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• Reproduction of two Osmia species increased with landscape-wide pollen availability. • Woody semi-natural habitats contributed disproportionately to the Osmia diet. • Benefits of forest proximity to Osmia indicated functions beyond pollen supply. • Resource and land cover maps help to understand the spatial ecology of wild bees. Floral resources are crucial for wild pollinators. Identifying the spatio-temporal floral resource use of wild pollinators and effects of resource distribution on their development might help to promote them and their pollination services to crops in agricultural landscapes. We established populations of Osmia cornuta and Osmia bicornis, two solitary wild bees , in 24 agricultural landscapes with varying floral resource availability. Based on their pollen use, we mapped the landscape-scale distribution of the visited plants, estimated pooled specific floral resource availabilities and measured its effects on reproductive output. Woody semi-natural habitats such as hedgerows provided the majority of pollen sources for both Osmia species. Pollen use differed strongly between the two species. The offspring of both Osmia increased with availability of pooled specific pollen resources. In accordance with their preferred pollen types, offspring of O. cornuta increased with increasing cover of trees and shrubs of the Rosaceae family, and that of O. bicornis with increasing cover of Papaver rhoeas, Ranunculus acris and Quercus spp. as well as with the proximity to oilseed rape. In spite of their specific responses to pollen resources, the offspring of both species decreased with the distance to forest. The floral resource availability did not significantly affect the proportion of adult females and the weight of the offspring. As forest does not appear to be a main foraging habitat for both species, the benefit of forest proximity indicates an additional role of forest in addition to food availability. Specific flowering plants and forests should thus be conserved and enhanced to maintain and support O. cornuta, O. bicornis and likely other wild bee populations in agricultural landscapes. The combined information of land cover and detailed floral resource availability gives a deeper understanding into population processes in agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensified agricultural production systems relying on larger field sizes and homogeneous landscapes result in land degradation, biodiversity losses, and impaired ecosystem services, particularly regulating services such as water and climate regulation. A multifunctional landscape composition and configuration promises higher ecosystem functionality by balancing ecological and economic provisioning functionality for food, fuel, and fiber. However, to the best of our knowledge, not much is known about the synergies and trade-offs of different landscape compositions and configurations and landscape designs providing ecosystem functionality in economic and ecological dimensions. We addressed the question whether the ecosystem functionality of agricultural landscapes can be improved at given levels of economic valuation. We quantified potential improvements of ecosystem functionality through multifunctional landscape composition and configuration. We identified agricultural landscapes that provide high ecosystem functionality at their level of economic valuation, given that such regions may serve as role models for a target landscape composition. Using an eco-efficiency approach based on the non-parametric order -m estimator, we quantified potential improvements of ecosystem functionality at the agricultural landscapes scale. We used the 20 km2 hexagonal grid level in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. We described landscape composition and configuration using spatially explicit land cover data from the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS); land value data indicated the economic output of the landscape. We investigated robustness of our results under different grid specifications (10–50 km2) and using subsamples of regions with similar environmental conditions. We found on average high eco-efficiency of agricultural landscapes in the study region. We also found notable improvement potentials in at least one ecological indicator that were spatially clustered. The results suggest the potential for Pareto improvements, i.e., increasing landscape eco-efficiency without sacrificing economic outputs. We present a novel empirical approach to evaluate the eco-efficiency of agricultural landscapes and investigate spatial patterns of eco-efficiency at the landscape scale. We modeled landscapes' potential multifunctionality at a fine regional scale using indicators for landscape composition and configuration based on spatially explicit and highly granular land use and land management data. We relied on publicly available data, and our approach can serve to develop monitoring or policy evaluation at the landscape scale. [Display omitted] • Multifunctional landscape composition and configuration promises higher ecosystem functionality. • We quantify improvement potentials of ecosystem functionality for a given level of economic output. • Eco-efficiency analysis uses granular spatially explicit data to represent economic output and ecosystem functionality. • Agricultural landscapes show spatially clustered improvement potentials in at least one ecological dimension. • Approach can serve to develop and monitor locally adapted policies at landscape scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Benchmarking farm sustainability requires methodologies for integrating indicators. • Sustainability indicators were quantified for different farm archetypes. • The opportunity space for improving sustainability within archetypes was variable. • The potential for moving to a more sustainable archetype was quantified and mapped. The benchmarking of farm environmental sustainability and the monitoring of progress towards more sustainable farming systems is made difficult by the need to aggregate multiple indicators at the relevant spatial scales. We present a novel framework for identifying alternative pathways to improve environmental sustainability in farming systems that addresses this challenge by analysing the co-variance of indicators within a landscape context. A set of sustainability indicators was analysed within the framework of a published set of Farm Management Archetypes (FMAs) that maps the distribution of farming systems in England based on combinations of environmental and management variables. The archetype approach acknowledges that sustainability indicators do not vary independently and that there are regional constraints to potential trajectories of change. Using Pareto Optimisation, we identified optimal combinations of sustainability indicators ("Pareto nodes") for each FMA independently, and across all FMAs. The relative sustainability of the archetypes with respect to one another was compared based on the proportion of Pareto nodes in each FMA. Potential for improvement in sustainability was derived from distances to the nearest Pareto node (either within or across FMAs), incorporating the cost of transitioning to another archetype based on the similarity of its environmental variables. The indicators with the greatest potential to improve sustainability within archetypes (and, therefore, should have a greater emphasis in guiding management decisions) varied between FMAs. Relatively unsustainable FMAs were identified that also had limited potential to increase within archetype sustainability, indicating regions where more fundamental system changes may be required. The FMA representing the most intensive system of arable production, although relatively unsustainable when compared to all other archetypes, had the greatest internal potential for improvement without transitioning to a different farming system. In contrast, the intensive horticulture FMA had limited internal potential to improve sustainability. The FMAs with the greatest potential for system change as a viable pathway to improved sustainability were dairy, beef and sheep, and rough grazing, moving towards more mixed systems incorporating arable. Geographically, these transitions were concentrated in the west of England, introducing diversity into otherwise homogenous landscapes. Our method allows for an assessment of the potential to improve sustainability across spatial scales, is flexible relative to the choice of sustainability indicators, and—being data-driven—avoids the subjectivity of indicator weightings. The results allow decision makers to explore the opportunity space for beneficial change in a target landscape based on the indicators with most potential to improve sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating pace of climate change and biodiversity loss has energized endeavors to expand protected areas. Recent studies find that agricultural land may play a vital role in tackling climate change and promoting biodiversity. However, most agricultural protection areas (APAs) are implemented based solely on agricultural production characteristics, and there are limited strategies that incorporate other conservation goals. We combined Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) principles, optimization algorithms, and the Ecosystem Service framework to identify potential APAs and explore the trade-offs in promoting the multifunctionality of agricultural land. We conducted our study in the Treasure Valley, Idaho, where we generated four optimization scenarios. 1. Agricultural Productivity 2. Climate Mitigation 3. Wildlife Habitat 4. Combined Ecosystem Services. We compared the four scenarios based on their a) ability to protect cultivated land, b) potential to contribute to climate mitigation, c) protection of important biodiversity habitat, and d) economic cost. We found that the Climate Mitigation, Wildlife Habitat, and Combined Ecosystem Services scenarios protected a more even distribution of ecosystem services without sacrificing the amount of cultivated land protected. We found that the Agricultural Productivity scenario resulted in the lowest total cost; however, the other scenarios protected a larger area at a lower cost per unit area. The inclusion of multiple objectives showed strong potential to help reach global conservation goals. Our work adds to the body of literature on the role of private land in protecting natural resources and is a starting point for future research to guide agricultural land protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many food crops depend on animal pollination to set fruit. In light of pollinator declines there is growing recognition of the need for agro-ecosystems that can sustain wild pollinator populations, ensuring fruit production and pollinator conservation into the future. One method of supporting resident wild pollinator populations within agricultural landscapes is to encourage and maintain floral diversity. However, pollinator visitation to crop plants can be affected either positively (facilitation) or negatively (competition) by the presence of co-flowering plants. The strength and direction of the facilitative/competitive relationship is driven by multiple factors, including floral abundance and the degree of overlap in pollinator visitation networks. We sought to determine how plant-pollinator networks, within and surrounding sweet cherry (Prunus avium) orchards, change across key time points during the cherry flowering season, in three growing regions in Australia. We found significant overlap in the suite of flower visitors, with seven taxa (including native bees, flies, hoverflies and introduced honey bees, Apis mellifera) observed visiting cherry and other co-flowering species within the orchard and/or the wider surrounding matrix. We found evidence of pollinator facilitation with significantly more total cherry flower visits with increasing percent cover of co-flowering plants within the wider landscape matrix and increased visitation to cherry by honey bees with increasing co-flowering plant richness within the orchard. During the cherry flowering period there was a significant positive relationship between pollinator richness on cherry and pollinator richness on co-flowering plants within the orchard and the area of native vegetation surrounding orchards. Outside of the crop flowering season, co-flowering plants within the orchard and wider landscape matrix supported the same pollinator taxa that were recorded visiting cherry when the crop was flowering. This shows wild plants help support the pollinators important to crop pollination, outside of the crop flowering season, highlighting the role of co-flowering plants within pollinator-dependent cropping systems. