Promoting multiple ecosystem services through agri-environmental interventions

Abstract

Agri-environmental interventions such as wildflower strips and other greening measures in agro- ecosystems aim to promote regulatory ecosystem services to sustain crop production in conventional cropping systems. However, the extent to which multiple ecosystem services are fostered with current measures remains poorly studied. Here we look at measured effects of agri-environmental interventions on the delivery of insect pollination and natural pest control in crop fields. Key questions are whether multiple services can be provided with one type of agri-environmental intervention and how potential effects translate into crop yield, while taking into account agricultural management practices.

We measured insect-mediated pollination and natural pest control service provisioning in 18 winter oilseed rape fields as a function of the independent and interactive effects of local agri-environmental interventions and landscape-scale greening measures.

Our results suggest that the establishment of agri-environmental interventions can promote multiple ecosystem services in conventional production systems. Benefits may be maximized when combining local with landscape-wide interventions. However, agricultural management practices were the main drivers of crop yield. Neither insect pollination or natural pest control nor agri-environmental interventions significantly affected crop yield in addition to agricultural management.

Further research is needed to better understand how to improve the effectiveness of agri-environmental interventions in promoting multiple ecosystem services. Especially interactions among ecosystem services and with agricultural management practices are crucial to understand, when valuating, mapping or predicting ecosystem service delivery for ecosystem management and policy aimed at maximizing ecosystem services for sustainable agriculture.