IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i11p2078-d1283025.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Functional Agro-Biodiversity: An Evaluation of Current Approaches and Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Lindsay C. Maskell

    (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK)

  • Alan Radbourne

    (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK)

  • Lisa R. Norton

    (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK)

  • Sabine Reinsch

    (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK)

  • Jamie Alison

    (Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark)

  • Liz Bowles

    (Soil Association, Spear House, 51 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AD, UK)

  • Katrien Geudens

    (Hooibeekhoeve, Hooibeeksedijk 1, 2440 Geel, Belgium)

  • David A. Robinson

    (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK)

Abstract

The European Union’s ‘Green Deal’ proposes an ambitious roadmap towards climate neutrality by 2050 and the adoption of a circular economy. Functional AgroBiodiversity (FAB) measures, which balance food production with minimised impacts on nature, are a promising way to achieve this on farmland. Here, we undertake a rapid evidence assessment to highlight Functional Agro-Biodiversity (FAB) management measures which help to realise biodiversity, climate neutrality, efficiency in use of natural resources and the circular economy. We report evidence on the effectiveness of 10 common FAB measures employed in Europe following a resurgence of interest and increased availability of data on their impact. The review found that the outcomes of implementing FAB measures were largely positive, with a number of mixed effects. There are evidence gaps, e.g., the impact of FAB measures on yield, the magnitude and timescale of impacts, the effect of landscape context. We signpost the most relevant and well-documented FAB measures, providing a reference for land managers and practitioners to select FAB measures to achieve specific ecological and agricultural outcomes. It is also important to note that a combination of measures implemented in a strategic way can enhance the output success.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindsay C. Maskell & Alan Radbourne & Lisa R. Norton & Sabine Reinsch & Jamie Alison & Liz Bowles & Katrien Geudens & David A. Robinson, 2023. "Functional Agro-Biodiversity: An Evaluation of Current Approaches and Outcomes," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:11:p:2078-:d:1283025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/11/2078/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/11/2078/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harper, Jayson K. & Roth, Gregory W. & Garalejić, Bogdan & Škrbić, Nikola, 2018. "Programs to promote adoption of conservation tillage: A Serbian case study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 295-302.
    2. Christoph Scherber & Nico Eisenhauer & Wolfgang W. Weisser & Bernhard Schmid & Winfried Voigt & Markus Fischer & Ernst-Detlef Schulze & Christiane Roscher & Alexandra Weigelt & Eric Allan & Holger Beß, 2010. "Bottom-up effects of plant diversity on multitrophic interactions in a biodiversity experiment," Nature, Nature, vol. 468(7323), pages 553-556, November.
    3. Cameron M. Pittelkow & Xinqiang Liang & Bruce A. Linquist & Kees Jan van Groenigen & Juhwan Lee & Mark E. Lundy & Natasja van Gestel & Johan Six & Rodney T. Venterea & Chris van Kessel, 2015. "Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture," Nature, Nature, vol. 517(7534), pages 365-368, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiang Li & Wenhao Hu & Zhenrong Yu, 2021. "Importance of Soil Organic Matter and the Species Pool for Local Species Richness in Montane Ecosystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Dániel Fróna & János Szenderák & Mónika Harangi-Rákos, 2019. "The Challenge of Feeding the World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Peipei Yang & Wenxu Dong & Marius Heinen & Wei Qin & Oene Oenema, 2022. "Soil Compaction Prevention, Amelioration and Alleviation Measures Are Effective in Mechanized and Smallholder Agriculture: A Meta-Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Wondimagegn Tesfaye & Garrick Blalock & Nyasha Tirivayi, 2021. "Climate‐Smart Innovations and Rural Poverty in Ethiopia: Exploring Impacts and Pathways," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 878-899, May.