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mosaic landscapes, environmental heterogeneity has been pointed out as an outstanding driver of emergent biodiversity patterns. Whether environmental heterogeneity elicits an increasing, decreasing or hump-shaped response of biodiversity depends on species, scale and type of agricultural land use and management. In this study, we analyzed ground-dwelling ant diversity in agroecosystems of Southern Dry Chaco (SDC) at local and landscape scales. We carried out the study along a gradient of agriculture intensification, taking into account five land-use and land-cover (LULC) classes: fallow lands, secondary forests, pastures, woody crops and herbaceous crops. We analyzed ant species richness and community composition in relation to local environmental heterogeneity as well as to landscape compositional heterogeneity. Changes in ant community composition were mainly related to species replacement along the LULC gradient, with fallow lands and secondary forests harboring the highest ant species richness. Biotic heterogeneity, promoted by vegetation, explained the pattern of ant diversity at local scale, whereas dissimilarity between neighboring LULC types explained ant species richness at landscape scale. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting natural and semi-natural vegetation as well as managing landscape compositional structure to enhance ant diversity in agroecosystems of the SDC. • Land use and land cover lead to changes in ant species richness and community composition in agroecosystems of Dry Chaco. • Ground-dwelling ant species richness decreases in land under agricultural intensification. • Lands with natural and semi-natural vegetation harbor most of ground-dwelling ant species richness. • Contrast between neighboring plots affected negatively ant species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical secondary forests are increasingly important for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation worldwide; yet, we still cannot accurately predict community turnover during secondary succession. We propose that integrating niche differentiation and dispersal limitation will generate an improved theoretical explanation of tropical forest succession. The interaction between seed sources and dispersers regulates seed movement throughout succession, and recent technological advances in animal tracking and molecular analyses enable us to accurately monitor seed movement as never before. We propose a framework to bridge the gap between niche differentiation and dispersal limitation. The Source-Disperser Limitation Framework (SDLF) provides a way to better predict secondary tropical forest succession across gradients of landscape disturbance by integrating seed sources and frugivore behavior. Current theories of tropical forest succession have focused on niche differentiation among plants but have not adequately addressed how dispersal limitation shapes succession. We describe dispersal limitation in terms of seed source and disperser limitation; these two factors determine the production of seeds throughout succession and the arrival of seeds to suitable recruitment sites. We present a framework to better understand how seed sources interact with animal abundance, behavior, and diet preferences across the landscape to determine seed movement and deposition during forest regeneration. Using technological advances in animal tracking and molecular tools, the proposed framework will improve models of tropical forest succession beyond niche differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First high-resolution dietary analysis of the serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus). • Detection of 254 taxa (at species or genus level) of 13 arthropod orders indicates a generalistic diet and the use of a broad variety of foraging habitats. • Equal use of Coleoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera, contradicting previous morphological dietary analyses that had shown beetles to be the most relevant prey. • Among the most frequently detected prey taxa were many pests of agriculture and forestry. • Seasonal variations in prey diversity and prey composition were mainly determined by the phenology of available prey. Bats play an important role as predators of insect populations but are threatened by a variety of factors, including the loss of foraging habitat and insect declines. Knowledge on trophic interactions, foraging strategies, and hunting areas is key to understanding the ecology of bat species, to assess their impact on ecosystems and to optimize conservation strategies. We investigated seasonal trends in the diet of two nursery colonies of the serotine bat, Eptesicus serotinus, from an intensively farmed agricultural landscape in Germany. Using DNA-metabarcoding of food remains in bat droppings collected from May to July 2018, we identified 254 taxa of 13 arthropod orders to species or genus level, including numerous pest species. Our results indicate an equal use of Coleoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera, contradicting previous morphological dietary analyses that had shown beetles to be the most frequent prey. The dietary composition was seasonally highly variable and mainly determined by prey phenology. Dietary richness significantly increased throughout the sampling period, reflecting increasing insect activity with progressing season. Our findings demonstrate that E. serotinus is a generalist forager, linking different habitat types through trophic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The average mineral dust deposition in a forest patch was 38.3 g m−2 yr−1. • Dust deposition rate was statistically similar during summer and winter season. • Dust deposition rate was statistically homogeneous throughout the forest patch. • Sediments deposited at the edge showed higher aggregation than inside the forest. This work presents the results of the deposition rate of aeolian sediments within a forest patch of semiarid Argentina. The goal of this study was to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamic of the dust deposition rate (Dr), mainly of the mineral fraction. Passive collectors were installed along transects in a forest patch at 5, 15, 25, 50, 100 and 300 m downwind from the border of an agricultural plot. The average Dr during 30 months was 38.3 ± 26.8 g m−2 yr−1. Dr was statistically similar between spring-summer (47.5 ± 30.1 g m−2 yr−1) and the autumn–winter period (29.2 ± 21.7 g m−2 yr−1). The mean diameter of sediment particles was higher in spring-summer (70 µm) than in autumn–winter (50 µm), probably due to the greater contribution of coarser sediments from wind erosion of surrounding agricultural soils (local source) during spring-summer. During both periods silt-sized particles (40 %) and very fine sand (20 %) were the most abundant, while clay content was 3.5 %. Clay and silt contents were higher in autumn–winter, while fine sand content was higher in spring-summer. Dr within the forest patch was highly variable, therefore statistically homogeneous, despite the fact that 300 m inside the forest the average Dr was ≈35 % lower than at 5 m from the agricultural plot. Sediment deposited at the forest border showed higher aggregation than the sediment collected inside the forest. Forest patches are capable of retaining particles that are key for the soil fertility of semiarid areas, highlighting the importance of aeolian source-sink processes and of forest patches for long-term management decisions in agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Grazed agricultural landscapes provide important habitats for many frog species. • Frogs responded to interactions between management and environmental variables. • Frog abundance increased with proximity to water, more in remnants than in paddocks. • Taller ground cover in remnants resulted in greater abundance of some frogs. Improved management of human-modified landscapes must be part of global efforts to combat biodiversity loss. We aimed to identify which land management types and environmental factors influenced the use of grazing landscapes by frogs. We surveyed frog assemblages in remnant vegetation, four different paddock types (pasture, linear planting, coarse woody debris addition and fence), and two grazing regimes (continuous and rotational). Frogs were surveyed using pitfall and funnel traps in twelve grazing farms in south-eastern Australia. We found that grazed agricultural landscapes provide important habitats for a variety of species of frogs and that frog assemblages were influenced by both farm management type and environmental variables, and their interactions. Total frog abundance increased with proximity to water more strongly in remnants compared to paddocks. This difference in response may be due to different traits and behaviours of frogs in remnants compared to frogs in open paddocks. Rare frog species richness and abundance of a common species (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) increased with taller ground cover in remnants but no such relationship occurred in paddocks. Different types of predation risk in remnants compared to paddocks may result in greater ground cover shelter requirements in remnants, as vegetation structure can strongly influence predation. Total frog species richness increased more rapidly with higher rainfall in continuously grazed versus rotationally grazed farms. Higher rainfall was associated with taller ground cover. Continuously grazed farms had shorter average ground cover than rotationally grazed farms and the increased ground cover height associated with more rain may bring ground cover to a height better able to provide shelter and reduce desiccation risk for frogs. Our study highlights the importance of both land management practices and environmental conditions and their interaction in shaping frog assemblages. Improved frog biodiversity conservation may be achieved in grazing landscapes by retaining patches of remnant vegetation, maintaining water bodies such as farm dams, and maintaining tall ground cover within vegetation remnants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration