Land-sparing agriculture sustains higher levels of avian functional diversity than land sharing
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The ecological impacts of meeting rising demands for food production can potentially be mitigated by two competing land-use strategies: off-setting natural habitats through intensification of existing farmland (land sparing), or elevating biodiversity within the agricultural matrix via the integration of 'wildlife-friendly' habitat features (land sharing). However, a key unanswered question is whether sparing or sharing farming would best conserve functional diversity, which can promote ecosystem stability and resilience to future land-use change. Focusing on bird communities in tropical cloud forests of the Colombian Andes, we test the performance of each strategy in conserving functional diversity. We show that multiple components of avian functional diversity in farmland are positively related to the proximity and extent of natural forest. Using landscape and community simulations, we also show that land-sparing agriculture conserves greater functional diversity and predicts higher abundance of species supplying key ecological functions than land sharing, with sharing becoming progressively inferior with increasing isolation from remnant forest. These results suggest low-intensity agriculture is likely to conserve little functional diversity unless large blocks of adjacent natural habitat are protected, consistent with land sparing. To ensure the retention of functionally diverse ecosystems, we urgently need to implement mechanisms for increasing farmland productivity whilst protecting spared land. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Date Issued
2019-05
Date Acceptance
2019-01-15
Citation
Global Change Biology, 2019, 25 (5), pp.1576-1590
ISSN
1354-1013
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1576
End Page
1590
Journal / Book Title
Global Change Biology
Volume
25
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the accepted version of the following article: Cannon, PG, Gilroy, JJ, Tobias, JA, Anderson, A, Haugaasen, T, Edwards, DP. Land‐sparing agriculture sustains higher levels of avian functional diversity than land sharing. Glob Change Biol. 2019; 25: 1576– 1590., which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14601
Sponsor
Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC)
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30793430
Grant Number
471/04
Subjects
agroecosystems
conversion
defaunation
ecosystem function
habitat loss
land-use planning
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2019-03-13