| 1. |
- Angelstam, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence-Based Knowledge Versus Negotiated Indicators for Assessment of Ecological Sustainability : The Swedish Forest Stewardship Council Standard as a Case Study
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 42:2, s. 229-240
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assessing ecological sustainability involves monitoring of indicators and comparison of their states with performance targets that are deemed sustainable. First, a normative model was developed centered on evidence-based knowledge about (a) forest composition, structure, and function at multiple scales, and (b) performance targets derived by quantifying the habitat amount in naturally dynamic forests, and as required for presence of populations of specialized focal species. Second, we compared the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification standards' ecological indicators from 1998 and 2010 in Sweden to the normative model using a Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic, and Timebound (SMART) indicator approach. Indicator variables and targets for riparian and aquatic ecosystems were clearly under-represented compared to terrestrial ones. FSC's ecological indicators expanded over time from composition and structure towards function, and from finer to coarser spatial scales. However, SMART indicators were few. Moreover, they poorly reflected quantitative evidence-based knowledge, a consequence of the fact that forest certification mirrors the outcome of a complex social negotiation process.
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| 2. |
- Bengtsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Agricultural intensification and biodiversity partitioning in European landscapes comparing plants, carabids, and birds
- 2011
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Ingår i: Ecological Applications. - : Wiley. - 1051-0761 .- 1939-5582. ; 21, s. 1772-1781
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effects of agricultural intensification (AI) on biodiversity are often assessed on the plot scale, although processes determining diversity also operate on larger spatial scales. Here, we analyzed the diversity of vascular plants, carabid beetles, and birds in agricultural landscapes in cereal crop fields at the field (n = 1350), farm (n = 270), and European-region (n = 9) scale. We partitioned diversity into its additive components alpha, beta, and gamma, and assessed the relative contribution of beta diversity to total species richness at each spatial scale. AI was determined using pesticide and fertilizer inputs, as well as tillage operations and categorized into low, medium, and high levels. As AI was not significantly related to landscape complexity, we could disentangle potential AI effects on local vs. landscape community homogenization. AI negatively affected the species richness of plants and birds, but not carabid beetles, at all spatial scales. Hence, local AI was closely correlated to beta diversity on larger scales up to the farm and region level, and thereby was an indicator of farm-and region-wide biodiversity losses. At the scale of farms (12.83-20.52%) and regions (68.34-80.18%), beta diversity accounted for the major part of the total species richness for all three taxa, indicating great dissimilarity in environmental conditions on larger spatial scales. For plants, relative importance of alpha diversity decreased with AI, while relative importance of beta diversity on the farm scale increased with AI for carabids and birds. Hence, and in contrast to our expectations, AI does not necessarily homogenize local communities, presumably due to the heterogeneity of farming practices. In conclusion, a more detailed understanding of AI effects on diversity patterns of various taxa and at multiple spatial scales would contribute to more efficient agri-environmental schemes in agroecosystems.
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| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Persistent negative effects of pesticides on biodiversity and biological control potential on European farmland
- 2010
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Ingår i: Basic and Applied Ecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1439-1791 .- 1618-0089. ; 11, s. 97-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the last 50 years, agricultural intensification has caused many wild plant and animal species to go extinct regionally or nationally and has profoundly changed the functioning of agro-ecosystems. Agricultural intensification has many components, such as loss of landscape elements, enlarged farm and field sizes and larger inputs of fertilizer and pesticides. However, very little is known about the relative contribution of these variables to the large-scale negative effects on biodiversity. In this study, we disentangled the impacts of various components of agricultural intensification on species diversity of wild plants, carabids and ground-nesting farmland birds and on the biological control of aphids.In a Europe-wide study in eight West and East European countries, we found important negative effects of agricultural intensification on wild plant, carabid and bird species diversity and on the potential for biological pest control, as estimated from the number of aphids taken by predators. Of the 13 components of intensification we measured, use of insecticides and fungicides had consistent negative effects on biodiversity. Insecticides also reduced the biological control potential. Organic farming and other agri-environment schemes aiming to mitigate the negative effects of intensive farming on biodiversity did increase the diversity of wild plant and carabid species, but - contrary to our expectations - not the diversity of breeding birds.We conclude that despite decades of European policy to ban harmful pesticides, the negative effects of pesticides on wild plant and animal species persist, at the same time reducing the opportunities for biological pest control. If biodiversity is to be restored in Europe and opportunities are to be created for crop production utilizing biodiversity-based ecosystem services such as biological pest control, there must be a Europe-wide shift towards farming with minimal use of pesticides over large areas. (C) 2009 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier Gmbh. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Bengtsson, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Taxonomic and functional diversity of farmland bird communities across Europe: effects of biogeography and agricultural intensification
