use pattern analysis revealed hotspots in the mapped ES indicators with similarities in both village areas. Despite the similarities in ES use, priorities for biodiversity conservation align with farmers’ understanding of farm processes and practices. Farmers with training in agroecology prioritized strategies that are ecologically friendly while farmers with no agroecology training prioritized the use of strict regulations. Importantly, the results show that agroecology can potentially contribute to biodiversity conservation and food security, with climate change mitigation co-benefits. The findings generally contribute to debates on land sparing and land sharing conservation strategies and advance social learning theory as it pertains to acquiring agroecological knowledge for improved yield and a sustainable environment.

scholarly journals A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Dainese ◽  
Emily A. Martin ◽  
Marcelo A. Aizen ◽  
Matthias Albrecht ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Global Database

ABSTRACTHuman land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by few abundant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 crop systems, we partition the relative importance of abundance and species richness for pollination, biological pest control and final yields in the context of on-going land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services independent of abundance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society.

scholarly journals Regenerating Agricultural Landscapes with Perennial Groundcover for Intensive Crop Production

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Moore ◽  
Robert P. Anex ◽  
Amani E. Elobeid ◽  
Shuizhang Fei ◽  
Cornelia B. Flora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Grain Crop ◽  
Intensively Managed

The Midwestern U.S. landscape is one of the most highly altered and intensively managed ecosystems in the country. The predominant crops grown are maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr]. They are typically grown as monocrops in a simple yearly rotation or with multiple years of maize (2 to 3) followed by a single year of soybean. This system is highly productive because the crops and management systems have been well adapted to the regional growing conditions through substantial public and private investment. Furthermore, markets and supporting infrastructure are highly developed for both crops. As maize and soybean production have intensified, a number of concerns have arisen due to the unintended environmental impacts on the ecosystem. Many areas across the Midwest are experiencing negative impacts on water quality, soil degradation, and increased flood risk due to changes in regional hydrology. The water quality impacts extend even further downstream. We propose the development of an innovative system for growing maize and soybean with perennial groundcover to recover ecosystem services historically provided naturally by predominantly perennial native plant communities. Reincorporating perennial plants into annual cropping systems has the potential of restoring ecosystem services without negatively impacting grain crop production and offers the prospect of increasing grain crop productivity through improving the biological functioning of the system.

Minimizing Bias in Forensic Handwriting Examinations

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Alewijnse ◽  
E.J.A.T. Mattijssen ◽  
R.D. Stoel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Context Information ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Potential Bias ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Management Procedures

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the increasing awareness about the potential bias on the interpretation and conclusions of forensic handwriting examiners (FHEs) by contextual information. We briefly provide the reader with an overview of relevant types of bias, the difficulties associated with studying bias, the sources of bias and their potential influence on the decision making process in casework, and solutions to minimize bias in casework. We propose that the limitations of published studies on bias need to be recognized and that their conclusions must be interpreted with care. Instead of discussing whether bias is an issue in casework, the forensic handwriting community should actually focus on how bias can be minimized in practice. As some authors have already shown (e.g., Found & Ganas, 2014), it is relatively easy to implement context information management procedures in practice. By introducing appropriate procedures to minimize bias, not only forensic handwriting examination will be improved, it will also increase the acceptability of the provided evidence during court hearings. Purchase Article - $10

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