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Wildflower plantings are an important mitigation tool within agri-environmental schemes to counter insect decline in resource-scarce agricultural landscapes. Effectiveness of wildflower plantings for insect conservation is typically studied at the community or species level. It is the individual, however, that is subject to changing abiotic and biotic conditions, not the species per se. Accordingly, functional traits of individuals, i.e., the intraspecific functional diversity within species, likely mediate responses to wildflower resources and landscape context. Here we focused on the ecologically and economically important wild insect pollinator Bombus terrestris to study its intraspecific functional diversity and plant-pollinator individual interactions in wildflower plantings. We found considerable trait variation among flower-visiting B. terrestris workers. Locally, this variation could be attributed to flowering plant traits, with larger workers visiting larger inflorescences and individuals with longer tongues preferentially feeding on zygomorphic but not radially symmetrical flowers. In addition, wildflower plantings with high floral abundance attracted individuals with larger pollen baskets. At the landscape scale, increasing proportion of arable land resulted in smaller B. terrestris individuals in wildflower plantings, and a decrease in the overall size diversity of workers. These findings highlight the so far little considered role of intraspecific variation in functional traits of wild pollinators, which can mediate the trait-matching between plants and pollinator individuals. Landscape simplification from agriculture threatens intraspecific pollinator diversity, with potential harmful effects for pollinator fitness and plant reproduction. Tailored wildflower plantings can thus serve as an important tool to increase intraspecific variation in simplified landscapes. When designing seed mixtures for these plantings, high complementarity in plant traits is key for promoting high intraspecific trait diversity of bumblebees and potentially of other associated insect species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global pollinator declines and land-use change can lead to pollination limitation with implications for agricultural productivity. Hand pollination is used in agricultural production as a technique to manually pollinate crops. But the prevalence of hand pollination, as well as benefits and costs, remain unknown. We systematically reviewed the literature for examples, methods, drivers, and economic motivations of hand pollination. Furthermore, we discuss the risks, constraints, and opportunities of hand pollination. We found evidence for 20 hand-pollinated crops, including minor but also economically important crops (e.g. apple, oil palm, cacao). The lack of pollinators was the most important reason for the application of hand pollination (50% of crops), while insufficient proportion or proximity of pollinizers (8% of crops) and skewed sex ratio or dichogamy (8% of crops) were second most important. The main economic motivations for practicing or recommending hand pollination were to increase fruit set, and/or fruit quality (78% of crops). Hand pollination is practiced in large- and small-scale farming, home gardens, and greenhouses. Opportunities of hand pollination are the control of pollen origin and quantity, pollination timing and frequency as well as independence from environmental fluctuations. Farmers can increase yields, improve fruit quality, avoid fruit abortion, increase employment, and secure subsistence food. The main constraints of hand pollination are high labor inputs, high material costs, and required skills. Major risks of hand pollination include management ignoring pollinator conservation, high food prices, over-pollination, labor accidents, and unfair labor. We conclude that in the face of global change, hand pollination allows improved control of pollination and is likely to increase in importance. The benefits of hand pollination need to outweigh the costs and fair labor is essential. Altogether, hand pollination can be a valuable tool for crop systems where pollinators are absent or are not reliable for sustaining high-quality crop production. [Display omitted] - Hand pollination is used in global commercial crop production. - It can strengthen the resilience of farm systems responding to pollination limitations. - Hand pollination allows controlling pollen identity and quantity. - Benefits include higher yields but often at high labor costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We challenge the widespread appraisal that organic farming is the fundamental alternative to conventional farming for harnessing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Certification of organic production is largely restricted to banning synthetic agrochemicals, resulting in limited benefits for biodiversity but high yield losses despite ongoing intensification and specialisation. In contrast, successful agricultural measures to enhance biodiversity include diversifying cropland and reducing field size, which can multiply biodiversity while sustaining high yields in both conventional and organic systems. Achieving a landscape-level mosaic of natural habitat patches and fine-grained cropland diversification in both conventional and organic agriculture is key for promoting large-scale biodiversity. This needs to be urgently acknowledged by policy makers for an agricultural paradigm shift. Biodiversity continues to decline rapidly, despite decades of repeated national and international policy efforts. Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity losses, while conversion to organic farming has been suggested as a key technique to halt or reverse this trend. In contrast to this widespread view, certified organic agriculture raises local richness of widespread species by just a third when compared to conventional farming. This is achieved through waiving synthetic agrochemicals, but leads to considerable yield losses, requiring the conversion of more land to agriculture to obtain similar yields. Diversifying cropland and reducing field size on a landscape level can multiply biodiversity in both organic and conventional agriculture without reducing cropland productivity. Complementing such increases in cropland heterogeneity with at least 20% seminatural habitat per landscape should be a key recommendation in current biodiversity frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is the main cause of the biodiversity crisis. Recent suggestions to narrow biodiversity conservation to land sparing are misguiding. Intensifying farming does not lead to sparing more biodiversity-rich land, because higher yields are a major incentive to expand agriculture. Protected reserves are a cornerstone of global biodiversity, while enhancing spillover between on- and off-field habitats reduces extinctions and promotes a wealth of species, including providers of major ecosystem services. Hence, on- and off-field mixing of conservation measures is required. Biodiversity-friendly farming needs a focus on practices allowing high biodiversity at best without compromising yield, such as diversified and small-scale farming. Further, food trade must recognize and enforce high socioecological standards for production conditions worldwide. The continuing biodiversity losses through agricultural expansion and intensification are dramatic. We argue that a mix of on- and off-field measures is needed, overcoming the false dichotomy of the land sharing-sparing debate. Protected land is essential for global biodiversity, while spillover between farmed and natural land is key to reducing species extinctions. This is particularly effective in landscapes with small and diversified fields. Focusing only on protected land fails to conserve a wealth of species, which often provide major ecosystem services such as pest control, pollination, and cultural benefits. On-field measures must minimise yield losses to prevent increased demand for food imports from biodiversity-rich regions, requiring enforcement of high social–ecological land-use standards to ensure a good life for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Hedgerows provide important pollinator habitat and connect fragmented habitats. • Hedgerows promote pollinator spillover on adjacent strawberry plants. • Higher pollinator abundance increased strawberry weight and market value. • Higher abundance of rape pollen beetles reduced strawberry weight. • Hedgerows increase pollination services to crops in agricultural landscapes. Abstract Animal pollinators are in a serious decline due to habitat loss, isolation and landscape fragmentation, putting pollination services to crops at risk. Hedgerows have been repeatedly emphasized as landscape elements that provide nesting and food resources, connect fragmented habitats and could thus facilitate crop pollination. However, the beneficial and potentially also detrimental impacts of hedgerows on crop pollination remain poorly studied. Here, we analysed the effects of pollinators and herbivorous pollen beetles (Meligethes spp.) on quantity and quality of strawberries from phytometer plants located at forest-connected hedgerows, isolated hedgerows and on grassy margins without any hedgerows. Higher pollinator abundance increased strawberry weight, whereas pollen beetle abundance reduced strawberry weight. Strawberry weight was significantly reduced by 29% at isolated hedgerows and 32% on grassy margins, compared to berries at connected hedgerows. Plants placed at forest-connected hedgerows produced more high quality strawberries with 90% classified as "marketable", whereas only 75% of strawberries from plants at isolated hedgerows, 48% of strawberries from plants on grassy margins and 41% of strawberries from self-pollinated control plants where classified as marketable. Consequently, increased habitat connectivity through hedgerows enhanced the commercial value of strawberries from 9.27 € per 1000 strawberries for plants grown on grassy margins to 14.95 € for plants located at forest-connected hedgerows. Correspondingly, pollinator abundance was highest on phytometer plants at forest-connected hedgerows, lowest on grassy margins and intermediate at isolated hedgerows. Pollen beetle abundance on phytometer plants was not affected by hedgerows. Our study highlights the importance of hedgerows and habitat connectivity for promoting pollination services in agricultural landscapes, with economically important benefits for crop quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Experimental exclosure of birds and bats constitutes a powerful tool to study the