Improving Understanding of the Dynamics of Biodiversity Generation in Agricultural Areas Through Participatory Systems Mapping

This paper examines how Participatory System Mapping (PSM), implemented through multiple parallel stakeholder workshops, can uncover interacting factors and feedback structures shaping ditch biodiversity, stimulate systemic learning and generate actionable insights for biodiversity governance. In the Alblasserwaard, a Dutch agricultural area, a living lab that unites diverse actors to develop ecological restoration measures revealed divergent stakeholder perspectives on mechanisms shaping ecological quality of ditches. We applied PSM to foster shared systemic understanding, asking how interacting factors collectively influence ecological quality of ditches. Across six workshops with 25 stakeholders, participants developed system maps that were subsequently integrated into a single, validated map. The synthesis revealed feedback structures and interactions that were not visible in individual maps and broadened stakeholders' appreciation of relevant drivers of ecological quality of ditches. Most importantly, it broadened the focus beyond financial incentives to include community attitudes and knowledge as key motivators for farmers' engagement in ecological management. In addition, it pointed to a potential balancing feedback loop that may reduce the effectiveness of compensation schemes for ecological management. The study demonstrates the methodological value of integrating multiple PSM workshops into a single intersubjective system map and its policy relevance, evidenced by concrete influence on regional biodiversity governance.