Integrating trees into agricultural landscapes to enhance biodiversity and associated ecosystem services

植树是当前缓解气候变化和生物多样性危机的首要环境议程。例如，苏格兰政府目前的目标是每年种植12,000公顷树木，从2024年增加到15,000公顷。农业用地覆盖了英国70%以上的土地，因此很可能很大比例的树木覆盖扩大将发生在农田上。考虑到我们对乡村景观的许多要求，以及树木覆盖的半永久性，确定最大限度地增加树木的生物多样性和更广泛的环境效益的空间安排至关重要。可以沿着从节约土地(例如创造林地斑块)到共享土地(例如在将树木与农作物或牲畜相结合的农林系统)的梯度种植一系列空间配置。虽然这两种策略都有可能带来一系列的生物多样性好处，但它们不太可能是等同的。本课程的目的是评估将树木与食物生产分开或整合以提供最大生物多样性好处的相对优点(重点放在无脊椎动物群落，因为它们的不同生态角色支撑着对食物生产至关重要的生态系统功能和服务)。要解决的具体研究问题包括：1)农业景观中的无脊椎动物群落如何受到不同空间配置的树木的影响，代表着从节约土地到共享土地管理方法的梯度？2)具有不同生活史和功能特征的无脊椎动物如何响应沿着共享土地的连续体植树，这对生态系统服务的提供有什么影响？3)土地管理者是否比其他空间配置的土地管理者更愿意在某些空间配置中植树，这对植树战略的实施有什么影响？为解决这些问题，将在已在各种空间配置中种植树木的农业地点进行实地工作，这些配置包括从节约土地到共享土地的梯度。数据收集将侧重于地面栖息的捕食者(例如步甲虫和蜘蛛)，可能还包括昆虫传粉者(例如飞蝇、蜜蜂和蝴蝶)，以涵盖更广泛的功能特征和生态系统服务。学生将有机会接触到现有的甲虫(130种30,000只个体)和蜘蛛(103种4,000只个体)的数据集，这些数据已经记录在以前的农地上种植的60片林地(Wren项目的一部分)，以及由SRUC汇编的甲虫功能特征数据库。

Tree planting is at the forefront of the current environmental agenda to mitigate climate change and the biodiversity crisis. For instance, the Scottish Government has a current target of planting 12,000 ha of trees per year, increasing to 15,000 ha from 2024. Agricultural land covers over 70% of the UK, so it is likely that a large proportion of tree cover expansion will take place on farmland. Given the many demands we place on rural landscapes, alongside the semi-permanency of tree cover, it is crucial to determine the spatial arrangements that maximise the biodiversity and wider environmental benefits derived from trees. Trees can be planted in a range of spatial configurations along a gradient of land-sparing (e.g. creating woodland patches) to land-sharing (e.g. in agroforestry systems that integrate trees with crops or livestock). Whilst both these strategies have the potential to deliver a range of biodiversity benefits, they are unlikely to be equivalent.The aim of this studentship is to assess the relative merits of separating versus integrating trees with food production to provide the greatest benefits for biodiversity (with a focus on invertebrate communities because of their diverse ecological roles which underpin ecosystem functions and services vital to food production). Specific research questions to address include:1) How are invertebrate communities in agricultural landscapes influenced by trees in various spatial configurations, representing a gradient of land-sparing to land-sharing management approaches?2) How do invertebrates with varying life histories and functional traits respond to tree planting along the land sharing-sparing continuum, and what implications does this have for ecosystem service provision?3) Are land managers more amenable to planting trees in certain spatial configurations than in others, and what implications does this have for the implementation of tree planting strategies? To address these questions, fieldwork will be conducted in agricultural sites where trees have been planted across a range of spatial configurations encompassing a gradient of land-sparing to land-sharing gradient. Data collection will focus on ground-dwelling predators (e.g. carabid beetles and spiders), with the potential to also include insect pollinators (e.g. hoverflies, bees and butterflies) to encompass a wider range of functional traits and ecosystem services. The student will have access to an existing dataset of beetles (30,000 individuals of 130 species) and spiders (4,000 individuals of 103 species) which have been recorded at 60 woodlands planted on former agricultural land (part of the WrEN project , and to a beetle functional traits database compiled by SRUC.