impacts of wildlife on pests and crop yields in agricultural systems. Though widely utilized, exclosure experiments are not standardized across studies. Indeed, key differences surrounding the design, materials, and protocols for implementing field-based exclosure experiments of flying vertebrates increase heterogeneity across studies, and limit our understanding of biodiversity-friendly land use management. We reviewed the available literature on studies in which bird and bat exclosures were applied to study pest control in agricultural settings, and isolated 30 studies from both tropical and temperate land use systems, involving 12 crop types across 14 countries. Focusing on exclosure effects on crop yield, we analyzed effect detectability for a subset of suitable data. We then analyzed the potential of exclosure methods and possible extensions to improve our understanding of complex food webs and ecosystem services affecting the productivity of agricultural systems. While preferences exist in materials (e.g., nylon nets and bamboo frames), experimental exclosure studies of birds and bats differed greatly in their respective design, related costs, and effort — limiting the generalization and transferability of results at larger spatial scales. Most studies were based on experiments conducted in the United States and the Neotropics, mainly in coffee and cacao farms. A lack of preliminary or long-term data with repeated measurements makes it impossible to apply power analysis in most studies. Common constraints include, among other things, the choice of material and experimental duration, as well as the consideration of local versus landscape factors. We discuss such limitations, related common pitfalls, and options for optimization to inform improved planning, design, and execution of exclosure studies. By doing so, we aim to promote more comparable and transferable approaches in future field research on biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Accelerating land use change is associated with the loss of species and their ecosystem services. South Africa is the world's largest producer of macadamias and the industry continues to grow. Insectivorous bat species are important for pest control, but bat populations are declining. Therefore, proactive management of bat communities in agricultural landscapes is essential. We acoustically monitored bats and used light traps to catch arthropods during one annual cycle, sampling five macadamia orchards monthly in Limpopo, South Africa. We used GIS and R to analyse both the general bat and foraging bat activity of the two main foraging guilds (open-air/clutter edge guild) in different land use types and total activity with respect to arthropod abundances. Overall clutter edge guild activity (number of passes) decreased with macadamia and orchard (all other fruit) cover in the high season and increased with bush cover and distance to settlements (potential roosts) in the low season. Open-air guild activity increased with fallow cover in the high season. Foraging activity (feeding buzzes) of the clutter edge guild increased with bush cover over the whole year. Total activity (both guilds) increased with abundance of true bugs, including the main macadamia pests, and bush cover. In conclusion, natural and semi-natural vegetation promote bat activity in macadamia orchards, and potentially bats' provision of the ecosystem service of pest control. In times of accelerating land use change, remnants of natural vegetation are important refuges and need to be maintained or restored. The installation of bathouses might further improve bat activity. Highlights • Bat activity followed the abundance of true bugs, presumably macadamia pests. • Clutter edge activity decreased with higher macadamia and orchard cover in high season. • Total bat activity over the full annual cycle increased with the presence of more natural vegetation. • The open air and clutter edge guilds respond in dissimilar ways to the land use types. • Maintaining or restoring natural vegetation may promote bats' pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing demand for pollination services in agricultural production, which contrasts with declines of wild and managed pollinator populations. Macadamia ( Macadamia integrifolia) is a mass-flowering crop that depends on pollination services and is increasingly cultivated in South Africa. We studied the crop’s pollination in South African orchards considering variation in landscape context and the spatial arrangement of managed honeybees ( Apis mellifera ). We conducted pollination experiments and pollinator observations on macadamia trees along a distance gradient from orchard edges that bordered either near-natural or human-modified habitats. In addition, we mapped position and density of honeybee apiaries at orchard-level. Nut set of macadamia trees strongly relied on animal-mediated pollination: pollinator exclusion reduced the initial nut set (3 weeks after pollination) by 80% and the final nut set (15 weeks after pollination) by 54%. Supplemental hand-pollination of otherwise untreated flowers increased initial and final nut set by 66% and 44%, respectively, indicating substantial pollination limitation. The landscape context only weakly affected pollinator visitation to macadamia trees, with reduced visitation closer to orchard edges bordering