Background
There are various drivers that forward simplification of ecological networks inducing a loss of farmland biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Among the many ecosystem services of great importance to agricultural processes are pollination and the control of pests and weeds.
The ConservES project will focus on the importance of non-crop habitats that either already exist (hedgerows) or have been created (flower strips) to enhance the diversity of organisms, pest and weed control and pollination. It works along a climatic gradient from mild Atlantic climates in France, over Belgium and Southern Germany to more continental climates of central Europe in Czech Republic.
The project is multidisciplinary and based on the combination of four approaches:
- The concept of the real laboratory
- BioBlitz field data collection in each study region
- Field trials to increase plant species diversity
- Simulations through spatial modeling.
Objectives
The overall objective is to conserve biodiversity in agroecosystems through promoting habitat enhancement, such as increasing landscape complexity and adequate field management with floral enrichment without causing yield losses to farmers.
The operational objectives include:
- Develop local Living labs as a method for long-term biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems
- Understand the effects of floral enrichment on agrobiodiversity to assess synergies and trade-offs between the potential of ES (pollination/pest control) and disservices (weeds and herbivory), and determine how effects are modulated by landscape structure and climatic conditions
- Develop integrated biodiversity indicators to optimize ES provision, and assess the interrelationship between cropland biodiversity and ecosystem services that support pesticide-reduced agriculture and its effects on yield quantity and quality.
- communicate and disseminate results of ConservES with and to multiple actor groups
Publications
Contact
Stephanie Timm
✉ S.Timm@DLG.org