    5. Lulin Shen & Fang Wang, 2024. "Can Market-Oriented Allocation of Land Factors Promote the Adoption of Cropland Quality Protection Behaviors by Farmers: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.
    6. Lalani, Baqir & Aminpour, Payam & Gray, Steven & Williams, Meredith & Büchi, Lucie & Haggar, Jeremy & Grabowski, Philip & Dambiro, José, 2021. "Mapping farmer perceptions, Conservation Agriculture practices and on-farm measurements: The role of systems thinking in the process of adoption," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    7. Kumara, T.M. Kiran & Kandpal, Ankita & Pal, Suresh, 2019. "Determinants and Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in South Asia: A Meta-Analysis of the Evidences," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 74(03), March.
    8. Dardonville, Manon & Legrand, Baptiste & Clivot, Hugues & Bernardin, Claire & Bockstaller, Christian & Therond, Olivier, 2022. "Assessment of ecosystem services and natural capital dynamics in agroecosystems," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    9. Adam M. Komarek, 2018. "Conservation agriculture in western China increases productivity and profits without decreasing resilience," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1251-1262, October.
    10. Haowei Ni & Han Hu & Constantin M. Zohner & Weigen Huang & Ji Chen & Yishen Sun & Jixian Ding & Jizhong Zhou & Xiaoyuan Yan & Jiabao Zhang & Yuting Liang & Thomas W. Crowther, 2024. "Effects of winter soil warming on crop biomass carbon loss from organic matter degradation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Somasundaram Jayaraman & Yash P. Dang & Anandkumar Naorem & Kathryn L. Page & Ram C. Dalal, 2021. "Conservation Agriculture as a System to Enhance Ecosystem Services," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-14, July.
    12. Angelos Amyntas & Nico Eisenhauer & Stefan Scheu & Bernhard Klarner & Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec & Anna-Maria Madaj & Benoit Gauzens & Jingyi Li & Anton M. Potapov & Benjamin Rosenbaum & Leonardo Bassi, 2024. "Soil community history strengthens belowground multitrophic functioning across plant diversity levels in a grassland experiment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    13. Yang, Xuan & Zheng, Lina & Yang, Qian & Wang, Zikui & Cui, Song & Shen, Yuying, 2018. "Modelling the effects of conservation tillage on crop water productivity, soil water dynamics and evapotranspiration of a maize-winter wheat-soybean rotation system on the Loess Plateau of China using," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 111-123.
    14. Xiaolin Guo & Guanming Shi & Linyi Zheng & Wenrong Qian, 2022. "How Does the Land Rental Market Participation Affect Household Efficiency? Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Barbieri, Pietro & Starck, Thomas & Voisin, Anne-Sophie & Nesme, Thomas, 2023. "Biological nitrogen fixation of legumes crops under organic farming as driven by cropping management: A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    16. Yan Zhang & Ji Zhao & Hongyuan Wang & Huancheng Pang, 2023. "Pelletized Straw Incorporation in Sandy Soil Increases Soil Aggregate Stability, Soil Carbon, and Nitrogen Stocks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    17. Raymond Mugandani & Liboster Mwadzingeni & Paramu Mafongoya, 2021. "Contribution of Conservation Agriculture to Soil Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-11, September.
    18. Christian Thierfelder & Pauline Chivenge & Walter Mupangwa & Todd S. Rosenstock & Christine Lamanna & Joseph X. Eyre, 2017. "How climate-smart is conservation agriculture (CA)? – its potential to deliver on adaptation, mitigation and productivity on smallholder farms in southern Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 537-560, June.
    19. Adjognon,Guigonan Serge & Nguyen Huy,Tung & Guthoff,Jonas Christoph & van Soest,Daan, 2022. "Incentivizing Social Learning for the Diffusion of Climate-Smart Agricultural Techniques," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10041, The World Bank.
    20. Ruiz-Espinosa, Laura I. & Verhulst, Nele & van Ogtrop, Floris & Cross, Rebecca & Govaerts, Bram & van Rees, Harm & Trethowan, Richard, 2024. "Quantifying the adoption of conservation agriculture: Development and application of the Conservation Agriculture Appraisal Index," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:11:p:2078-:d:1283025. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.