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biodiversity and Conservation. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0960-3115 .- 1572-9710. ; 20, s. 3663-3681
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In eight European study sites (in Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Estonia and Sweden), abundance of breeding farmland bird territories was obtained from 500 x 500 m survey plots (30 per area, N = 240) using the mapping method. Two analyses were performed: (I) a Canonical Correspondence Analysis of species abundance in relation to geographical location and variables measuring agricultural intensification at field and farm level to identify significant intensification variables and to estimate the fractions of total variance in bird abundance explained by geography and agricultural intensification; (II) several taxonomic and functional community indices were built and analysed using GLM in relation to the intensification variables found significant in the CCA. The geographical location of study sites alone explains nearly one fifth (19.5%) of total variation in species abundance. The fraction of variance explained by agricultural intensification alone is much smaller (4.3%), although significant. The intersection explains nearly two fifths (37.8%) of variance in species abundance. Community indices are negatively affected by correlates of intensification like farm size and yield, whereas correlates of habitat availability and quality have positive effects on taxonomic and functional diversity of assemblages. Most of the purely geographical variation in farmland bird assemblage composition is associated to Mediterranean steppe species, reflecting the bio-geographical singularity of that assemblage and reinforcing the need to preserve this community. Taxonomic and functional diversity of farmland bird communities are negatively affected by agricultural intensification and positively affected by increasing farmland habitat availability and quality.
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| 5. |
- Eggers, Sönke, et al.
(författare)
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Autumn-sowing of cereals reduces breeding bird numbers in a heterogeneous agricultural landscape
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207 .- 1873-2917. ; 144, s. 1137-1144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The switch from spring-sown to autumn-sown cereals and the loss of habitat heterogeneity are often suggested to be key drivers of breeding bird decline on arable farmland. Yet, both factors are interlinked and it remains uncertain whether autumn-sown cereals reduce breeding bird numbers also in the structurally complex arable farmland of northern Europe. We tested whether autumn-sowing of cereals at both local and landscape scales affected the breeding bird community in a heterogeneous agricultural landscape of south-central Sweden. Rotation between sowing types was used as a semi-experiment based on 34 spring- vs. 41 autumn-sown cereal plots centred on infield non-crop islands of similar structure, size and surroundings. Species richness and territory abundance of ground-foraging species were significantly lower in autumn- than in spring-sown cereal plots both in the crop fields and the infield non-crop islands during the breeding season. No such effect was observed among foliage gleaning birds. Species richness in spring-sown cereal plots was less the more autumn-sown crops in the surrounding landscape within a 500 m radius. Average skylark densities did not differ between autumn- and spring-sown cereal plots because habitat preferences changed; densities declined in autumn-sown cereals during the growing season whereas they increased on spring-sown fields which had shorter swards throughout the breeding season. Our results indicate that negative effects of autumn-sown crops on breeding bird numbers spill over into both neighbouring non-crop and crop habitats. We conclude that agri-environmental schemes should place more emphasis on facilitating the value of the cropped area of fields as a foraging and nesting habitat. The retention of various non-crop habitats alone may not provide sufficient food close to nest sites for farmland birds that rely on crop fields for foraging. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Eggers, Sönke, et al.
(författare)
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Differential demographic responses of sympatric Parids to vegetation management in boreal forest
- 2014
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 319, s. 169-175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large-scale removal of small-diameter trees (i.e. thinning from below) in boreal forest can diminish niche diversity for birds that rely on a well-developed understory for nesting and foraging. Yet, few studies have examined how reduced niche diversity in managed forests affects fitness measures in closely-related species and the ability of competing species to co-exist. We related forest thinning to population trends of the willow tit Poecile montana (declining) and its dominant competitor the crested tit Lophophanes cristatus (stable), and conducted a 3-year comparative study to determine how variation in understory spruce density differentially influences survival and reproduction in these species. In line with our prediction that crested tits would gain resource priority under conditions of reduced forest understory complexity, willow tits and their nestlings suffered a disproportionate decline in both nest and adult survival prospects relative to crested tits as understoiy spruce density declined. Willow tits also had increased numbers of tail feather fault bars with decreasing understory complexity, further supporting the idea that willow tits suffer from food shortage and increased predation risk in areas of reduced understory. The long-term population declines of willow tits in boreal forest appears linked to large scale harvest of small-diameter spruce trees that provide important understory vegetation. A patchy arrangement of different thinning treatments through 'Understory Retention Thinning' (URT) may provide a cost-effective way to restore long-term structural complexity and biodiversity in densely stocked conifer stands. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Eggers, Sönke, et al.
