0000000001004152
AUTHOR
Rémi Duflot
Natural enemies emerging in cereal fields in spring may contribute to biological control
1.Biological pest control is known to depend on landscape heterogeneity. However, such relationship shows irregular pattern and seems influenced by local farming practices and natural enemies that overwinter within crop fields. The objective of this study was to assess the contribution of emerging natural enemies in spring to biological control, and their response to the interaction between landscape heterogeneity and farming intensity. 2.We monitored the overwintering insect community using emergence traps and measured the local potential pest predation using prey cards in 30 cereal fields, in spring in France. Study fields were selected along a landscape heterogeneity gradient and farming…
Management diversity begets biodiversity in production forest landscapes
How to manage forest for biodiversity conservation is an ongoing debate. We argue that maximizing biodiversity in managed forest landscapes requires a diversity of forest management regimes in space and time. This will generate high levels of habitat heterogeneity at a landscape scale, which in turn will support various groups of forest species. Based on concepts from landscape ecology, we formulate five hypotheses on how management diversity, i.e. combining various management approaches can benefit overall biodiversity across a production forest landscape. First, management diversity will increase habitat diversity and, therefore, beta diversity (the habitat diversity hypothesis). Second, …
Farming intensity indirectly reduces crop yield through negative effects on agrobiodiversity and key ecological functions
International audience; Farming intensity and landscape heterogeneity influence agrobiodiversity and associated ecological functions. The relative contributions of these agroecosystem components to agricultural production remain unclear because of inter-relations and weather-dependant variations. Using a structural equation modelling approach, we estimated direct and indirect contributions of farming intensity (soil management, pesticide use and fertilisation) and landscape heterogeneity (of semi-natural covers and crop mosaic) to cereal crop production, in 54 fields (mostly wheat), in two years (24 and 30 fields). Indirect effects were evaluated through agrobiodiversity (carabid and plant …
The interplay of landscape composition and configuration: new pathways to manage functional biodiversity and agroecosystem services across Europe
Managing agricultural landscapes to support biodiversity and ecosystem services is a key aim of a sustainable agriculture. However, how the spatial arrangement of crop fields and other habitats in landscapes impacts arthropods and their functions is poorly known. Synthesising data from 49 studies (1515 landscapes) across Europe, we examined effects of landscape composition (% habitats) and configuration (edge density) on arthropods in fields and their margins, pest control, pollination and yields. Configuration effects interacted with the proportions of crop and non-crop habitats, and species’ dietary, dispersal and overwintering traits led to contrasting responses to landscape variables. O…
Comparison of methods to model species habitat networks for decision-making in nature conservation : the case of the wildcat in southern Belgium
Facing the loss of biodiversity caused by landscape fragmentation, implementation of ecological networks to connect habitats is an important biodiversity conservation issue. It is necessary to develop easily reproducible methods to identify and prioritize actions to maintain or restore ecological corridors. To date, several competing methods are used with recurrent debate on which is best and if expert-based approaches can replace data-driven models. We compared three methods: knowledge-driven (expert based), data-driven (based on species distribution model), and a mixed approach. We quantified their differences in habitat and corridor mapping, and prioritizations of landscape elements in t…
Enhancing Resilience of Boreal Forests Through Management Under Global Change: a Review
Abstract Purpose of Review Boreal forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services that are important to society. The boreal biome is experiencing the highest rates of warming on the planet and increasing demand for forest products. Here, we review how changes in climate and its associated extreme events (e.g., windstorms) are putting at risk the capacity of these forests to continue providing ecosystem services. We further analyze the role of forest management to increase forest resilience to the combined effects of climate change and extreme events. Recent Findings Enhancing forest resilience recently gained a lot of interest from theoretical perspective. Yet, it remains unclear how to …
Environmental mitigation hierarchy and biodiversity offsets revisited through habitat connectivity modelling.
