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This dataset comprises 1,040,752 measurements, collated from 9,544 sampling locations in 46 countries and representing 10,635 species. The data was collated from 115 existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database was assembled as part of the PREDICTS project - Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems; https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/predicts.html This release is an addition to the data presented with The 2016 release of the PREDICTS database (available on the NHM Data Portal: https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/the-2016-release-of-the-predicts-database).

Parasitoids are a significant mortality factor in the population dynamics of many arthropods involved in key ecological processes such as herbivore-plant and predator-prey interactions. Parasitoids are therefore widely used in biocontrol programs. Global change phenomena influence these natural and anthropocentric roles of parasitoids and here we review the effects of the main drivers and their interplay. Land use intensification modifies landscape structure and elevates agroecosystem loads of fertilisers and pesticides creating risks for parasitism and loss of biocontrol services. Climate change can affect parasitoids directly, affecting physiology and survival, or indirectly via phenological and other effects (plant chemistry, herbivore-induced plant volatiles HIPVs) on their hosts, endosymbionts and plants. Biological invasions have the potential to modify native host-parasitoid systems and elevate risk of novel pest dynamics, requiring restoration of biocontrol. The interplay between these global change drivers may thus exacerbate the overall risk to parasitism in future agricultural landscapes. To make more accurate predictions, future studies could focus on the impact of interacting global change drivers on parasitoids and the biocontrol services they provide. Moreover, host and parasitoid specificity appear to be a key driver in assessing the effects of global change on parasitoids.

Multiple anthropogenic challenges threaten nature's contributions to human well-being. Agricultural expansion and conventional intensification are degrading biodiversity and ecosystem functions, thereby undermining the natural foundations on which agriculture is itself built. Averting the worst effects of global environmental change and assuring ecosystem benefits, requires a transformation of agriculture. Alternative agricultural systems to conventional intensification exist, ranging from adjustments to efficiency (e.g. sustainable intensification) to a redesign (e.g. ecological intensification, climate-smart agriculture) of the farm management system. These alternatives vary in their reliance on nature or technology, the level of systemic change required to operate, and impacts on biodiversity, landscapes and agricultural production. Different socio-economic, ecological and political settings mean there is no universal solution, instead there are a suite of interoperable practices that can be adapted to different contexts to maximise efficiency, sustainability and resilience. Social, economic, technological and demographic issues will influence the form of sustainable agriculture and effects on landscapes and biodiversity. These include: (1) the socio-technical-ecological architecture of agricultural and food systems and trends such as urbanisation in affecting the mode of production, diets, lifestyles and attitudes; (2) emerging technologies, such as gene editing, synthetic biology and 3D bioprinting of meat; and (3) the scale or state of the existing farm system, especially pertinent for smallholder agriculture. Agricultural transformation will require multifunctional landscape planning with cross-sectoral and participatory management to avoid unintended consequences and ultimately depends on people's capacity to accept new ways of operating in response to the current environmental crisis.

The site-level data frame and code to reproduce models in Burton et al. Land use and soil characteristics affect soil organisms differently from above-ground assemblages. Human activities, particularly land-use change and habitat degradation, are driving major changes in biodiversity worldwide. However, studies of such effects have overwhelmingly focused on above-ground taxa: the effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in developing soil structure, nutrient cycling and water drainage. Modelling data collated as part of the Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity in Changing Terrestrial Systems (PREDICTS) project, we compared how the abundance of soil-dwelling and above-ground organisms responded to land-use and soil properties. We found that land use affects overall abundance differently in soil and above-ground assemblages. Abundance of soil organisms was markedly lower in cropland and plantation habitats than in primary vegetation and pasture. Soil properties influenced the overall abundance of soil biota in ways that differed among land uses, suggesting they shape both abundance and its response to land use. Soil properties also influenced the response of above-ground assemblages, but in ways that differed from their influence on soil assemblages. Our results caution against assuming that models or indicators derived from above-ground data can apply to soil assemblages, and highlight the potential value of incorporating soil properties into models of both soil and above-ground biodiversity.

