How diversified agriculture affects biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships and resource use, dispersal and persistence of key wildlife species

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

RECENT PROGRESS AND LIT. REVIEW: Biodiversity is eroding, and along with it, the capacity to sustain humanity on this planet. Species extinction rates are increasing and even common species are declining in abundance. Both aspects of biodiversity loss are likely to affect the supply of services that species and ecosystems provide to humans. Climate change further exacerbates conditions for both biodiversity and agriculture. Wildlife must move across fragmented landscapes to follow their climate niches, and crops must grow under more variable, extreme and unpredictable weather conditions. For both people and nature, it is critical to develop comprehensive land management strategies that are multi-functional: that sustain production and the ecosystem services that support it, while creating connected landscapes permitting species to adapt to climate change through dispersal. My prior work suggests that agricultural diversification practices (e.g. restoring habitats along field edges; growing polycultures) help achieve these goals; however many gaps remain. OBJECTIVES AND HQP: My long-term vision is to determine whether agricultural diversification practices can simultaneously improve biodiversity and agricultural sustainability outcomes. The short-term objectives of this Discovery Grant program of research are to assess how agricultural diversification practices affect: (1) crop production, ecosystem services directly affecting production (crop pollination, pest control), and the  species providing those services; (2) resource use and persistence by wildlife (bee and bird species); and (3) dispersal of selected bird species. I intend to train a diverse group of ~27 highly qualified personnel (HQP), using equitable and inclusive recruitment and mentoring practices. METHODOLOGY: We will work on 30 farms in the Lower Fraser Valley varying in crop and non-crop diversification. Obj 1. We will survey bee and bird communities and study their efficacy as pollinators of blueberry (bees), and as pests and pest control agents (birds). We will assess the contributions of pollination and pest control services to harvest yields. Obj. 2. We will assess use of crop and non-crop resources by bees and birds across the diversification gradient, using direct observations, pollen analysis and meta-barcoding techniques. Obj. 3. We will follow selected bird species using telemetry and analyze movement patterns relative to farmland diversification. IMPACT: This research is critical for informing agricultural and conservation practices and policies. It provides opportunities for HQP to receive training that positions them competitively to work in government agencies, non-profit conservation or farming organizations, agri-food industries, and academia. It will contribute to  understanding the role of biodiversity in supplying ecosystem services for humanity, and of diversified agriculture in promoting landscape connectivity.