Functional landscape heterogeneity and animal biodiversity in agricultural landscapes

TLDR

Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes can be increased by converting some production lands into more‑natural, unmanaged or extensively managed areas, and such studies are high priority because global biodiversity protection increasingly depends on maintaining biodiversity in human‑dominated landscapes. The study aims to determine whether altering landscape pattern can enhance biodiversity without reducing agricultural production, by proposing a framework that separates compositional and configurational heterogeneity and posing three key questions about how heterogeneity of more‑natural areas and of production cover types affects biodiversity. The authors develop a framework that classifies and maps cover types based on species requirements to produce functional landscape heterogeneity metrics, and discuss approaches for testing how compositional and configurational heterogeneity influence biodiversity.

Abstract

Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 101–112 Abstract Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes can be increased with conversion of some production lands into ‘more‐natural’– unmanaged or extensively managed – lands. However, it remains unknown to what extent biodiversity can be enhanced by altering landscape pattern without reducing agricultural production. We propose a framework for this problem, considering separately compositional heterogeneity (the number and proportions of different cover types) and configurational heterogeneity (the spatial arrangement of cover types). Cover type classification and mapping is based on species requirements, such as feeding and nesting, resulting in measures of ‘functional landscape heterogeneity’. We then identify three important questions: does biodiversity increase with (1) increasing heterogeneity of the more‐natural areas, (2) increasing compositional heterogeneity of production cover types and (3) increasing configurational heterogeneity of production cover types? We discuss approaches for addressing these questions. Such studies should have high priority because biodiversity protection globally depends increasingly on maintaining biodiversity in human‐dominated landscapes.