Abstract
Farming management and alterations in land cover play crucial roles in driving changes in biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the provision of ecosystem services. Whereas land cover corresponds to the identity of cultivated/non-cultivated ecosystems in the landscape, farming management describes all the components of farming activities within crops and grassland (i.e., farming practices, crop successions, and farming systems). Despite extensive research on the relationship between land cover and biodiversity at the landscape scale, there is a surprising scarcity of studies examining the impacts of farming management on biodiversity at the same scale. This is unexpected given the already recognized field-scale impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and the fact that most species move or supplement their resources in multiple patches across agricultural landscapes. We conducted a comprehensive literature review aimed at answering two fundamental questions: (1) What components of farming management are considered at the landscape scale? (2) Does farming management at the landscape scale impact biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions and services? We retrieved 133 studies through a query on the Web of Science, published from January 2005 to December 2021 addressing the broad notion of farming management at the landscape scale. The key findings are as follows: (1) The effect of farming management components at the landscape scale on biodiversity was tackled in only 41 studies that highlighted that its response was highly taxon-dependent. They reported positive effects of organic farming on pollinators, weeds, and birds, as well as positive effects of extensification of farming practices on natural enemies. (2) Most studies focused on the effect of organic farming on natural enemies and associated pests, and reported contrasting effects on these taxa. Our study underscores the challenges in quantifying farming management at the landscape scale, and yet its importance in comprehending the dynamics of biodiversity and related ecosystem services.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets analyzed during the current study are available in Supplementary file2.
References
Alignier A, Lenestour N, Jeavons E et al (2023) Floral resource maps: a tool to explain flower-visiting insect abundance at multiple spatial scales. Landsc Ecol 38:1511–1525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01643-9
Alvarez R, Steinbach HS (2009) A review of the effects of tillage systems on some soil physical properties, water content, nitrate availability and crops yield in the Argentine Pampas. Soil Tillage Res 104:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2009.02.005
Armengot L, José-María L, Blanco-Moreno JM et al (2011) A novel index of land use intensity for organic and conventional farming of Mediterranean cereal fields. Agron Sustain Dev 31:699–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-011-0042-0
Bakker L, van der Werf W, Bianchi FJJA (2021) No significant effects of insecticide use indicators and landscape variables on biocontrol in field margins. Agric Ecosyst Environ 308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.107253
Barbieri P, Pellerin S, Nesme T (2017) Comparing crop rotations between organic and conventional farming. Sci Rep 7:13761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14271-6
Basu P, Parui AK, Chatterjee S et al (2016) Scale dependent drivers of wild bee diversity in tropical heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. Ecol Evol 6:6983–6992. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2360
Baudron F, Delmotte S, Corbeels M et al (2015) Multi-scale trade-off analysis of cereal residue use for livestock feeding vs. soil mulching in the Mid-Zambezi Valley. Zimbabwe. Agric Systems 134:97–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2014.03.002
Bégué A, Arvor D, Bellon De La Cruz B et al (2018) Remote sensing and cropping practices: A review. Remote Sens 10:99. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10010099
Berka C, Schreier H, Hall K (2001) Linking water quality with agricultural intensification in a rural watershed. Water Air Soil Pollut 127:389–401. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005233005364
Bertrand C, Burel F, Baudry J (2016) Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the crop mosaic influences carabid beetles in agricultural landscapes. Landsc Ecol 31:451–466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0259-4
Bloom EH, Wood TJ, Hung KJ et al (2021) Synergism between local- and landscape-level pesticides reduces wild bee floral visitation in pollinator-dependent crops. J Appl Ecol 58:1187–1198. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13871
Boutin C, Strandberg B, Carpenter D et al (2014) Herbicide impact on non-target plant reproduction: what are the toxicological and ecological implications? Environ Pollut 185:295–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.10.009
Brauman KA, Garibaldi LA, Polasky S et al (2020) Global trends in nature’s contributions to people. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117:32799–32805. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010473117
Brittain CA, Vighi M, Bommarco R et al (2010) Impacts of a pesticide on pollinator species richness at different spatial scales. Basic Appl Ecol 11:106–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2009.11.007
Büchi L, Georges F, Walder F et al (2019) Potential of indicators to unveil the hidden side of cropping system classification: differences and similarities in cropping practices between conventional, no-till and organic systems. Eur J Agron 109:125920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2019.125920
