scholarly journals Trade-offs in provisioning and stability of multiple ecosystem services in agroecosystems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Montoya ◽  
Bart Haegeman ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Claire de Mazancourt ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Crop Area ◽  
The Stability

AbstractChanges in land use generate trade-offs in the delivery of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. However, we know little about how the stability of ecosystem services responds to landscape composition, and what ecological mechanisms underlie these trade-offs. Here, we develop a model to investigate the dynamics of three ecosystem services in intensively-managed agroecosystems, i.e. pollination-independent crop yield, crop pollination, and biodiversity. Our model reveals trade-offs and synergies imposed by landscape composition that affect not only the magnitude but also the stability of ecosystem service delivery. Trade-offs involving crop pollination are strongly affected by the degree to which crops depend on pollination and by their relative requirement for pollinator densities. We show conditions for crop production to increase with biodiversity and decreasing crop area, reconciling farmers’ profitability and biodiversity conservation. Our results further suggest that, for pollination-dependent crops, management strategies that focus on maximising yield will often overlook its stability. Given that agriculture has become more pollination-dependent over time, it is essential to understand the mechanisms driving these trade-offs to ensure food security.

scholarly journals Reconciling biodiversity conservation, food production and farmers’ demand

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Montoya ◽  
Sabrina Gaba ◽  
Claire de Mazancourt ◽  
Vincent Bretagnolle ◽  
Michel Loreau
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Global Change ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Demographic Stochasticity ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Intensively Managed

AbstractAgricultural management should consider multiple services and stakeholders. Yet, it remains unclear how to guarantee the provision of ecosystem services that reaches stakeholders’ demands, especially considering the observed biodiversity decline and the current global change predictions that may affect food security. Here, we use a model to examine how landscape composition – fraction of semi-natural habitat (SNH) – affects biodiversity and crop production services in intensively-managed agricultural systems. We analyse three groups of stakeholders assumed to value different ecosystem services most – individual farmers (crop yield per area), agricultural unions (landscape production) and conservationists (biodiversity). We find that trade-offs among stakeholders’ demands strongly depend on the degree of pollination dependence of crops, the strength of environmental and demographic stochasticity, and the relative amount of an ecosystem service demanded by each stakeholder, i.e. function thresholds. Intermediate amounts of SNH can allow for the delivery of relatively high levels of the three ecosystem services. Our analysis further suggests that the current levels of SNH protection lie below these intermediate amounts of SNH in intensively-managed agricultural landscapes. Given the worldwide trends in agriculture and global change, these results suggest ways of managing landscapes to reconcile the demands of several actors and ensure for biodiversity conservation and food production.

scholarly journals Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kleijn ◽  
Rachael Winfree ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
Luísa G Carvalheiro ◽  
Mickaël Henry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Bee Communities

Abstract There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments.

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.

scholarly journals Gefährlich und nützlich zugleich: Strategien zum Management der invasiven Robinie

2018 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Vítková ◽  
Marco Conedera ◽  
Jiří Sádlo ◽  
Jan Pergl ◽  
Petr Pyšek
Keyword(s):  
Time Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Intensively Managed

Dangerous and useful at the same time: management strategies for the invasive black locust The North American black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is considered controversial as many other introduced tree species because of its both positive and negative properties. Based on a literature review and own data we analyze the occurrence of black locust in Czechia and Switzerland and present the management approaches in place. In both countries, black locust is on the blacklist of invasive introduced species. It can grow in a wide range of habitats from urban and agricultural landscape to dry grassland and forest. Meanwhile, the species became in many places part of the environment and human culture, so that neither unrestricted cultivation nor large-scale eradication is feasible. We suggest a context-dependent management which respects the different needs and takes into account the local environmental conditions, land-use, habitat type, risk of spread as well as economic, cultural and biodiversity aspects. To this purpose we propose three management strategies: 1) control respectively gradual suppression of black locust in forests where the species is not welcome, 2) its eradication in sensitive ecosystems as dry grasslands or clear and dry forests and 3) its tolerance in intensively managed agricultural landscapes and in urban environment.

scholarly journals Modeling the Supporting Ecosystem Services of Depressional Wetlands in Agricultural Landscapes

Wetlands ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 1061-1069
Author(s):  
David M. Mushet ◽  
Cali L. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Depressional Wetlands ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Des Moines Lobe ◽  
Des Moines