human-modified habitats. Furthermore, we observed almost no wild pollinator species. Instead, honeybees constituted 99% of all visits, whereby honeybee visitation rates increased with a tree’s connectivity to apiaries. However, neither initial nor final nut was related to visitation rates, and the final nut set was actually reduced where honeybee colony density was high, with a predicted 50% reduction in final nut set between the lowest and highest colony densities. Our study demonstrates a strong pollination limitation in South African macadamia orchards, where managed honeybees fail at delivering the increasing need for pollination services. Indeed, increasing their colony densities may further limit their pollination efficiency. A pollination management that also includes non- Apis managed pollinators and wild pollinators is possibly needed to increase nut set and provide solutions for increasing pollination service demands. In intensive macadamia orchards, this can also necessitate the need for more pollinator-friendly management practices, including habitat restoration and reduced pesticide application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One goal of wildflower plantings is to promote biodiversity in intensively managed agricultural landscapes. Flower visitors of wildflower plantings encompass many ecologically and economically important species. However, most studies on flower visitors of wildflower plantings have focused on single or few prominent taxa (e.g., wild bees and hoverflies). In contrast, it remains largely unresolved how non-prominent flower visitors of the community are affected by wildflower resources, landscape context and time of the flowering season. We studied highly diverse flower-visitor communities on 14 wildflower plantings varying in flower abundance and richness and their surrounding landscape context within a 500 m radius (percentage arable land, presence of additional wildflower plantings). Flower visitors were sampled in the early (May–June) and late (June–July) flowering season and grouped as follows: managed honeybees, wild bees, hoverflies, all other flower visitors. Strikingly, only 81 (25.1%) of all 322 visiting species (<50.0% of individuals) were bees or hoverflies, and 241 non-prominent ‘other’ visitor taxa were sampled, encompassing many ecologically and economically important species, e.g., parasitic wasps and non-syrphid Diptera. With the exception of honeybee abundance that was positively related to flower abundance, flower abundance and richness of wildflower plantings affected neither abundance nor richness of any visitor group. While a high amount of surrounding arable land decreased species richness of wild bees, richness of all other groups was unaffected. In contrast to the relatively weak abundance and richness responses at the group-level, we found strong species-specific responses to landscape context, resulting in substantial spatial and temporal turnover in community composition. In the early flowering season, wildflower plantings that were accompanied by additional local plantings and embedded within complex landscapes supported the highest abundances of habitat specialists (e.g. Bombus spp.), whereas isolated plantings were predominantly visited by agricultural generalists (e.g. predatory hoverflies and pollen beetles). These compositional differences diminished towards the end of the flowering season. Our study highlights the great conservation potential of wildflower plantings in agricultural landscapes. With the exception of wild bees, wildflower plantings support a high diversity of functionally complementary flower-visitor species from complex to structurally simple agricultural landscapes. These so-far overlooked flower visitors may have the potential to provide complementary ecosystem services and to step-in in agricultural settings where prominent providers have been lost. Assessments of the value of wildflower plantings to biodiversity conservation and agriculture require a shift away from solely focusing on prominent taxa and towards a more holistic appreciation of the entire flower-visitor community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural habitat plays a role in many agroecosystems as a source of pollination services and other ecological spillover, but these effects are largely unquantified in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), a globally important crop linked to deforestation. In a field experiment in Sumatra, Indonesia, we manipulated floral visitor access to female oil palm inflorescences over a 100 m distance gradient from forest into oil palm and sampled insects with sticky traps placed above male and female inflorescences. Full exclusion of floral visitors decreased mean oil palm fruit set to 12%, demonstrating that insect pollination was necessary to maintain favorable fruit set and yield. Treatment group means of fruit set under open pollination (62%) and when excluding large (>1.4 mm diameter) organisms (72%), did not differ significantly from open pollination augmented with hand pollination (61%), suggesting no difference in pollen limitation. In contrast, when we examined change in fruit set with distance from forest, we found a significant trend of higher fruit set in oil palms closer to the forest when large organisms were excluded, which increased estimated fruit set at the forest edge to 