plantings are an increasingly common management technique to address habitat loss in agricultural landscapes. Native fauna, including birds, may occupy planted areas of vegetation. However, unless restoration plantings support breeding populations, their effectiveness as a conservation strategy may be limited. We assessed breeding activity of birds in box-gum grassy woodland restoration plantings in the South-west Slopes bioregion of New South Wales, Australia. We compared breeding activity in plantings of different size (1.3–7.7 ha) and shape (linear and block-shaped) to breeding activity in a set of remnant woodland sites. Contrary to expectations, we found that bird breeding activity was greatest per hectare in small patches. This trend was driven by the superb fairywren – the most abundant species in the woodland assemblage. We also found a negative effect of planting age, with younger plantings supporting more breeding activity per hectare. We found no effect of patch type or shape on breeding activity, and that species' relative abundance was not predictive of their degree of breeding activity. Our results highlight the value of small habitat patches in fragmented agricultural landscapes, and indicate that restoration plantings are as valuable as remnant woodland patches for supporting bird breeding activity. We demonstrate the importance of breeding studies for assessing the conservation value of restoration plantings and other habitat patches for avifauna. • Woodland bird breeding activity higher in smaller than in larger habitat patches • Breeding activity in restoration plantings equivalent to that in remnant patches • Species' relative abundance not predictive of their degree of breeding activity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Remote sensing data can be used to assess the richness and abundance of woody plants. • Structural heterogeneity explains woody plant composition and diversity in pastures. • Arboreal cover on 20–40% of a pasture's area benefits conservation. • Tall forest fragments and isolated trees contribute greatly to woody species richness. • Biodiversity-friendly management must include tree cover within the pasture matrix. Abstract Seasonally dry tropical forests in the Neotropics are typically transformed into pasture-dominated landscapes that represent a major threat to habitat biodiversity. Developing alternative management strategies that minimize the loss of native biota in agricultural landscapes is crucial. In a fragmented landscape in Veracruz, Mexico, we analyzed the community attributes of woody vegetation present in pastures in which different types of arboreal elements are common. We hypothesized that different landscape patterns, distinguishable using GIS land-cover maps, would be linked to woody plant diversity and its spatial variation. We created a detailed map of our study area distinguishing six forest cover types. We sampled the woody vegetation within 16 circular plots (100 m radius) each centered on an isolated fig tree and that varied in the amount of arboreal cover and proximity to remnant forest. We used a multimodel-inference approach to assess the relationship between different landscape metrics and woody vegetation response variables. Forest cover within each plot ranged from 3% to 44%. A total of 1777 woody plants (density = 35.4 plants ha−1), belonging to 88 species were recorded. Landscape composition and configuration metrics, particularly the type and amount of arboreal cover, were strong indicators of woody plant richness and abundance, while landscape structural heterogeneity was strongly related to floristic composition. In contrast proximity metrics were weak explanatory variables. Tall canopy forest fragments and isolated trees explained most of the variation in richness and abundance. Results suggest that maintaining 20–40% woody cover within pastures and maximizing the heterogeneity of arboreal elements promotes the conservation of biodiversity in rural landscapes dedicated to livestock. Further, easily obtained landscape metrics can be used as a tool to enhance vegetation assessment and help in the development of more convenient management practices that seek to increase native species richness, while improving landscape connectivity and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Diversity of grassland communities increases the stability of pollination networks. • Plants and pollinators of different communities are highly interconnected. • Pollination occur at a level of organization above that of the single community. • Habitat-specialist plants and habitat-generalist pollinators are keystone species. • Specialization trade-offs occur in different aspects of plants life-history. High heterogeneity of grassland communities supports a high diversity of species and represents a key point for the retention of pollinators in agricultural landscapes. In the present study, we explored whether the co-occurrence of different grassland communities has any effect on the stability of the network of pollination interactions. We monitored pollination interactions in two co-occurring grassland communities, differing in disturbance history and water and nutrient supply. The monitoring was carried out during the summer season (7 surveys). For each survey we compared the role in the pollination networks (i.e., keystone vs. peripheral species) of habitat-specialist and habitat-generalist plant and pollinator species. We found that plant and pollinator species of the two different grassland communities were highly interconnected, revealing that pollination interactions occur at a level of organization above that of the single community. The co-occurrence of the two grassland communities increased the type, number and frequency of contacts, thereby contributing to networks stability. The role of habitat-specialist and habitat-generalist plant and pollinator species in pollination networks was asymmetric, with habitat-specialist plants and habitat-generalist pollinators being keystone species, while habitat-generalist plants and habitat-specialist pollinators being peripheral in the pollination networks. Our results showed that the stability of the network does stem from the co-occurrence of different species pools having different but complementary roles in the pollination networks. From a conservation perspective, the maintenance of different grassland communities is important not only because they allow the conservation of habitat-specialist species, but specifically because plant species specialized in either grassland community are also keystone for the maintenance of the stability of the pollination networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global environmental changes are expected to alter the functional characteristics of understorey herb-layer communities, potentially affecting forest ecosystem functioning. However, little is known about what drives the variability of functional traits in forest understories. Here, we assessed the role of different environmental drivers in shaping the functional trait distribution of understorey herbs in fragmented forests across three spatial scales. We focused on 708 small, deciduous forest patches located in 16 agricultural landscape windows, spanning a 2500-km macroclimatic gradient across the temperate forest biome in Europe. We estimated the relative effect of patch-scale, landscape-scale and macroclimatic variables on the community mean and variation of plant height, specific leaf area and seed mass. Macroclimatic variables (monthly temperature and precipitation extremes) explained the largest proportion of variation in community trait means (on average 77% of the explained variation). In contrast, patch-scale factors dominated in explaining community trait variation (on average 68% of the explained variation). Notably, patch age, size and internal heterogeneity had a positive effect on the community-level variability. Landscape-scale variables explained only a minor part of the variation in both trait distribution properties. The variation explained by shared combinations of the variable groups was generally negligible. These findings highlight the importance of considering multiple spatial scales in predictions of environmental-change effects on the functionality of forest understories. We propose that forest management sustainability could benefit from conserving larger, historically continuous and internally heterogeneous forest patches to maximise ecosystem service diversity in rural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Landscape change caused by ecological restoration projects has both positive and negative influences on human livelihoods, yet surprisingly little research on the cultural consequences of ecological restoration in agricultural landscapes has taken place. Cultural consequences can be captured in the ecosystem services framework as cultural ecosystem services (CES). However, assessment and valuation of these services to support decision-making for this essential ecosystem is lacking. To help fill this gap, we assessed the opinions of Chinese rural communities about CES and the changes in their perception under the Grain for Green program (GFG), a nationwide program to relieve the pressure on ecosystems (soil erosion and land degradation) by converting cultivated land or barren land on steep slopes into grassland and forests. We used Guyuan City in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as a case study, using a workshop to identify the CES provided by the agricultural landscape, followed by semi-structured household interviews to quantify perceptions of these CES. We found that all eight CES types identified by the workshop were perceived by the rural communities. Reforestation changed their perceptions of CES directly due to land cover change and indirectly due to the resulting economic changes and migration of mostly young workers in search of better jobs. Cultivated land was perceived as more important than forest for CES provision. In addition, residential areas were perceived as providing significant CES because of local traditions that produce close and highly social neighborhood bonds in agricultural landscapes. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Residents perceive the cultural ecosystem services (CES) of agricultural landscapes. • CES perceptions changed after implementing the Grain for Green (GFG) program. • Local customs affected the GFG's influence on CES. • We quantified the importance of land uses on perceptions of CES provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape heterogeneity is an important driver of biodiversity in agroecosystems. However, the functional heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes, taking into account the different resources that habitat patches can provide to species, has rarely been studied. In this study, we explored the effect of landscape-scale nest availability provided by permanent grasslands on wild bee communities. Wild bees were sampled in 43 cereal fields in south-western France differing in the surrounding proportion of permanent grasslands. Using remote sensing tools, we measured two parameters of grassland structure known to locally influence bee nest density (slope and proportion of sparse vegetation). We found that mean slope of surrounding grasslands was the factor that most positively influenced bee richness, abundance and trait distribution in bee communities. We also found that mean slope of surrounding grasslands had a better predictive power of bee community structure than the proportion of permanent grasslands. Ground-nesting species, species with high dispersal capacities and species with a generalist diet were positively affected by the availability of sloped ground in the surrounding permanent grasslands. Only bee species with specialized flower requirements responded positively to the proportion of sparse vegetation in grasslands. Our results suggest that landscape-scale availability of nesting resources provided by grasslands affects bee communities in agricultural landscapes and can help sustain functionally diverse bee assemblages. Using simple remote sensing tools, this study highlights the importance of considering nesting resources in agricultural landscapes to maintain wild bee diversity in farmlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid agricultural development has induced severe environmental problems to freshwater ecosystems. In this study, we aimed to examine the structure and environmental determinants of macroinvertebrate assemblages in an agriculture dominated Lake Chaohu Basin, China. A cluster analysis of the macroinvertebrate communities identified four groups of sites that were characterized by significantly different macroinvertebrate species. These four groups of sites had concentric spatial distribution patterns that followed the variation in the environmental conditions from the less anthropogenically disturbed headwaters towards the more anthropogenically disturbed lower reaches of the rivers and the Lake Chaohu. Moreover, taxa richness decreased from the headwaters towards the Lake Chaohu. The increasing practice of agriculture has reduced the abundances and richness of pollution sensitive species while opposite effects on pollution tolerant species. The study identified substrate heterogeneity and nutrient concentrations as the key environmental factors regulating the changes in the macroinvertebrate communities. We propose that particular attentions should be paid to reduce the nutrient enrichment and habitat degradation in the Lake Chaohu Basin and similar agriculture dominated basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts are underway in many areas to restore riparian zones to arrest and/or reverse their degradation and the subsequent loss of the ecosystem services they provide. Despite strong links between edaphic conditions and riparian zone function, limited research has tested how soil properties respond to restoration, especially in an experimental context. With this important knowledge gap in mind, we established a field experiment to asssess structural vegetation and soil responses in the eight years following livestock exclusion and replanting in lowland streams in south-eastern Australia. On three streams, paired restored and control sites were experimentally established and we monitored vegetation (stem density, cover of bare ground and tree canopy, and loadings of organic matter), once beforehand, and then biennually after restoration. Selected soil properties (total carbon, total nitrogen, plant-available phosphorus) were sampled once shortly after restoration, then after another five years. Significant changes in structural vegetation occurred (e.g. decreased bare ground, increased plant stem density, organic matter, and canopy cover). In contrast, those soil properties did not respond. A mega-drought occurred throughout much of the study which was immediately followed by severe flooding. The floods redistributed organic matter at our study sites, with this effect mediated by vegetation structure: the probability of organic matter retention was positively correlated with groundcover and stem density of plants. The timing of flooding was also correlated with increased soil carbon and nitrogen, which could be due to increased productivity in these systems (for the former), or potentially due to increased fertiliser inputs or increased fixation (for the latter). Our study is the first to comprehensively and experimentally test how vegetation, litter layer and surface soil properties respond following riparian restoration, and will help guide the development and implementation of other monitoring programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of the world's mammal biomass is domestic livestock. Intensive livestock grazing can negatively impact some elements of biodiversity. We quantified the effects of grazing management on bird occupancy over a 10-year period in patches of Australian endangered temperate woodland within paddocks subjected to one of three grazing regimes: continuous set stocking, rotational, and total livestock exclusion. Grazing may affect birds through altering resource availability, influencing vegetation structure, or affecting the occurrence of noisy miners (Manorina melanocephala), a native honeyeater that engages in interference competition with other birds. Using Bayesian generalized linear mixed models and multispecies occupancy modelling, we quantified relative and interactive effects on bird biodiversity of grazing, vegetation structure, and noisy miner occupancy. We found only muted grazing regime effects on woodland birds. However, many species responded to vegetation structure. Small invertivorous woodland birds responded positively to sapling abundance, and some (larger) species responded positively to the abundance of trees >50 cm. Furthermore, species richness increased with increased sapling abundance and trees >50 cm. The largest effects were associated with noisy miner occurrence, which drove reductions in small-bodied, invertivorous birds, effectively "swamping" the positive effects of vegetation attributes on these species. The profound impacts of noisy miners present challenges for bird conservation in woodland ecosystems, especially those subject to grazing. Management to reduce grazing pressure by domestic livestock may eventually help limit the impacts of the noisy miner, in part by facilitating natural regeneration of temperate woodlands to which small-bodied woodland birds respond positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, as the human population increases, so does the demand for developable land. More than ever, agricultural land is being developed to meet housing and commercial needs, but at the same time is necessary for food security and other critical ecosystem services (ES). High quality agricultural lands (i.e. those which can support high yields, a diversity of crops, and are resilient to climate change) may play an important role in balancing the demand for housing, food, and other ES. In this paper, we used the Ecosystem Service framework to investigate the quality of agricultural lands beyond that of their value for food production. We conducted our study in the Treasure Valley, Idaho, where the issue of agricultural land loss is particularly relevant due to severe development pressure, few restrictions on land use, and limited arable land. We quantified the relationships between agricultural land quality and ES supply in 2016, and then measured how ES supply is likely to change in the future under a "Business as Usual" land use scenario. We found that higher quality agricultural land was associated with food provision, livestock crop production, and nitrogen retention, whereas lower quality agricultural land was associated with carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and recreation. Urban development is projected to occur disproportionately on higher quality agricultural land. Over 15 times more higher quality agricultural land will be developed between 2016 and 2050 compared to lower quality agricultural land. With the expected loss of agricultural land to development, the landscape in 2050 will have a lower supply of four of the six chosen ES compared to 2016. We found that livestock crop production will decrease the most over the time period (−28.8%) followed by food provision (−22.8%), nitrogen retention (−19.3%), and habitat quality (−7.4%). However, carbon sequestration (+5.5%) and recreation (+1.6%) will increase. Overall, we found strong evidence that certain ES are associated with varying levels of agricultural land quality and higher quality agricultural land was shown to be particularly vulnerable to urban development. Our results suggest the need to consider additional values of agricultural land beyond its use for food production. We recommend the implementation of policies that consider the trade-offs of developing on varying quality of agricultural land to help balance the many competing demands of our lands. • Agricultural land is frequently converted to meet urbanization needs. • Higher quality agricultural land is especially vulnerable to development. • Ecosystem service supply varies with agricultural land quality. • With development, the future landscape will supply less ecosystem services. • Protection across agricultural land qualities is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many ecosystems globally, large old trees occur as single, spatially isolated individual trees or as small groups of scattered trees and can therefore be considered to be small natural features. Despite being constrained spatially, individual large old trees and small stands of such trees nevertheless play numerous critical ecological roles (e.g. in carbon storage and provision of wildlife habitat). The protection and management of large old trees as small natural features is essential to maintain these roles and will often require targeted fine-scale conservation strategies. Such strategies can include bans on cutting trees above a certain size, micro-fencing to control threats associated with livestock grazing, and buffers comprised of other vegetation to limit the impacts of fire and chemical sprays. Effective conservation to mitigate the effects of factors threatening large old trees will often demand ecosystem-specific responses. This is because the drivers of loss will often manifest in ecosystem-specific ways. Three general principles will likely apply in almost all cases: (1) Protect existing individual large old trees; (2) Reduce rates of adult mortality. This is because adult mortality is a key part of the life cycle of large old trees; increased adult mortality can lead to population crashes; and (3) Ensure there are sufficient recruits of trees of varying ages to replace existing large old trees as they eventually die. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agri-environmental policies and planning influence agricultural landscape management, and thus the capacity to deliver landscape services and to contribute to rural viability. Numerous models and frameworks have been developed to improve comprehension of the mechanisms and interrelationships between policies, landscape and socio-economic values and benefits. As social-ecological systems, landscapes are closely depending from the socio-institutional and territorial context of the specific rural locality. The paper proposes an enhanced framework for assessing these mechanisms by acknowledging the critical role of the regional macro-environment. A literature review and the revisiting of evidence from eight European case studies are applied to establish a comprehensive understanding and exemplification of the links between the policies, landscape, ecosystem services and value flows. Results highlight the need for integrative, inter- and transdisciplinary research approaches. Efficient landscape policies require enhanced regional embeddedness and targeting, acknowledgement of user demands and the capability of regional community and governance structures for policy implementation and natural capital valorisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging planning framework for climate adaptation focuses on interactions among societal values , institutional rules and scientific and experiential knowledge about biophysical impacts of climate change and adaptation options. These interactions shape the decision context that can enable or constrain effective adaptation. To illustrate the operationalisation of this ‘values-rules-knowledge’ (VRK) framework we developed biophysical adaptation pathways for agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Australia, which are expected to become warmer and drier under climate change. We used the VRK framework to identify potential constraints to implementing the pathways. Drawing on expert knowledge, published literature, biodiversity modelling and stakeholder workshops we identified potential adaptation pathways for (1) the production matrix, (2) high conservation value remnant eucalypt woodlands, and (3) woodland trees. Adaptation options included shifts from mixed cropping-grazing to rangeland grazing or biomass enterprises; promoting re-assembly of native ecological communities; and maintaining ecosystem services and habitat that trees provide. Across all pathways, applying the VRK framework elucidated fifteen key implementation constraints, including limits to farm viability, decreasing effectiveness of environmental legislation and conflicting values about exotic plants. Most of the constraints involved interactions among VRK; 13 involved rules, eight involved values, and seven involved knowledge. Value constraints appeared most difficult to address, whereas those based on rules or knowledge were more tangible. The lower number of knowledge constraints may reflect the scale of our analysis (which focused on decision points in pre-defined pathways); new knowledge and participatory approaches would likely yield a richer set of scenarios. We conclude that the VRK framework helps connect the biophysical knowledge-based view of adaptation with a perspective on the need for changes in social systems, enabling targeting of constraints to adaptation. Our focus on pathways and decision points in different sectors of the multi-use landscape highlighted the importance of group and higher level planning and policy for balancing the collective outcomes of multiple decisions by many land managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of agriculture at a regional scale is necessary to better guide regional agricultural planning. To improve the contribution of agriculture to sustainable regional development, assessments must take account of the locations and diversity of cropping systems. We have therefore developed a method based on a set of multi-scale indicators to assess the contribution of agriculture to the sustainable development of regions, and its evolution over time. This method can identify: i) sustainability issues, ii) relevant indicators that will provide information on impacts at the field scale, iii) a method to aggregate indicators, iv) data on cropping systems, and v) a database containing spatial units to analyse the whole region. Application of this method to Guadeloupe (2004–2010) enabled the definition of ten issues and 16 indicators, with three procedures to aggregate information from 36 cropping systems allocated to 11,908 fields between 2004 and 2010. Economic, social and environmental sustainability was poor in 2004, with high dependency on subsidies (47.3 M€ yr −1 ), low agricultural added value (48.5 M€ yr −1 ), low employment (only 1799 workers), significant risks of crop contamination and pressure on water quality. The total value of subsidies and the risks of river pollution tended to decrease between 2004 and 2010 because of a reduction in intensive banana cropping systems. In parallel, we were able to see that sugar cane, the most widespread crop in Guadeloupe, made only a small contribution to employment and food self-sufficiency during the studied period. The spatial representation revealed that improvements have been seen in southern Guadeloupe due to reductions in banana cultivation. This method was therefore helpful in identifying the most critical agricultural development issues and helping to highlight areas where relevant agricultural land use policies could be formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is consensus that land-use change is a main driver behind the recent declines of many pollinator populations in Europe. However, it is still not adequately understood how the local resource quality and landscape composition influence pollinators, and if and how the effects vary in space and time. We analysed the influence of landscape- (2 km radius) and local scale- (50 m transects) resources on bumblebee species richness and abundance during two years in South-eastern Norway, where agriculture is highly modernised but landscapes still show limited spatial homogenization. Local flower density and species richness were strongly positively associated with bumblebee densities and species richness, but higher landscape-level flower species richness were linked to lower local bumblebee abundances. Early and late mass flowering crops had clear, but contrasting, effects. The total area of early flowering crops had a consistent negative impact on bumblebee density and species richness throughout the season, while late flowering crops had a positive impact in the beginning of the season before their bloom, suggesting a carry-over effect from previous years. The negative effects of early flowering crops could be due to competition of bumblebees with honey-bees, which are widely used in these crops. Bumblebee density and species richness were clearly negatively correlated with the total area of forest and flower-poor land use areas, including grass fields and cereals. In contrast, bumblebees were positively associated with most linear elements in the landscape (especially pasture and cropland verges), except for roads, which negatively affected bumblebee densities, possibly due to increased mortality, since the quality of the flower resources did not differ from other linear elements. Our results show that the quality and the spatial and temporal distribution of flower resources within the landscape are important drivers for bumblebees, but can create counterintuitive distribution patterns depending on the temporal and spatial resolution of the survey. Increasing flower resources in linear elements and the amount of late mass-flowering crops may be viable management measures to improve conditions for bumblebees in moderately intensified landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural landscapes are the outcome of combined natural and human factors over time. This paper explores the scope of perceiving the agricultural landscapes of the European Union (EU) as distinct patterns of farming systems and landscape elements in homogeneous biophysical and administrative endowments. The focus is on the farming systems component of the agricultural landscapes by applying a typology to the sample farms of the Farm Accountancy Data Network and scaling up the results to the landscape level for the territory of the EU. The farming system approach emphasises that agricultural landscapes evolve from the praxis of the farmers and takes into account the scale, intensity and specialisation of the agricultural production. From farming system design point of view, the approach can be used to integrate the landscape in the design process. From a policy point of view, the approach offers handles to implement policies that design agricultural landscapes by targeting the farming system pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most agro-ecosystems, hedgerows provide important habitat for many species. Unfortunately, large scale destruction of hedges has stripped this structure from many landscapes. Replanting programs have attempted to restore hedgerow habitats, but the methods employed often fail to replace the unique microhabitats (complex matrix of stones, logs and roots found along the base of the hedge) that provided key refuges to an array of animal species. We examined the influence of ground refuges on animal diversity in an agricultural landscape. We used non-lethal rapid biodiversity assessments to sample invertebrate and vertebrate taxa in 69 hedges having different levels of herbaceous cover, tree cover, and refuge availability. Co-inertia analyses compared hedge characteristics with the animal biodiversity sampled. We also used a functional index (accounting for body mass, trophic level, and metabolic mode of the species sampled) to compare hedges. In addition, large sedentary predators (e.g. snakes) were used as indicators of shelter presence/quality and as bio-indicators of food web structures. Finally we used unbiased Chao-estimates to evaluate species richness. All results were convergent and show that complexity of the base of the hedge (e.g., bank size and stone abundance) positively influenced biodiversity and predator abundance. Guidelines to restore hedgerows should integrate refuges that can be constructed by retaining the materials that are extracted during the planting of the hedges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodland birds are a commonly used taxonomic surrogate for other species groups in agricultural landscapes as they are relatively diverse, easily-studied, and charismatic. Yet, other taxa can respond to native vegetation on farms differently to woodland birds, challenging the present focus on birds in agri-environmental schemes. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of woodland birds as taxonomic surrogates for biodiversity in conservation planning on farms, in comparison with reptiles and arboreal marsupials. We used a complementarity-based approach to select patches of remnant and restored vegetation that supported a priori representation targets of species occurrences. We found that the spatial locations of vegetation patches selected to meet representation targets for woodland birds were 24%–69% different from the locations of patches selected for other taxa. The vegetation patches selected to meet representation targets for woodland birds failed to incidentally meet representation targets for other taxa, although targets for a subset of threatened woodland birds were exceeded. Conservation planning for woodland birds, however, led to higher incidental representation of the other taxa, compared with conservation planning for reptiles and arboreal marsupials. This indicates that woodland birds are a more effective taxonomic surrogate for biodiversity on farms compared to reptiles and arboreal marsupials. If the conservation goal is to conserve a broad array of biodiversity on farms, then the focus on woodland birds in agri-environmental schemes is justified. However, if the conservation of particular species or taxonomic groups is a priority, then conservation plans explicitly targeting these species or groups are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Observations in a biophysical and participatory ecosystem service assessment overlap. • Stakeholders can bring ecosystem service mapping into a problem–solution context. • Combining biophysical and participatory ecosystem service data can avoid trade-offs. • Hot and cold spot comparisons of