Abstract We explored how a geographic information system modeling approach could be used to quantify supporting ecosystem services related to the type, abundance, and distribution of landscape components. Specifically, we use the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model to quantify habitats that support amphibians and birds, floral resources that support pollinators, native-plant communities that support regional biodiversity, and above- and below-ground carbon stores in the Des Moines Lobe ecoregion of the U.S. We quantified services under two scenarios, one that represented the 2012 Des Moines Lobe landscape, and one that simulated the conversion to crop production of wetlands and surrounding uplands conserved under the USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). While ACEP easements only covered 0.35% of the ecoregion, preserved wetlands and grasslands provided for 19,020 ha of amphibian habitat, 21,462 ha of grassland-bird habitat, 18,798 ha of high-quality native wetland plants, and 27,882 ha of floral resources for pollinators. Additionally, ACEP protected lands stored 257,722 t of carbon that, if released, would result in costs in excess of 45-million USD. An integrated approach using results from a GIS-based model in combination with process-based model quantifications will facilitate more informed decisions related to ecosystem service tradeoffs.

scholarly journals Balancing ecosystem services with energy and food security – Assessing trade-offs from reservoir operation and irrigation investments in Kenya's Tana Basin

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3259-3277 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Hurford ◽  
J. J. Harou
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Pareto Optimal ◽  
Management Problem ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract. Competition for water between key economic sectors and the environment means agreeing allocations is challenging. Managing releases from the three major dams in Kenya's Tana River basin with its 4.4 million inhabitants, 567 MW of installed hydropower capacity, 33 000 ha of irrigation and ecologically important wetlands and forests is a pertinent example. This research seeks firstly to identify and help decision-makers visualise reservoir management strategies which result in the best possible (Pareto-optimal) allocation of benefits between sectors. Secondly, it seeks to show how trade-offs between achievable benefits shift with the implementation of proposed new rice, cotton and biofuel irrigation projects. To approximate the Pareto-optimal trade-offs we link a water resources management simulation model to a multi-criteria search algorithm. The decisions or "levers" of the management problem are volume-dependent release rules for the three major dams and extent of investment in new irrigation schemes. These decisions are optimised for eight objectives covering the provision of water supply and irrigation, energy generation and maintenance of ecosystem services. Trade-off plots allow decision-makers to assess multi-reservoir rule-sets and irrigation investment options by visualising their impacts on different beneficiaries. Results quantify how economic gains from proposed irrigation schemes trade-off against the disturbance of ecosystems and local livelihoods that depend on them. Full implementation of the proposed schemes is shown to come at a high environmental and social cost. The clarity and comprehensiveness of "best-case" trade-off analysis is a useful vantage point from which to tackle the interdependence and complexity of "water-energy-food nexus" resource security issues.

scholarly journals Soil management shapes ecosystem service provision and trade-offs in agricultural landscapes

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1837) ◽  
pp. 20161369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Tamburini ◽  
Serena De Simone ◽  
Maurizia Sigura ◽  
Francesco Boscutti ◽  
Lorenzo Marini
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Conservation Tillage ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Quality Regulation ◽  
Trade Offs

Agroecosystems are principally managed to maximize food provisioning even if they receive a large array of supporting and regulating ecosystem services (ESs). Hence, comprehensive studies investigating the effects of local management and landscape composition on the provision of and trade-offs between multiple ESs are urgently needed. We explored the effects of conservation tillage, nitrogen fertilization and landscape composition on six ESs (crop production, disease control, soil fertility, water quality regulation, weed and pest control) in winter cereals. Conservation tillage enhanced soil fertility and pest control, decreased water quality regulation and weed control, without affecting crop production and disease control. Fertilization only influenced crop production by increasing grain yield. Landscape intensification reduced the provision of disease and pest control. We also found tillage and landscape composition to interactively affect water quality regulation and weed control. Under N fertilization, conventional tillage resulted in more trade-offs between ESs than conservation tillage. Our results demonstrate that soil management and landscape composition affect the provision of several ESs and that soil management potentially shapes the trade-offs between them.

scholarly journals Participatory Mapping of Demand for Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1193
Author(s):  
Carmen Schwartz ◽  
Mostafa Shaaban ◽  
Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura ◽  
Annette Piorr
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
The Body ◽  
Poor Correlation ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Stakeholder Workshop

Agricultural land use systems have been optimized for producing provisioning ecosystem services (ES) in the past few decades, often at the expense of regulating and cultural services. Research has focused mainly on the supply side of ES and related trade-offs, but the demand side for regulatory services remains largely neglected. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness of participatory geographic information system (PGIS) methods for demand assessment in larger rural and agrarian contexts by identifying spatially explicit demand patterns for ES, thereby enlarging the body of participatory approaches to ES-based land use management. Accordingly, we map, assess, and statistically and spatially analyze different demands for five ES by different stakeholder groups in agricultural landscapes in three case studies. The results are presented in a stakeholder workshop and prerequisites for collaborative ES management are discussed. Our results show that poor correlation exists between stakeholder groups and demands for ES; however, arable land constitutes the highest share of the mapped area of demands for the five ES. These results have been validated by both the survey and the stakeholder workshop. Our study concludes that PGIS represents a useful tool to link demand assessments and landscape management systematically, especially for decision support systems.

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