87%, compared to open-pollinated palms (70%). This trend with distance from forest was absent when we fully excluded floral visitors, showing that the effect of forest was not likely due to an abiotic gradient (e.g., changing soil nutrients). Of the arthropod taxa collected from sticky traps, Drosophilidae (Diptera) and Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera) decreased and increased with distance from forest, respectively. The taxa Elaeidobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Gelechiidae, and the families Thripidae and Phlaeothripidae (Thysanoptera) were abundant on both male and female inflorescence sticky traps. Elaeidobius kamerunicus , an introduced oil palm pollinator, had the only significant relationship with fruit set. Our results confirm pollination by insects as a key ecosystem service for oil palm production. Although further work is needed to clarify the relationship between fruit set, biodiversity, and distance from forest, we speculate that excluding large organisms could have increased fruit set closer to forest by mediating interactions between pollinators, forest predators, and farm mesopredators. Understanding the relationships between nearby forest and pollination services could better connect oil palm production to its landscape context and associated biodiversity. This would be important for landscape-scale conservation planning that considers both the ecosystem service needs and ecological impacts of oil palm agriculture. • Experimental exclusion of oil palm floral visitors over 100 m gradient from forest. • Insect floral visitors significantly increased oil palm fruit set by five-fold. • Excluding larger floral visitors significantly increased fruit set closer to forest. • Intraguild predation of mesopredators closer to forest may explain higher fruit set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How urbanization affects crop pollination has scarcely been studied, especially in the tropics. Here, we focus on the richness and abundance of wild bees and their pollination services to 30 small-scale fields of Lablab purpureus, a globally wide-spread grain legume, in the Indian megacity Bangalore. Farms were selected along a gradient of urbanization, measured as percentage of impervious surface (grey area) at the landscape scale, ranging from 0% to 30%. We found that the abundance of lablab-visiting wild bees increased with increasing grey proportion on the landscape scale and that, in particular, ground-nesting and large-bodied bees benefitted, as well as Xylocopa bees. The higher availability of forage and open soils in low-density urban areas appeared to enhance bee populations in Bangalore. When pollinating insects were experimentally excluded, lablab plants produced 36% less and 31% lighter fruits. Yet, we did not detect any changes of pollination outcomes along the urbanization gradient, as lablab seem to receive stable pollination services. Finally, we found that the local bee richness was negatively affected by the number of on-field pesticide applications, resulting in 35% fewer species after 3 application rounds. In summary, we conclude that low density urbanization can be beneficial for wild bees in lablab farms, but intensive pesticide use could counteract this positive effect. Large and ground-nesting farmland bees benefited most from urbanization, but more studies on different crops in tropical cities are urgently needed. • Wild bee visits were promoted by low-density urban areas. • Ground-nesting, large-bodied and Xylocopa bees were the main beneficiaries. • When pollinators were excluded, lablab produced 36% less and 31% lighter fruits. • Wild bee richness was negatively impacted by on-field pesticide applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat changes can alter animal behaviors, especially of large-bodied animals. Landfowl (Galliformes) are a phylogenetically diverse group of large-bodied ground-dwelling birds that are generally considered reluctant flyers. However, some species of landfowl have also been found to forage in arboreal habitats, which could be particularly advantageous under declining habitat quality. However, the prevalence of arboreal foraging behavior (AFB) and how it relates to habitat changes are still unexplored. Here, we reviewed life-history traits associated with foraging behaviors in 305 species of landfowl worldwide and examined the prevalence of AFB across the global landfowl phylogeny. We also collected data from arboreal camera traps on 22 subtropical reservoir islands and six nearby mainland sites in the Thousand Island Lake region of China to assess AFB of Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), the largest landfowl in this lake system, with island area and isolation. Globally, at least 84 species of landfowl (28%) showed evidence of AFB, with a strong phylogenetic signal. Camera trapping revealed that Silver Pheasant tended to have AFB on small and isolated islands, as evidenced by the increased arboreal sampling efforts. Our study reveals that landfowl's AFB is much more widespread than previously recognized, and suggests the importance of prioritizing large, connected habitats for the conservation of large-bodied animals like Silver Pheasant in the fragmented landscape. Finally, camera trapping emerges as a promising tool for recording landfowl's life history and uncommon behaviors