(författare)
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Landscape composition influences farm management effects on farmland birds in winter: A pan-European approach
- 2010
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 139, s. 571-577
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examined the effects of agricultural intensity, various farming practices, landscape composition and vegetation cover on the abundance and species richness of wintering farmland birds, assessed simultaneously across seven European regions.The abundance and species richness of wintering farmland birds were negatively affected by agricultural intensity. The effects of yield and farm type were interlinked. Of the 10 farming practices assessed, mechanical weeding and the amount of organic fertilizer applied negatively affected farmland birds, presumably due to reduced food availability on arable fields. Positive effects of organic farming on farmland birds proved to be limited to simplified landscapes. More farmland birds were observed in areas with more stubble, pasture and green manure crops. Species richness was higher in areas with more pasture.The results of this study show that farm management, vegetation cover and landscape composition all influence wintering farmland birds. Heterogeneous landscapes comprising arable crops as well as grasslands support most species of farmland birds in winter. The effectiveness of organic farming and agri-environment schemes depends on landscape composition. Therefore, different agri-environment schemes should be designed for different landscape types. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Hiron, Matthew, et al.
(författare)
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Are farmsteads over-looked biodiversity hotspots in intensive agricultural ecosystems?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207 .- 1873-2917. ; 159, s. 332-342
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Farmland biodiversity continues to decline because changes in modern agriculture have led to the degradation and loss of key habitats. One farmland habitat that has received little attention during development of conservation measures is farmsteads. We use bird count data from a survey conducted at over 600 sites in 3725 km(2) agricultural landscapes in southern Sweden to investigate the importance of farmsteads as potential sources of biodiversity in simplified landscapes. We found that farmsteads, on average, had more bird species and individuals than semi-natural pastures and infield infield non-crop islands, probably due to a larger area of non-field habitats at farmstead sites. Presence of farm animals was an important predictor of bird diversity and numbers at farmsteads while variables associated with arable land-use intensification had limited effect. Old farmsteads with no current active farming, on average, had low bird numbers. We found no effect of agricultural intensification at the landscape level on alpha diversity at farmstead sites. Rather, species richness and abundance of birds tended to increase as landscapes became characterized by more intensive agriculture with larger fields. Farmsteads are widespread in simplified agricultural landscapes and may provide habitat to a range of farmland species. Applying conservation measures to farmsteads and local surroundings that increase the availability of safe nest-sites and good foraging grounds for birds could be implemented through publicity driven schemes. This combined with other agri-environment schemes in the surrounding landscape could enhance the amount of critical resources for farmland birds. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Josefsson, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Grass buffer strips benefit invertebrate and breeding skylark numbers in a heterogeneous agricultural landscape
- 2013
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8809 .- 1873-2305. ; 181, s. 101-107
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The loss of non-crop habitat is often suggested to be a key driver of biodiversity decline on arable land. Grass buffer strips on cereal field edges, to reduce erosion and agro-chemical runoff into surface water, could be useful to mitigate this diversity loss as they are often assumed to provide refuge and food for invertebrates, small mammals and birds. Evidence for this idea is, however, scarce and it remains unclear whether densely vegetated buffer strips benefit biodiversity in structurally complex landscapes of North- ern Europe. Here, we examined whether buffer strips affected breeding skylark Alauda avensis numbers and its main food supply (i.e. beetles Coleoptera and spiders Arachnida) on cereal fields in a heteroge- neous agricultural landscape of south-central Sweden. We also examined whether buffer strip effects on skylark density depended on seasonal sward height differences between sowing regimes (spring- vs. autumn-sown) as they presumably influence seasonal invertebrate accessibility. Fields with buffer strips supported on average 0.51 ± 0.26 more skylark territories per hectare up to 100 m into the field and boosted invertebrate activity densities compared to fields without buffer strips. These effects were most apparent early in spring, but persisted throughout the sampling period, and were similar among spring and autumn sown fields. Thus, our results provide evidence to suggest that buffer strips target multiple environmental objectives on cereal fields in heterogeneous farmland. Future research should work to identify buffer strip management practices that further increase their value to biodiversity at the local scale, and investigate how they affect farmland biodiversity in different landscape types at larger spatial scales for more efficient implementation across Europe.
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| 12. |
- Low, Matthew, et al.
