FARMS4Biodiversity WP1: Scenarios of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Leads: Drs. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter (University of Würzburg) and Katja Poveda (Cornell University)
Concept: Land use change threatens the biodiversity and ecosystem services upon which agroecosystems depend. Some agroecological practices may buffer the negative impacts of simplification on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Objective: To examine and model how agroecological practices, such as legume intercropping, composting and botanical sprays, can buffer against the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services across multiple scales and under different scenarios of land use change. Identify breakpoints of landscape-level use of agroecological practices above which biodiversity and ecosystem services are maximally retained.
Data Collection:
Assess biodiversity and ecosystem services on 50
farms, as well as land cover within a 3 km radius of each farm, using
participatory methods with team of ecologists, geographers, and trained
farmer-researchers. Utilize participatory Geographic Information Systems to collect
land cover data.
Measure multiple dimensions of biodiversity,
including taxonomic, functional, and phylogenic diversity of bees, birds, and natural
enemies (parasitoid wasps and ground-dwelling arthropod predators). Assess
ecosystem services of pest suppression, pollination, and crop yield.
Survey birds with six point counts per year and
capture bees and parasitoid wasp on all farms, during and immediately following
the growing season.
Perform replicated exclosure experiments to
measure pollination deficits.
Measure yield of each field to identify yield
gap on farms as compared to maximum tield measured across all farms.
Analysis and Scenario Modeling:
Use statistical models to determine primary
drivers of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and any observed yield gap.
Determine the land cover around each farm. The
amount of agroecological practices will vary across the landscape, allowing us
to determine if there are breakpoints in biodiversity and ecosystem service
provision based on the proportion of area where agroecological practices are
used within multiple scales of each farm.
Model a range of ten land use change scenarios
reflective of realistic rates of change over the next 25 years and assess
likely impacts of that change on biodiversity and ecosystem services across the
studied region. We will assess how the outcomes change according to the use of
agroecological practices in the region, as well as the economic impacts from
using these practices.
Expected Results and Use:
Ten modeled scenarios of land use change over
the next 25 years.
Guidelines to inform policy makers and
communities on where breakpoints of biodiversity and ecosystem services likely
exist, providing clear recommendations.
Anticipated minimum of 2 peer-reviewed
publications in conservation or ecology journals, 1-2 publications in
multidisciplinary journals, and reports prepared for the Government of Malawi.
Lizzie Shumba joined SFHC in 2003 and since then has contributed much to our efforts and to the success of SFHC. The Agroecology and Livelihood Collaborative (ALC) from the University of Vermont conducted an interview with Lizzie to… Read More
The SFHC team and the communities we work with play a crucial role in helping us reach our goals of promoting sustainability, health, and equity, so we love to share the voices of the wonderful people that make… Read More
Exciting news: new research from our SFHC team has just been published! This research is centered around examining crop diversity and its effect on food security and women’s diet quality through an intervention in Malawi. As always, we… Read More
We are proud to share new research from our team within the last year! Both works come from our FARMS for Biodiversity Project, and they include a research approach to transdisciplinary agroecology and an assessment of local views… Read More
FARMS4Biodiversity WP1: Scenarios of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Leads: Drs. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter (University of Würzburg) and Katja Poveda (Cornell University)
Concept: Land use change threatens the biodiversity and ecosystem services upon which agroecosystems depend. Some agroecological practices may buffer the negative impacts of simplification on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Objective: To examine and model how agroecological practices, such as legume intercropping, composting and botanical sprays, can buffer against the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services across multiple scales and under different scenarios of land use change. Identify breakpoints of landscape-level use of agroecological practices above which biodiversity and ecosystem services are maximally retained.
Data Collection:
Analysis and Scenario Modeling:
Expected Results and Use:
Navigation
Follow and Share
Updates & News
An interview with SFHC’s Lizzie Shumba!
October 20, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
Lizzie Shumba joined SFHC in 2003 and since then has contributed much to our efforts and to the success of SFHC. The Agroecology and Livelihood Collaborative (ALC) from the University of Vermont conducted an interview with Lizzie to… Read More
Take a look into SFHC’s work!
October 20, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
The SFHC team and the communities we work with play a crucial role in helping us reach our goals of promoting sustainability, health, and equity, so we love to share the voices of the wonderful people that make… Read More
New Research Paper: Sept. 2022
September 28, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
Exciting news: new research from our SFHC team has just been published! This research is centered around examining crop diversity and its effect on food security and women’s diet quality through an intervention in Malawi. As always, we… Read More
2 New Research Papers: 2022
September 23, 2022
By Nicole Velecela
We are proud to share new research from our team within the last year! Both works come from our FARMS for Biodiversity Project, and they include a research approach to transdisciplinary agroecology and an assessment of local views… Read More