that can help us understand landfowl's threats and aid conservation programs. • Arboreal foraging behavior is widespread in Galliformes worldwide. • Large and connected habitats should be prioritized for conservation actions. • Camera trapping emerges as a promising tool for understanding landfowl's threats and aiding conservation programs. • Fundamental research on life history are still needed for wildlife conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Insect pollinators are important for oil palm yield, but are poorly understood. • We systematically reviewed literature on oil palm pollinators. • Coleopterans increase fruit set, but thrips and moths may also contribute. • We present biotic, management, and climate population drivers of major pollinators. • Filling knowledge gaps to optimize pollination can support sustainable management. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) is an economically important crop, yet it plays a major role in tropical deforestation and has significant negative impacts on biodiversity. The ecological drivers of oil palm pollination are still poorly understood, despite pollination being a key ecosystem service for the yield of this multi-billion-dollar industry, with potential links to biodiversity conservation. Here we review biotic and abiotic drivers of pollination and known oil palm pollinators, including local insect species endemic to specific growing regions, and an important, globally-introduced West African weevil (Elaeidobius kamerunicus) whose fluctuating populations have led to concerns about yield and resilience. Future research should clarify pollinator community dynamics to facilitate pollination complementarity, which may strengthen pollination services in regions beyond the oil palm and weevil's native West African ecosystem. In addition, other interactions such as mutualism, predation, and parasitism are not yet well understood, but could provide further insight into population drivers. Future management research should explore manipulating male palm inflorescence density, a key resource for pollinators, as well as investigate spatial and landscape effects on pollinator populations. Critically, no studies have investigated the effects of climate change on pollination, despite the impacts of rain and temperature on pollination efficiency. A greater understanding of the role of pollinator species and their nonlinear relationships to yield, as well as the complexity of biotic, management, and climate drivers of successful pollination can contribute to a more sustainable oil palm production system that values ecosystem services gained from biodiversity, while also improving producer livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global macadamia industry is growing rapidly, and the world's biggest macadamia nut producer, South Africa, is continuously expanding its production. Insect pest mitigation and research are mainly focused on the damage caused by heteropteran pest species, whereas the damage associated with lepidopteran tortricid moths in South African macadamia orchards is understudied. Here we explore the potential biocontrol of tortricid moths by natural predators through full exclosure of bats and birds, daytime only exclosure (birds), night exclosure (bats and possibly nocturnal birds), and control treatments. The exclusion experiment showed that bats and birds are effective natural predators, which can reduce tortricid moth damage by more than 35%. Impacts of biocontrol are higher at natural orchard edges next to natural or semi-natural vegetation, compared to human-modified edges (12.4% damage decrease in 2017, 10.6% in 2018). At the full exclosure, there was no difference in damage between natural orchard edges and human-modified edges, in both years of our study (56.5% vs. 56.6% in 2017, 19% vs. 18.5% in 2018). We recommend increased preservation efforts of more heterogeneity with semi-natural vegetation in agricultural landscapes to ensure the conservation of biocontrol services, as their loss can be expected to result in significant negative impact on macadamia production. This biological pest control can be used as part of integrated pest management to reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides, so decreasing sustainability challenges. [Display omitted] • Insect pest mitigation and research in South African macadamia have mainly focused on Heteroptera, neglecting Lepidoptera. • We used an exclusion experiment to quantify how biocontrol of Tortricidae varied between bats, birds, and landscape context. • Bats and birds were effective natural predators that reduced tortricid husk damage by more than 35%. • Biocontrol impacts were higher at orchard edges bordering natural vegetation. • Maintaining remnant natural vegetation in agricultural landscapes can reduce crop losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need for agricultural development strategies that reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. This is especially true in the Global South where population growth is rapid and much of the world's remaining biodiversity is located. Combining conceptual thoughts with empirical insights from case studies in Indonesia and Ethiopia, we argue that such strategies will have to pay more attention to agricultural labour dynamics. Farmers have a strong motivation to reduce the heavy toil