International audience; Biodiversity loss is accelerating because of unceasing human activity and land clearing for development projects (urbanisation, transport infrastructure, mining and quarrying …). Environmental policy-makers and managers in different countries worldwide have proposed the mitigation hierarchy to ensure the goal of “no net loss (NNL) of biodiversity” and have included this principle in environmental impact assessment processes. However, spatial configuration is hardly ever taken into account in the mitigation hierarchy even though it would greatly benefit from recent developments in habitat connectivity modelling incorporating landscape graphs. Meanwhile, national, Euro…
More wood but less biodiversity in forests in Finland: a historical evaluation
National forest inventories (NFI) in Finland provide empirical evidence for a marked increase in tree growth, total forest area, and total timber volume over the past century. Meanwhile, the assessments of threatened forest species and habitats indicate continuous degradation of biodiversity in Finnish forests. To shed light on this seeming paradox, we summarized the temporal patterns of forest characteristics (indicators) that have major influence on biodiversity, comparing the structure of current Finnish forests with natural and historical references. Using a variety of data sources, we estimated the proportion of area of old-growth forest and of deciduous-dominated forests, the density …
Building up an ecologically sustainable and socially desirable post-COVID-19 future
AbstractCOVID-19 crisis has emphasized how poorly prepared humanity is to cope with global disasters. However, this crisis also offers a unique opportunity to move towards a more sustainable and equitable future. Here, we identify the underlying environmental, social, and economic chronic causes of the COVID-19 crisis. We argue in favour of a holistic view to initiate a socio-economic transition to improve the prospects for global sustainability and human well-being. Alternative approaches to “Business-As-Usual” for guiding the transition are already available for implementation. Yet, to ensure a successful and just transition, we need to change our priorities towards environmental integrit…
High boreal forest multifunctionality requires continuous cover forestry as a dominant management
Intensive extraction of forest resources lowers biodiversity and endangers the functioning of forest ecosystems. As such, alternative management regimes have emerged, aspiring to promote forest biodiversity and nature protection in managed forests. Among them, continuous cover forestry, (i.e. selective logging), has received considerable attention and is being promoted by some researchers and NGOs. Yet, the full consequences of banning clear-cuts (i.e. rotation forestry) and replacing it entirely with continuous cover forest remains uncertain. We explore how restricting forest management alternatives (either rotation forestry or continuous cover forestry) will affect landscape-scale forest …
A landscape approach to planetary well-being
“Landscape” refers to a perceivable spatial level shaped by socio-ecological interactions and represents the systems where people live. Human societies have globally transformed landscapes to meet their needs, e.g., nutrition or shelter, according to cultural preferences. This human domination of land has resulted in considerable competition for space with other lifeforms, driving biodiversity loss through land-use change and intensification, as well as coming into conflict with planetary well-being. Recent research has highlighted the relevance of the landscape level when articulating human activities with and in their environment and maintaining human and nonhuman cohabitation. Indeed, th…
Planetary well-being
Tensions between the well-being of present humans, future humans, and nonhuman nature manifest in social protests and political and academic debates over the future of Earth. The increasing consumption of natural resources no longer increases, let alone equalizes, human well-being, but has led to the current ecological crisis and harms both human and nonhuman well-being. While the crisis has been acknowledged, the existing conceptual frameworks are in some respects ill-equipped to address the crisis in a way that would link the resolving of the crisis with the pivotal aim of promoting equal well-being. The shortcomings of the existing concepts in this respect relate to anthropocentric norma…
Planetary well-being
Tensions between the well-being of present humans, future humans, and nonhuman nature manifest in social protests and political and academic debates over the future of Earth. The increasing consumption of natural resources no longer increases, let alone equalises, human well-being, but has led to the current ecological crisis and harms both human and nonhuman well-being. While the crisis has been acknowledged, the existing conceptual frameworks are in some respects ill-equipped to address the crisis in a way that would link the resolving of the crisis with the pivotal aim of promoting equal well-being. The shortcomings of the existing concepts in this respect relate to anthropocentric norma…
Grasslands provide diverse opportunities for bird species along an urban-rural gradient
Urbanisation is a major cause of biodiversity loss but careful habitat management and provision of green space within cities can help to mitigate its negative effects. Grasslands occupy large surface areas and have many functions but only a few studies have begun to explore how birds exploit these habitats in urban contexts. We hypothesized that the value of grasslands for nesting and feeding birds is likely to depend both on landscape context, and on local characteristics (grassland size, use and vegetation structure). We surveyed local habitat characteristics, breeding bird presence, abundance and foraging activity in 47 grassland sites, distributed along an urban-rural gradient in two Fr…
Intégrer la connectivité paysagère dans la séquence ERC : une approche par la quantité d'habitat atteignable
Des engagements nationaux, européens et internationaux ont été pris pour maintenir et restaurer la connectivité entre habitats naturels face à la perte et à la fragmentation de ces habitats. Dans le même temps, les politiques environnementales dans différents pays mettent en oeuvre la séquence Eviter-Réduire-Compenser (ERC) pour atteindre l’objectif d’absence de perte nette de biodiversité (PPN). La séquence ERC a pour principe d’évaluer l’ensemble des impacts écologiques d’un aménagement, mais les critères et indicateurs permettant de quantifier les impacts sur la connectivité paysagère ne sont pas satisfaisants. Nous proposons une démarche opérationnelle pour évaluer les impacts environne…