Reconciling food, fiber and energy production with biodiversity conservation is among the greatest challenges of the century, especially in the face of climate change. Model-based scenarios linking climate, land use and biodiversity can be exceptionally useful tools for decision support in this context. We present a modeling framework that links climate projections, private land use decisions including farming, forest and urban uses and the abundances of common birds as an indicator of biodiversity. Our major innovation is to simultaneously integrate the direct impacts of climate change and land use on biodiversity as well as indirect impacts mediated by climate change effects on land use, all at very fine spatial resolution. In addition, our framework can be used to evaluate incentive-based conservation policies in terms of land use and biodiversity over several decades. The results for our case study in France indicate that the projected effects of climate change dominate the effects of land use on bird abundances. As a conservation policy, implementing a spatially uniform payment for pastures has a positive effect in relatively few locations and only on the least vulnerable bird species.

The “land sharing versus land sparing” concept provides a framework for comparing potential land use patterns in terms of trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and agricultural yields at a landscape scale. Here, we raise two additional aspects to be considered in the sparing/sharing debate, supported by a review of available literature. First, beta and gamma (instead of alpha) diversity measures capture landscape scale variance in biodiversity in response to land use changes and should be considered for the long-term management of agricultural landscapes. Moreover, beta and gamma diversity may better account for comparisons of biodiversity between spared and shared land use options. Second, land use history has a pronounced influence on the complexity and variance in agricultural habitat niches at a landscape scale, which in turn may determine the relevance of sparing or sharing land use options. Appropriate and comparable biodiversity metrics and the recognition of landscape history are two vital preconditions in aligning biological conservation goals with maximized yields within the sparing/sharing framework.

International audience | Forestry plantations represent about 4 % of the global land cover and demand for wood is steadily increasing worldwide. Impacts of forest plantations on biodiversity are controversial; forest plantations could positively influence biodiversity by producing a buffer zone between native forests and agriculture, while replacement of native forests with plantations could reduce biodiversity. Chile is one of the main producers of wood worldwide, and production is largely based on intensively managed monocultures of exotic tree species. Only a few studies have looked at the effects of forestry plantations on biodiversity in Chile, mainly focusing on pine plantations. The aim of this study was to characterize habitat use and richness of bats between native forests, eucalyptus plantations and grasslands in a biodiversity hotspot in southern Chile to determine how land use affects an important mammalian taxa. We found no difference in use or richness of bats in eucalyptus plantations versus native forests. Regional context within the larger Valdivian watershed (Andes, central valley, coastal range) had a stronger influence on bat activity and richness than land use type (native forest, plantation, grassland), with the Andean region being the most diverse and where most bat activity is concentrated. Our results suggest that the composition and structure of the surrounding landscape mosaic may be fundamental to determine the impacts of forestry and human land use on biodiversity.

PURPOSE: Halting the loss of biodiversity while providing food security for a growing and prospering world population is a challenge. One possible solution to this dilemma is organic agriculture, which is expected to enhance biodiversity on the farmland. However, organic products often require larger areas. This study demonstrates how we can quantify and compare the direct land use impacts on biodiversity of organic and conventional food products such as milk. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study assessed direct land use impacts of 1 l of milk leaving the farm gate. Inventory data on land occupation were extracted from a life cycle assessment study of 15 farms in southern Sweden. Direct land use change data were derived from the FAO statistical database. Spatially differentiated characterization factors of occupation (CFOcc) and transformation (CFTᵣₐₙₛ) were calculated based on the relative difference of plant species richness on agricultural land compared to a (semi) natural regional reference. Data on plant species richness and regeneration times of ecosystems (for calculating transformation impacts) were derived from a literature review. To account for differences in biodiversity value between regions, a weighting system based on absolute species richness, vulnerability and irreplaceability was applied. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Organic milk had a lower direct land use impact than conventional milk, although it required about double the area. Occupation impacts dominated the results and were much smaller for organic than conventional milk, as CFOccof organic land uses were considerably smaller. For transformation impacts, differences between the two farming practices were even more pronounced. The highest impacts were caused by soymeal in concentrate feeds (conventional milk) due to large-scale deforestation in its country of cultivation (i.e. Brazil and Argentina). However, lack of reliable data posed a challenge in the assessment of transformation impacts. Overall, results were highly sensitive to differences in land occupation area between farms, the CFOccand assumptions concerning transformed area. Sensitivity and robustness of results were tested and are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Although organic milk required about twice as much land as conventional, it still had lower direct land use impacts on biodiversity. This highlights the importance of assessing land use impacts not only based on area but also considering the actual impacts on biodiversity. The presented approach allows to quantify and compare hot- and coldspots in the agricultural stage of milk production and could potentially also be applied to other agricultural products. However, more research is needed to allow quantification of indirect land use impacts.