associated with farming by adopting technologies that save labour but can negatively affect biodiversity. Labour constraints can also prevent farmers from adopting technologies that improve biodiversity but increase labour intensity. Without explicitly accounting for labour issues, conservation efforts can hardly be successful. We hence highlight the need for biodiversity-smart agriculture, that is farming practices or systems that reconcile biodiversity with land and labour productivity. Our empirical insights suggest that technological and institutional options to reconcile farmers' socio-economic goals and biodiversity conservation exist but that more needs to be done to implement such options at scale. • Urgent need for biodiversity-smart agricultural development in the Global South. • Addressing labour issues is key to reconciling agriculture and biodiversity. • Adoption of technologies reducing labour burden but affecting biodiversity. • Non-adoption of biodiversity-improving technologies due to labour constraints. • Solutions exist but more needs to be done to implement them at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats have been shown to provide successful pest suppression in different land-use systems globally. Recent research demonstrates high economic values of pest suppression by bats also in macadamia orchards, which is enhanced by natural habitat patches at orchard edges. We investigated the impact of the conversion of natural to agricultural (macadamia-dominated) habitats. Using ~65,000 recorded bat call sequences; we studied bat communities in three land use types: a nature reserve, macadamia orchards with and without adjacent natural habitat patches. All study sites are situated on the southern slopes of the Soutpansberg, northern South Africa. Species richness varied significantly between the nature reserve and the macadamia orchards, but did not between orchards with and without neighbouring natural habitat. Within the orchards, activity of edge space foraging (dependent on e.g. forest edges) bats was greater at natural edges, whereas open space aerial foraging species (hunting above canopy) were more active at human-modified edges. Although seven narrow space foraging (i.e. dense vegetation dependent) bat species were identified at both orchard and reserve, this foraging guild occurred more frequently in the nature reserve (2.9–4.1% of all call sequences) than in the orchards (0.5–2.9% of all call sequences). Narrow space foraging bats were thus largely excluded from simplified agricultural landscapes, in particular where natural edge habitats are missing, compared to our natural control. The current trend in conversion of natural habitat in favour of macadamia monocultures, especially if remnant natural patches at orchard boundaries are removed, will have widespread detrimental effects on bat diversity. The resulting reduced biological pest suppression by bats and increased reliance on chemical control may further exacerbate biodiversity declines. • Bat activity, richness and diversity was significantly lower in macadamia orchards. • Activity of the different bat feeding guilds differed between orchard edge types. • Edge space feeding bats predominated at natural orchard edges. • Narrow space bat activity was greatly reduced in orchards. • Natural habitat conversion threatens bat diversity and associated pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of biodiversity-friendly agricultural landscapes is of major importance to meet the sustainable development challenges of our time. The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), i.e. drones, has opened a new set of research and management opportunities to achieve this goal. On the one hand, this review summarizes UAV applications in agricultural landscapes, focusing on biodiversity conservation and agricultural land monitoring, based on a systematic review of the literature that resulted in 550 studies. Additionally, the review proposes how to integrate UAV research in these fields and point to new potential applications that may contribute to biodiversity-friendly agricultural landscapes. UAV-based imagery can be used to identify and monitor plants, floral resources and animals, facilitating the detection of quality habitats with high prediction power. Through vegetation indices derived from their sensors, UAVs can estimate biomass, monitor crop plant health and stress, detect pest or pathogen infestations, monitor soil fertility and target patches of high weed or invasive plant pressure, allowing precise management practices and reduced agrochemical input. Thereby, UAVs are helping to design biodiversity-friendly agricultural landscapes and to mitigate yield-biodiversity trade-offs. In conclusion, UAV applications have become a major means of biodiversity conservation and biodiversity-friendly management in agriculture, while latest developments, such as the miniaturization and decreasing costs of hyperspectral sensors, promise many new applications for the future. Unlabelled Image • UAVs allow precise agricultural management and greatly reduce agrochemical inputs. • UAVs are helping to optimize the design of agricultural landscapes. • UAVs have become a major means of biodiversity-friendly management in agriculture. • UAVs create win-win scenarios for agriculture and biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]