(författare)
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Habitat-specific differences in adult survival rates and its links to parental workload and on-nest predation
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 79, s. 214-224
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- P>1. Adult survival rates strongly affect population growth, but few studies have quantified if and why adult survival differs between breeding habitats. We investigated potential causes of habitat-specific adult survival rates for male and female northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe L.) breeding in Swedish farmland.2. We used multistate mark-recapture models based on 1263 breeding records between 1993 and 2007 to estimate survival rates based on habitat-type (SHORT vs. TALL ground vegetation) and breeding-success state parameters. We also used breeding-season observations from 2002 to 2007 and an experimental manipulation of ground vegetation height to identify factors influencing adult mortality.3. Females had lower annual survival than males (0 center dot 42 +/- 0 center dot 02 vs. 0 center dot 50 +/- 0 center dot 02); this difference largely resulted from low female survival in TALL habitats because of higher nest-predation risk and the large proportion of adult females being killed on the nest (> 20%) during nest predation events.4. Among successful breeders, both sexes displayed similar survival rates, but survival was lower for breeders in TALL as compared to SHORT habitats (0 center dot 43 +/- 0 center dot 03 vs. 0 center dot 51 +/- 0 center dot 02). Experimental manipulation of ground vegetation height, controlling for individual and territory quality (n = 132), suggested the cost of rearing young to be higher in TALL habitats (survival of successful breeders in TALL vs. SHORT; 0 center dot 43 +/- 0 center dot 11 vs. 0 center dot 57 +/- 0 center dot 05).5. Detailed observations of food provisioning behaviour during chick rearing revealed a habitat-related difference in parental workload corresponding to the observed habitat differences in adult survival for successful breeders. Adults breeding in TALL habitats were forced to forage further from the nest relative to SHORT-habitat breeders (mean +/- SE; 69 +/- 10 vs. 21 +/- 2 m), which increased the estimated daily workload for adults in TALL vs. SHORT habitats by c. 20%.6. On-nest predation and parental workload during chick rearing combine to largely explain habitat-specific adult survival rates. The results have implications for our understanding of adult sex ratios, causes of source-sink demography and habitat-specific growth rates. Furthermore, it suggests SHORT field margins and other residual habitat elements to be important for the conservation of farmland passerines breeding in cropland plains.
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| 13. |
- Mikusinski, Grzegorz, et al.
(författare)
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Pippi på Nepal
- 2013
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Ingår i: Resurs (Uppsala). - 1653-2058. ; , s. 3-
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 14. |
- Nystrand, Magdalena, et al.
(författare)
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Habitat-specific demography and source-sink dynamics in a population of Siberian jays
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 79:1, s. 266-274
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are a number of models describing population structure, many of which have the capacity to incorporate spatial habitat effects. One such model is the source-sink model, that describes a system where some habitats have a natality that is higher than mortality (source) and others have a mortality that exceeds natality (sink). A source can be maintained in the absence of migration, whereas a sink will go extinct. 2. However, the interaction between population dynamics and habitat quality is complex, and concerns have been raised about the validity of published empirical studies addressing source-sink dynamics. In particular, some of these studies fail to provide data on survival, a significant component in disentangling a sink from a low quality source. Moreover, failing to account for a density-dependent increase in mortality, or decrease in fecundity, can result in a territory being falsely assigned as a sink, when in fact, this density-dependent suppression only decreases the population size to a lower level, hence indicating a 'pseudo-sink'. 3. In this study, we investigate a long-term data set for key components of territory-specific demography (mortality and reproduction) and their relationship to habitat characteristics in the territorial, group-living Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus). We also assess territory-specific population growth rates (r), to test whether spatial population dynamics are consistent with the ideas of source-sink dynamics. 4. Although average mortality did not differ between sexes, habitat-specific mortality did. Female mortality was higher in older forests, a pattern not observed in males. Male mortality only increased with an increasing amount of open areas. Moreover, reproductive success was higher further away from human settlement, indicating a strong effect of human-associated nest predators. 5. Averaged over all years, 76% of the territories were sources. These territories generally consisted of less open areas, and were located further away from human settlement. 6. The source-sink model provides a tool for modelling demography in distinct habitat patches of different quality, which can aid in identifying key habitats within the landscape, and thus, reduce the risk of implementing unsound management decisions.
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| 15. |
- Winqvist, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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Mixed effects of organic farming and landscape complexity on farmland biodiversity and biological control potential across Europe
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664. ; 48, s. 570-579
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 5. Synthesis and applications. This Europe-wide study shows that organic farming enhanced the biodiversity of plants and birds in all landscapes, but only improved the potential for biological control in heterogeneous landscapes. These mixed results stress the importance of taking both local management and regional landscape complexity into consideration when developing future agri-environment schemes, and suggest that local-regional interactions may affect other ecosystem services and functions. This study also shows that it is not enough to design and monitor agri-environment schemes on the basis of biodiversity, but that ecosystem services should be considered too.
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