ecosystem service clusters require high data density. • The decision which method to use should be made according to the use case. In this study, we assess the supply of five ecosystem services (ES, i.e. biodiversity provision, carbon sequestration, erosion control, water availability and yield) in an agricultural landscape in Northeast Germany as perceived by different stakeholders with a web-based questionnaire. We complement this participatory approach with a biophysical assessment of the same ES in the same study area using spatially explicit, indicator-based methods. A research gap exists in the combination of participatory and biophysical ES assessment methods within one study area. We derive spots of low supply of multiple ES (cold spots of ES supply) from the areas identified by the mapping and the biophysical assessment, and in collaboration with stakeholders of the region during an online workshop. Our interest is to (i) identify the advantages of comparing and combining biophysical with participatory methods to assess ES and to (ii) identify interfaces where combining both approaches can help to integrate ES assessment in landscape planning, management and design. Our goal is to establish an assessment basis that allows for a spatially explicit representation of trade-offs and synergies of ES by displaying multiple ES in one case study area, capable of integrating different resolutions. By comparing participatory and biophysical assessments, we identify ecological and social benefits of the landscape, and emphasize the social-ecological interface by limiting the scope of the biophysical assessment to the area of interest by the stakeholders. Besides, areas in which participants over- or underestimate the current ES supply are spotted by quantifying the gap between actual and perceived supply. The results reveal several similarities in the observations derived from both assessments. However, water availability is widely underestimated, whereas biodiversity and carbon sequestration are slightly overestimated. Based on our results, we conclude that in many cases, stakeholders who are familiar with the landscape because they live there or have a professional relation to it have a profound understanding of the ongoing ecosystem processes. The decision whether to use participatory, biophysical or both assessment techniques should be made according to the use case: from a governance perspective, participatory data can be easier to communicate and more easily accessible. We encourage the perspective that there are cases in which the low-threshold participatory data provide sufficiently reliable information to make informed decisions on ES management, particularly when biophysical assessment studies are too resource- and cost-intensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most methods to assess ecosystem services have been developed on large scales and depend on secondary data. Such data is scarce in rural areas with widespread poverty. Nevertheless, the population in these areas strongly depends on local ecosystem services for their livelihoods. These regions are in focus for substantial landscape investments that aim to alleviate poverty, but current methods fail to capture the vast range of ecosystem services supporting livelihoods, and can therefore not properly assess potential trade-offs and synergies among services that might arise from the interventions. We present a new method for classifying village landscapes into social-ecological patches (landscape units corresponding to local landscape perceptions), and for assessing provisioning ecosystem services and benefits to livelihoods from these patches. We apply the method, which include a range of participatory activities and satellite image analysis, in six villages across two regions in Burkina Faso. The results show significant and diverse contributions to livelihoods from six out of seven social-ecological patches. The results also show how provisioning ecosystem services, primarily used for subsistence, become more important sources of income during years when crops fail. The method is useful in many data poor regions, and the patch-approach allows for extrapolation across larger spatial scales with similar social-ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern about food security is prompting a push to intensify agriculture globally. However, agricultural intensification can inhibit regeneration of vegetation in natural ecosystems. This may jeopardise the persistence of trees in agricultural landscapes and the ecosystem services these treed landscapes offer. Here, we study one of the world’s most altered ecosystems – temperate eucalypt woodlands – to explore patterns in natural regeneration of trees, and factors influencing regeneration occurrence, across 300 000 km 2 of south-eastern Australia between 2008 and 2014. During this period, we found the proportion of remnants supporting natural regeneration was stable, and that regeneration occurrence was negatively associated with variables coincident with agricultural intensification: continuous livestock grazing by sheep and cattle, increased exotic plant cover, increased natural soil fertility, and lower elevation. These results indicate that intensive agriculture is incompatible with natural regeneration in our study area. Left unaddressed, low levels of regeneration may result in the widespread loss of trees and the ecosystem services they provide in agricultural landscapes. Thus, strategic implementation of land-sparing and land-sharing strategies is required across broad spatial scales to satisfy production and conservation needs. Based on our results, we recommend that land sharing be prioritised where: (1) livestock grazing can be removed or employed intermittently, (2) exotic plants do not dominate the ground layer, and (3) natural soil fertility is low. For locations that are continuously grazed or dominated by exotic plants, a land-sparing strategy may be more appropriate. Here, farmland should be managed to maximise production, and the next generation of trees should be ‘moved’ to areas where natural regeneration can be supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Environmental Assessment (EA) is one of the steps within the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Birds are often used in EA to help decision makers evaluate potential human impacts from proposed development activities. A “sensitivity to human disturbance” index, created by Parker III et al. (1996) for all Neotropical species, is commonly considered an ecological indicator. However, this parameter was created subjectively and, for most species, there have been no rigorous field test to validate its effectiveness as such. Therefore, in this study, we aim to: (1) evaluate if, at the local scale, birds from forest patches in a human-modified landscape (HML) may differ in sensitivity from Parker's sensitivity classification; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the species richness value at each sensitivity level as an ecological indicator; (3) gather information on how often and in which manner Parker's classification has been used in EA. To do so, bird sampling was performed in eight forest patches in a HML over one year. Then, we created a local sensitivity to disturbance using information about threat, endemism, spatial distribution and relative abundance of all species in the study area. We found that 37% of the forest birds showed different local sensitivity levels when compared with Parker's classification. Our results show that only the richness of high-sensitivity species from our local classification fitted the ecological indicator assumptions helping the environmental conditions evaluation of the studied patches. We conclude that species richness of each Parker's bird sensitivity levels do not necessarily perform as an ecological indicator at the local scale, and particularly in HML. Nevertheless, Parker's Neotropical bird sensitivity classification was used in 50% of EA we reviewed. In these, 76% assumed that it was an accurate ecological indicator of the local forest conditions for birds. The lack of clear criteria used in Parker's classification allows diverse interpretations by ornithologists, and there is no agreement about the ecological meaning of each sensitivity level and what environmental conditions each level may indicate of. Therefore, the use of Parker's classification in EA may jeopardize accurate interpretations of proposed anthropogenic impacts. Furthermore, because a bird species’ sensitivity often varies between locations, we argue that Parker's generalized classification of bird sensitivity should not be used as an indicator of forest environmental conditions in EA throughout HMLs in Neotropics. Rather, local bird ecological indices should be explored, otherwise, erroneous predictions of the anthropogenic impacts will continue to be common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive maps that characterize the variation in agricultural landscapes across Europe are lacking. In this paper we present a new Europe-wide, spatially-explicit typology and inventory of the diversity in composition, spatial structure and management intensity of European agricultural landscapes. Agricultural landscape types were characterized at a 1 km 2 resolution based on Europe-wide datasets that represent land cover, landscape structure and land management intensity. Two alternative approaches for typology development were used: an expert-based top-down approach, and a bottom-up approach based on automated clustering using Self Organizing Maps (SOMs). Comparison with available national and European landscape typologies showed that our typology deviates from existing biophysical and anthropocentric typologies relevant to agricultural landscapes as result of the inclusion of land management aspects. Concordance occurred between specific European typology classes, while the comparison with national landscape typologies showed a correspondence in agricultural landscape patterns. Our agricultural landscape typology can provide a basis for landscape assessment at a European-scale to help to identify agricultural landscape types prone to change and landscapes that may require policy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-natural grassland habitats have markedly declined from their historical coverage, thus causing substantial losses for agricultural biodiversity and establishing a consequent need to spot the remaining habitat patches. These patches are generally remnants of once larger habitat areas, formed by uninterrupted and low-intensity management for centuries, but then later being isolated and fragmented into smaller pieces. In the light of this development, past landscape phases have a crucial role for the present existence of semi-natural grasslands. The importance of historical factors has been indicated in many studies but evaluation of their added value, or actual site-specific effects compared to observations of only the present landscape characteristics, is not generally provided. As data related to the past is often difficult to obtain, tedious to process and challenging to interpret, assessment of its advantages and related effects – or consequences of potential exclusion – would be needed. In this study, we used maximum entropy approach to model the distribution of Fumewort ( Corydalis solida ) which in the study area is a good indicator of valuable semi-natural habitats. We constructed three different models – one based on only the contemporary environment with expected indicators of habitat stability, one solely on the historical landscape phases and long-term dynamics, and one combining variables from the past and the present. Predictions of the three models were validated and compared with each other, followed by an analysis indicating the similarity of model results with known Fumewort occurrences. Our results indicate that present landscapes may provide workable surrogates to delineate larger core habitats, but utilization of historical data markedly improves the detection of small outlying patches. These conclusions emphasize the importance of previous landscape phases particularly in detecting marginal semi-natural grassland habitats, existing in contemporarily suboptimal conditions and being prone to disappear if no further actions are taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use changes, including agricultural intensification and farmland abandonment, influence biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. However, few studies have focused on how the two major land-use changes affect different types of species at landscape scales. This study examined the relationships between the richness and abundance of five bird groups (agricultural wetland species, agricultural land species, grassland species, edge species, and woodland species) as well as the total species richness and abundance, and intensification or abandonment in 28 square, 100-ha grid cells in paddy-dominated landscapes in the Tone River basin of central Japan. Rice-field intensification and abandonment were not completely segregated spatially: intensification occurred in both plain and hilly areas surrounded by forests, while abandonment tended to occur in hilly areas. The effects of intensification and abandonment differed among species groups and between seasons. The richness or abundance of agricultural wetland species in summer were negatively associated with both intensification and abandonment. While the abundance of agricultural land species in winter and grassland species in both seasons were positively associated with intensification and abandonment, respectively. The total species richness and abundance did not show clear association with intensification and abandonment due to a variety of responses of the five bird groups. Based on prefectural Red Data Books, agricultural wetland species, followed by grassland species, were more threatened than other three groups in both summer and winter. This study found that (1) the diversity of habitats (including consolidated and abandoned farmlands) provides buffer areas for the different bird groups on different times of the year and (2) agricultural wetland species that use flooded rice fields in summer, such as egrets and shorebirds, are particularly threatened by both intensification and abandonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification leading to the cultivation of unmanaged field margins along rivers and streams is expected to impact soil biodiversity. Earthworm communities are typically smaller with fewer species in agricultural soils, but the effect of agriculture on earthworms could be mitigated by the more favorable soil moisture regime in riparian areas, as well as planting perennial grasses or keeping forest fragments as permanently vegetated buffers. The objective of this study was to compare earthworm community composition under contrasting land use (agricultural vs. riparian forest) ∼5 m and ∼30 m away from the Pike River in southern Quebec, Canada. Furthermore, we evaluated how earthworm communities were affected by management intensity, flooding, soil and vegetation patterns within these land uses. We established 4 transects at 3 sites along the Pike River representing 4 land uses (agricultural field, agricultural buffer, riparian forest fragment, upland forest fragment). Along each transect, earthworm populations and soil properties were evaluated at 5 discrete points on 4 occasions from fall 2009 to spring 2011. Vegetation cover and plant species richness were measured, and management and flooding intensity were documented through farmer surveys. Earthworm abundance and diversity were highest in a riparian forest transect (460 individuals m −2 , 9 species) and agricultural buffer (325 individuals m −2 , 10 species), and lowest in the agricultural fields with annual crop rotations and agrochemical inputs, which also had the lowest plant diversity. Redundancy analysis revealed that differences in earthworm species compositions across the study area were linked to site-specific management and flooding, represented by differences in soil moisture, vegetation diversity, and soil nutrient concentrations (dissolved organic carbon in soil solution, mineral nitrogen, extractable phosphorus). Generalized linear mixed modeling also showed that less intensively managed agricultural buffers and forest fragments with regular flooding supported higher earthworm diversity. We recommend further research on soil functions affected by earthworms in riparian areas because these non-native earthworms could affect the conservation value of unmanaged agricultural buffers and forest fragments in southern Quebec, Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the effects of policy changes on organisations and compositions of cropping systems at regional scale and their contribution to the sustainable development of regions, we built a regional, spatially explicit, multi-scale, bioeconomic model called MOSAICA. This model explicitly incorporates information at field, farm, sub-regional and regional scales to provide cropping system mosaics by way of regional optimisation of the sum of individual farmer's utilities under field, farm and territory biophysical and socio-economic constraints. Its generic structure means it can be used in different regions with geographic information on the location of the field and farm, data on cropping system performance, on location factors and on policy schemes. We used the model in Guadeloupe to test the impact of three scenarios of change on the agricultural subsidy regimes. The model produced three cropping system mosaics which reduced the area under banana and sugarcane, turned specialised banana and sugarcane farming systems into breeding systems while improving the overall contribution of agriculture to sustainable development. The spatially explicit results of changes in ecosystem services, and in farming systems with MOSAICA make it an appropriate decision-aid tool for regional planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological pest control is one of the key services from which agricultural production benefits. Despite being a well-studied ecosystem service, the potential of different matrices in shaping natural enemy contributions to pest predation is not yet clear. We used an experimental approach with predation experiments to investigate whether matrices with different degrees of structural similarity to the native forest (coffee and pasture) modulated the effects of forest cover and forest proximity on predation rate from different natural enemies. The effects of landscape structure on predation rates varied with natural enemy response to matrix type. Predation rates by arthropods (the main natural enemy acting in both matrices) were higher in coffee plantations and were positively and negatively affected by landscape and local forest cover, respectively. Predation rates by birds were higher near the forest in both matrices and two times higher in coffee plantations than in pastures. Regardless of natural enemy identity, predation rates inside agricultural matrices were higher in low-contrasting matrices, and increase with forest cover and proximity to forest. Given the clear importance of matrix type in modulating the effects of forest cover and forest proximity on predation rates, we recommend that agricultural management consider reducing habitat-matrix contrasts while increasing contact and habitat cover in the landscape to improve biological pest control. Among matrix management strategies, we recommend within-farm actions that would lead to greater matrix heterogeneity and permeability, along with an increase in landscape habitat cover, such as more sustainable and wildlife-friendly agricultural systems and the restoration of protected areas within farms. [Display omitted] • Matrix type affects predation rates by natural enemies in agricultural landscapes. • Predation by birds is lower far from the forest and within pasture matrices. • Predation by arthropods varies with forest cover and is higher in coffee matrices. • Overall predation is higher near forest-coffee edges and at high forest cover. • Increasing forest cover, forest-matrix likeness and contact may benefit pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of biofuels can result on a decrease of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when compared to fossil fuels. However, the expansion of biofuels crops has been either based on direct or indirect displacement of natural ecosystems or on the use of degraded or marginal lands. The former results in direct habitat loss, whereas the later results in usual agricultural impacts (e.g., soil and biotic contamination and water eutrophication). However, in some circumstances biofuels crops can result on an increase in biodiversity compared to other agricultural crops. Agricultural zoning can mitigate the impacts of land use change (LUC), either direct (dLUC) or indirect (iLUC), whereas the use of wildlife-friendly techniques can mitigate the impacts of agriculture intensification. However, in both cases long-term biodiversity monitoring programs should be established in order to help the decision making process concerning the conflict between the expansion of biofuels crops and the conservation of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon farming in agricultural landscapes may provide a cost-effective mechanism for offsetting carbon emissions while delivering co-benefits for biodiversity through ecosystem restoration. Reforestation of landscapes using native tree and shrub species, termed environmental plantings, has been recognized as a carbon offset methodology which can contribute to biodiversity conservation as well as climate mitigation. However, far less attention has been paid to the potential for assisted natural regeneration in areas of low to intermediate levels of degradation, where regenerative capacity still remains and little intervention would be required to restore native vegetation. In this study, we considered the economics of carbon farming in the state of Queensland, Australia, where 30.6 million hectares of relatively recently deforested agricultural landscapes may be suitable for carbon farming. Using spatially explicit estimates of the rate of carbon sequestration and the opportunity cost of agricultural production, we used a discounted cash flow analysis to examine the economic viability of assisted natural regeneration relative to environmental plantings. We found that the average minimum carbon price required to make assisted natural regeneration viable was 60% lower than what was required to make environmental plantings viable ($65.8 t CO 2 e −1 compared to $108.8 t CO 2 e −1 ). Assisted natural regeneration could sequester 1.6 to 2.2 times the amount of carbon possible compared to environmental plantings alone over a range of hypothetical carbon prices and assuming a moderate 5% discount rate. Using a combination