Land use decisions are central to both biodiversity conservation and rural development goals at local, national and international levels. Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs), now common in Southern Africa, present an opportunity to address these goals simultaneously. This paper proposes a theoretical spatial land allocation model that enables analysis of alternative scenarios for realising rural development and biodiversity conservation within TFCAs. The model includes socioeconomic and ecological factors such as income, fencing, connectivity, predation and disease costs and allows for clarification of opportunities and tradeoffs in land use. The model demonstrates alternative spatial options for diversification in land use, whilst accommodating the connectivity requirements and endogenous effects of wildlife on other land uses. The model is illustrated using several scenarios which include changes in key parameters, and limitations on total land allocated per land use. Illustrated scenarios show that land allocated to different land uses varies with output prices and costs such as fencing and wildlife damages, resulting in different spatial land use allocations. In addition, total revenue also changes when limitations are placed on land allocated to wildlife and tourism uses. The model can be used to reconcile interests where conservation and agricultural development activities compete for land.

The earth is facing a worldwide decline in biodiversity, with land-use change identified as one of the most important drivers. There is evidence that the loss of diversity has a significant impact on ecosystem functioning. Earlier research focused on species richness, but more recent, functional and phylogenetic diversity came into the picture as the stronger determinants of ecosystem processes. The effects of increasing land-use intensity on functional (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD), however, are still poorly understood. We studied how FD and PD are affected by land-use intensity in temperate plant communities. Our results show that land-use intensity has a clear impact on species richness, but also affects functional and phylogenetic diversity. Intensive agricultural areas fail to support high and sustainable levels of functional and phylogenetic diversity. These results highlight the need for the protection of biodiversity in nature reserves and the conservation of areas with extensive agricultural practices. Because species richness may influence the measures of functional and phylogenetic diversity, we compared the observed FD and PD values with random values generated with a matrix-swap null model. The observed discrepancy between species loss and the loss of FD and PD calls for an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation, in which the different components of biodiversity are considered together.

SPE ECOLDUR | National audience | Bacteria contribute the largest proportion of the soil genetic pool, and along with other soil organisms are thought to be key drivers of various biogeochemical cycles. There is therefore widespread scientific interest in how bacterial biodiversity is affected by land use change and how this affects soil functionality and ecosystem services. From a policy perspective also, there is a need to provide relevant indicators of change in soils so as to establish target criteria to assess soil degradation and the efficacy of mitigation procedures. This talk will discuss results from over one hundred local land use transitions on soil biodiversity and soil properties, using datasets from both large scale soil biodiversity surveys such as the UK Countryside Survey, and more recent targeted sampling within the EU funded EcoFINDERS project and other UK initiatives. We firstly show that bacterial communities are a particularly sensitive component of soil biodiversity for use as indicators of change in soils. Secondly we illustrate that bacterial communities in bulk soils are strongly driven by soil parameters, and that this knowledge of broad biodiversity gradients from large scale surveys can be used to predict and explain change within local land use transitions. In particular we show that the magnitude of variation in bacterial biodiversity is related to the specific land use transition context, and also relates to the relative change in soil parameters such as pH and organic matter. Finally we will discuss the results in terms of specific bacterial indicators of change, and demonstrate that similar bacterial taxa can be indicators of either intensively managed or pristine soils depending upon the specific context of the land use transition with respect to the wider soil biodiversity physical-chemical gradient.

Bacteria contribute the largest proportion of the soil genetic pool, and along with other soil organisms are thought to be key drivers of various biogeochemical cycles. There is therefore widespread scientific interest in how bacterial biodiversity is affected by land use change and how this affects soil functionality and ecosystem services. From a policy perspective also, there is a need to provide relevant indicators of change in soils so as to establish target criteria to assess soil degradation and the efficacy of mitigation procedures. This talk will discuss results from over one hundred local land use transitions on soil biodiversity and soil properties, using datasets from both large scale soil biodiversity surveys such as the UK Countryside Survey, and more recent targeted sampling within the EU funded EcoFINDERS project and other UK initiatives. We firstly show that bacterial communities are a particularly sensitive component of soil biodiversity for use as indicators of change in soils. Secondly we illustrate that bacterial communities in bulk soils are strongly driven by soil parameters, and that this knowledge of broad biodiversity gradients from large scale surveys can be used to predict and explain change within local land use transitions. In particular we show that the magnitude of variation in bacterial biodiversity is related to the specific land use transition context, and also relates to the relative change in soil parameters such as pH and organic matter. Finally we will discuss the results in terms of specific bacterial indicators of change, and demonstrate that similar bacterial taxa can be indicators of either intensively managed or pristine soils depending upon the specific context of the land use transition with respect to the wider soil biodiversity physical-chemical gradient.