Transformative changes in agriculture at multiple scales are needed to ensure sustainability, i.e. achieving food security while fostering social justice and environmental integrity. These transformations go beyond technological fixes and require fundamental changes in cognitive, relational, structural and functional aspects of agricultural systems. However, research on agricultural transformations fails to engage deeply with underlying social aspects such as differing perceptions of sustainability, uncertainties and ambiguities, politics of knowledge, power imbalances and deficits in democracy. In this paper, we suggest that conflict is one manifestation of such underlying social aspects. We present an original conceptualization and analytical framework, wherein conflict is recognized as an important motor for redistribution of power and leverage for social learning that—if addressed through a conflict transformation process—could potentially create a step-change in agricultural transformation towards greater sustainability. Our analysis, building on an extensive literature review and empirical case studies from around the world, suggests a novel approach to guide future transdisciplinary research that can support agricultural transformations towards sustainability.

Current conservation instruments, which for most species rely heavily on protected areas, are insufficient to halt biodiversity loss. Conservation initiatives in the wider landscape surrounding protected areas are needed to achieve the impact required for reversing negative biodiversity trends. Focussing on intensively used north-western European landscapes, we present a landscape-level conservation approach that coordinates, integrates and evaluates conservation management by different stakeholders in protected areas, farmland and public space. The starting point is the set of environmental conditions or the habitat characteristics that is needed to realize stable or positive biodiversity trends. Such sets are captured in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be quantified easily over large areas. Integrated monitoring and evaluation of the relationships between KPIs, management and biodiversity need to be used to validate initial assumptions and continuously improve conservation effectiveness. Evaluation relies on trend monitoring in areas with and without conservation management and extrapolations to landscape-level biodiversity trends based on the total area on which conservation is being implemented. The relationships between biodiversity and KPIs can subsequently be used to develop biodiversity-based business models and to inspire and help stakeholders within and outside these focal areas to actively join the initiative.

National audience; Advances in Ecological Research, Volume 63, the latest release in this ongoing series includes specific chapters on Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. Chapters in this volume cover topics such as Landscape-scale expansion of agroecology to enhance natural pest control: a systematic review and Ecosystem services and the resilience of agricultural landscapes

EKLIPSE received a request by Pollinis on the 30th of June 2018, to produce an overview of the current knowledge and research gaps related to the impacts of pesticide and fertilizer use in farmland on the effectiveness of adjacent pollinator conservation measures. The call was answered through a Joint Fact Finding approach, including a workshop on the 9-10th Jan, 2020 at the Helmholtz Association, Brussels. This report documents the preparatory steps leading to the workshop, the deliberations during the workshop, as well as a summary of the main results and conclusions.A team of knowledge-holders, representing various perspectives, sectors and disciplines, was selected and invited to collate and share their trusted sources of knowledge on the topic. These sources could be reports, scientific papers, articles or online resources, and may not have previously been available to all parties. This body of information was evaluated for relevance to produce the preliminary document that was used as a basis for discussions during the workshop in Brussels. The workshop brought together a team of experts from academia, NGOs, beekeeper organisations, industry, and the requester organisation (Pollinis). The participants discussed the key findings from the identified evidence and knowledge gaps during the first day and identified a list of key research needs and policy recommendations during the second day. In addition to the research needs related to specific conservation measures, several cross-cutting themes emerged during the deliberations. The list of knowledge gaps were scored by the participants based on importance, feasibility and policy impact. Finally a list of policy recommendations were produced based on the outputs of the workshop.

International audience; Préface de Advances in Ecological Research, Volume 63, the latest release in this ongoing series includes specific chapters on Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. Chapters in this volume cover topics such as Landscape-scale expansion of agroecology to enhance natural pest control: a systematic review and Ecosystem services and the resilience of agricultural landscapes

National audience; « Pollinator networks: structure, stability and land-use » Dr Adam J. Vanbergen, vendredi 22 novembre 2019 à 11h, amphi MongePollinators and pollination provide benefits to nature, agriculture and human health and well-being. In this seminar, Dr Vanbergen show how agricultural land-use can affect networks of interactions between insect pollinators and wild plants at habitat and landscape scales. He will present research that shows how cattle introduction to woodlands modify the habitat to affect network structure and stability and wild plant mating success, with implications for plant health. He will also present work that showed how to construct potential plant-pollinator networks at landscape-scale from citizen science data and the effect of biogeographic clines and agricultural land on their structure and robustness to simulated extinctions.