Ecological Intensification: Bridging the Gap between Science and Practice

Fil: Kleijn, David. Wageningen University; The Netherlands. Fil: Bommarco, Riccardo. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Sweden Fil: Fijen, Thijs P. Wageningen University; The Netherlands. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Andina; Argentina. Fil: Potts, Simon G. University of Reading; UK Fil: van der Putten, Wim H. Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) y Wageningen University and Research; The Netherlands. There is worldwide concern about the environmental costs of conventional intensification of agriculture. Growing evidence suggests that ecological intensification of mainstream farming can safeguard food production, with accompanying environmental benefits; however, the approach is rarely adopted by farmers. Our review of the evidence for replacing external inputs with ecosystem services shows that scientists tend to focus on processes (e.g., pollination) rather than outcomes (e.g., profits), and express benefits at spatio-temporal scales that are not always relevant to farmers. This results in mismatches in perceived benefits of ecological intensification between scientists and farmers, which hinders its uptake. We provide recommendations for overcoming these mismatches and highlight important additional factors driving uptake of naturebased management practices, such as social acceptability of farming.