of methodologies, carbon farming was a viable land use in over 2.3% of our study extent with a low $5 t CO 2 e −1 carbon price, and up to 10.5 million hectares (34%) with a carbon price of $50 t CO 2 e −1 . Carbon sequestration supply and economic returns generated by assisted natural regeneration were relatively robust to variation in establishment costs and discount rates due to the utilization of low-cost techniques to reestablish native vegetation. Our study highlights the potential utility of assisted natural regeneration as a reforestation approach which can cost-effectively deliver both carbon and biodiversity benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian agricultural landscape, which accounts for approximately 12.6% of the world’s agricultural land, is highly heterogeneous due to the multicultural cropping system. Information regarding CO 2 exchange and carbon (C) balance of these agro-ecosystems is scarce, even though they are likely to immensely contribute to the global C budget. Net Ecosystem CO 2 Exchange (NEE) and Ecosystem respiration ( R eco ) were measured between 2009 and 2010 on 5 dominant crops (potato, rice, radish, cabbage and bean) in the Haean catchment of South Korea, using a closed chamber system to quantify CO 2 fluxes in this agricultural landscape characteristic of the Asian cropping system. Parallel measurements were conducted on leaf area index (LAI), plant biomass and climatic variables, mainly photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), air temperature, soil temperature and soil moisture. Biomass and LAI development differed among the crops likely as a result of differences in light use efficiencies ( α ) and carbon allocation patterns. The peak total biomass for radish, cabbage, potato, rice and bean were 0.53 ± 0.07, 0.55 ± 0.12, 1.85 ± 0.51, 2.54 ± 0.35 and 1.01 ± 0.26 kg m −2 , respectively, while the respective maximum LAI were 2.8, 3.7, 6.4, 6.3 and 6.7 m 2 m −2 . Variations in seasonal patterns, magnitudes and the timing of maximum NEE and gross primary production (GPP) among the crops were likely the result of differences in LAI and α . The lowest peak R eco rate was 3.8 ± 0.5 μmol m −2 s −1 , measured on rice paddies while the highest was 34.4 ± 4.3 μmol m −2 s −1 measured on the cabbage fields. The maximum NEE rates were −29.4 ± 0.4 and −38.7 ± 6.6 μmol m −2 s −1 , measured in potato and cabbage fields, respectively. Peak GPP rates in potato and cabbage fields were 39.5 ± 0.6 and 63.0 ± 7.2 μmol m −2 s −1 , respectively. PAR explained more than 90% of the diurnal variations in GPP, while LAI and α determined the seasonal trends of maximum GPP. The timing of maximum CO 2 assimilation (GPP Max ) differed among the crops, thus, even though maximum CO 2 uptake in the respective crops only lasted a couple of weeks, the effect of the staggered peak GPP resulted in extended period of high CO 2 uptake. These differences among crops were significant, hence, modeling approaches need to consider the heterogeneity in ecosystem CO 2 exchange associated with these multicultural agriculture landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riparian forests are strongly linked to stream ecosystems, and the creation and/or conservation of riparian forests can mitigate the influence of agriculture on streams. Although riparian forest buffers are commonly advocated as best management practices, the extent of forest necessary to effectively mitigate upstream agricultural effects on streams remains unresolved. To determine how soon agricultural streams exhibit detectable effects after entering forest fragments, we surveyed sixteen sites distributed across two 2nd-order headwater streams in agricultural landscapes of central Ohio that exhibit abrupt transitions as they flow from upstream agricultural land up to 1 km into downstream forest fragments. Along these transitions we measured leaf-colonizing benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, leaf-litter breakdown, and physicochemical habitat. Our results indicated that forest fragments can rapidly alter physicochemical and biological attributes of agricultural streams. At both study streams, daily maximum temperature declined within the first 200 m of entering forest fragments. Changes in water quality were more variable, but there was evidence of a strong decline in NO 3 –N along an agriculture-forest transition. There was also evidence of a decline in fine sediment with distance into the forest at one stream. Aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages exhibited strong changes in composition ranging from the forest edge up to 324 m into forest fragments. Taxa that declined after entering forests were generally more tolerant of anthropogenic disturbance and/or those that rely on in-stream primary productivity (i.e., scrapers) whereas most of the taxa that increased after entering forests were relatively sensitive to disturbance and rely on allochthonous organic matter inputs from the forest (i.e., shredders). Collectively, the rapid changes in biological and physicochemical attributes that we observed suggest that even relatively small forest fragments may be able to markedly influence impaired streams and that conservation and restoration of small, discontinuous forest fragments may be important for maintaining stream ecosystem integrity in agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A consensus has been established that functional traits rather than taxonomic diversity play a fundamental role in linking biodiversity with ecosystem processes and associated services. This study from Finland addressed an issue of relative values of fallow and field margin biotopes in conservation of plant functional diversity (based on six functional traits of relevance to ecosystem services, and diversity of multiple traits) in agricultural landscapes differing in their structural complexity. Relative covers of plant species were surveyed in sampling plots located in perennial fallow fields and three types of perennial margins (margins between crop fields, along forest edges and by river) in three types of landscape context (simple, intermediate and complex). Fallow fields significantly contributed to the total functional diversity only in simple landscapes. The river margins provided the greatest functional diversity, especially in reproduction and regeneration traits while crop margins were consistently characterized by the lowest functional diversity. Substantial functional diversity of fallow patches in simple landscapes was due to high abundance of functional species, while that of river margins stemmed from presence of unique species. The plant functional diversity progressively declined with agricultural landscapes becoming simplified. The study indicates non-cropped biotopes having complementary roles in ensuring multifunctionality of agro-landscapes and confirms importance of biotope mosaic for functional diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fragmentation of agricultural landscapes has a major impact on biodiversity. In addition to habitat loss, dispersal limitation increasingly appears as a significant driver of biodiversity decline. Landscape linear elements, like ditches, may reduce the negative impacts of fragmentation by enhancing connectivity for many organisms, in addition to providing refuge habitats. To characterize these effects, we investigated the respective roles of propagule source composition and connectivity at the landscape scale on hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous ditch bank plant metacommunities. Twenty-seven square sites (0.5 km 2 each) were selected in an agricultural lowland of northern France. At each site, plant communities were sampled on nine ditch banks (totaling 243 ditches). Variables characterizing propagule sources composition and connectivity were calculated for landscape mosaic and ditch network models. The landscape mosaic influenced only non-hydrochorous species, while the ditch network impacted both hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous species. Non-hydrochorous metacommunities were dependent on a large set of land-use elements, either within the landscape mosaic or adjacent to the ditch network, whereas hydrochorous plant metacommunities were only impacted by the presence of ditches adjacent to crops and roads. Ditch network connectivity also influenced both hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous ditch bank plant metacommunity structure, suggesting that beyond favoring hydrochory, ditches may also enhance plant dispersal by acting on other dispersal vectors. Increasing propagule sources heterogeneity and connectivity appeared to decrease within-metacommunity similarity within landscapes. Altogether, our results suggest that the ditch network's composition and configuration impacts plant metacommunity structure by affecting propagule dispersal possibilities, with contrasted consequences depending on species' dispersal vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Stone walls are ubiquitous features in European agricultural landscapes. • Bryophytes and macrolichens can be used as proxies of stone wall habitat quality. • Farm management variables and altitude relate to bryophytes and macrolichens in stone walls. • Results, if confirmed, can guide actions for improving quality of stone walls. Stone walls are ubiquitous field boundaries used to restrict livestock movement or to separate property. Bryophytes and lichens are often the dominant vegetation in dry stone walls and are strongly affected by local microhabitat characteristics. Bryophytes and lichens related metrics can be used to define habitat quality of stone walls. The current study assessed how richness and cover of bryophytes and macrolichens in dry stone walls related to each other and how different environmental variables and farm management descriptors determined richness and cover of both groups in dry stone walls. Bryophytes and macrolichens were sampled in stone walls on sixteen farms across a management intensity gradient in Ireland. Bryophyte cover correlated positively and significantly with bryophyte richness and macrolichen cover and richness, and can thus be used to assess stone walls quality. Farm management intensity emerged as the variable most strongly related with species richness of bryophytes and cover of both groups. Altitude also emerged as a strong predictor of both groups' richness and cover. This study provides a novel perspective on stone wall habitat quality and results indicate that by promoting extensive farming it is possible to increase stone walls quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Urbanization impacted agricultural landscape patterns at ecoregional scale. [•] Impacts varied among urbanization indicators and landscape metrics. [•] Expansion intensity index was the most powerful urbanization indicator. [•] GDP acted as influential factor during 1980s. [•] Impacts from demographic factors were weak. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Highlights: [•] Survey results highlighted concern about distributional impacts of groundwater use. [•] There was less concern regarding potential negative environmental impacts. [•] At the same time there was confidence that risks were preventable. [•] A high proportion of respondents indicated they were ‘Unsure’ on all risk items. [•] The high level of uncertainty appears to be related to lower knowledge and salience. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]