Caro G, Marrec R, Gauffre B et al (2016) Multi-scale effects of agri-environment schemes on carabid beetles in intensive farmland. Agric Ecosyst Environ 229:48–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.009
Carrié R, Andrieu E, Ouin A, Steffan-Dewenter I (2017) Interactive effects of landscape-wide intensity of farming practices and landscape complexity on wild bee diversity. Landsc Ecol 32:1631–1642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0530-y
Cong RG, Smith HG, Olsson O et al (2014) Managing ecosystem services for agriculture: Will landscape-scale management pay? Ecol Econ 99:53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.01.007
Diekötter T, Wamser S, Wolters V, Birkhofer K (2010) Landscape and management effects on structure and function of soil arthropod communities in winter wheat. Agric Ecosyst Environ 137:108–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2010.01.008
Djoudi EA, Marie A, Mangenot A et al (2018) Farming system and landscape characteristics differentially affect two dominant taxa of predatory arthropods. Agric Ecosyst Environ 259:98–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2018.02.031
Dunning JB, Danielson BJ, Pulliam HR (1992) Ecological processes that affect populations in complex landscapes. Oikos 65:169. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544901
Estrada-Carmona N, Sánchez AC, Remans R, Jones SK (2022) Complex agricultural landscapes host more biodiversity than simple ones: a global meta-analysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 119:e2203385119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2203385119
Falco FL, Feitelson E, Dayan T (2021) Spatial scale mismatches in the EU agri-biodiversity conserv policy. The case for a shift to landscape-scale design. Land 10:846. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080846
Fischer J, Lindenmayer DB (2007) Landscape modification and habitat fragmentation: a synthesis. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 16:265–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00287.x
Friedrich T (2005) Does no-till farming require more herbicides? Outlooks Pest Manag 16:188–191. https://doi.org/10.1564/16aug12
Gaba S, Gabriel E, Chadœuf J et al (2016) Herbicides do not ensure for higher wheat yield, but eliminate rare plant species. Sci Rep 6:30112. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep30112
Gabriel D, Carver SJ, Durham H et al (2009) The spatial aggregation of organic farming in England and its underlying environmental correlates. J Appl Ecol 46:323–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01624.x
Gabriel D, Sait SM, Hodgson JA et al (2010) Scale matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales: scale matters in organic farming. Ecol Lett 13:858–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01481.x
Gebhardt S, Van Dijk J, Wassen MJ et al (2023) Agricultural intensity interacts with landscape arrangement in driving ecosystem services. Agric Ecosys Environ 357:108692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108692
Geiger F, Bengtsson J, Berendse F et al (2010) Persistent negative effects of pesticides on biodiversity and biological control potential on European farmland. Basic Appl Ecol 11:97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2009.12.001
Gosme M, de Villemandy M, Bazot M, Jeuffroy MH (2012) Local and neighbourhood effects of organic and conventional wheat management on aphids, weeds, and foliar diseases. Agric Ecosyst Environ 161:121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.07.009
Grab H, Branstetter MG, Amon N et al (2019) Agriculturally dominated landscapes reduce bee phylogenetic diversity and pollination services. Science 363:282–284. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat6016
Greenstone MH, Morgan CE, Hultsh AL (1987) Ballooning spiders in Missouri, USA, and New South Wales, Australia: family and mass distributions. J Arachhnol 15:163–170. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3705725
Hanson J, Dismukes R, Chambers W et al (2004) Risk and risk management in organic agriculture: views of organic farmers. Renew Agric Food Syst 19:218–227. https://doi.org/10.1079/RAFS200482
Hashemi F, Olesen JE, Børgesen CD et al (2018) Potential benefits of farm scale measures versus landscape measures for reducing nitrate loads in a Danish catchment. Sci Total Envion 637–638:318–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.390
Henckel L, Boerger L, Meiss H et al (2015) Organic fields sustain weed metacommunity dynamics in farmland landscapes. Proc R Soc 282:20150002. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0002
Herrera B, Gerster-Bentaya M, Knierim A, et al (2018) Farm-level factors influencing farmers satisfaction with their work. AgEcon. https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.277024
Herzog F, Steiner B, Bailey D et al (2006) Assessing the intensity of temperate European agriculture at the landscape scale. Eur J Agron 24:165–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2005.07.006
Hiron M, Berg Å, Eggers S et al (2013) Bird diversity relates to agri-environment schemes at local and landscape level in intensive farmland. Agric Ecosyst Environ 176:9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.05.013
Holzschuh A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tscharntke T (2008) Agricultural landscapes with organic crops support higher pollinator diversity. Oikos 117:354–361. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.16303.x
Inclán DJ, Cerretti P, Gabriel D et al (2015) Organic farming enhances parasitoid diversity at the local and landscape scales. J Appl Ecol 52:1102–1109. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12457
Jones SK, Sánchez AC, Juventia SD, Estrada-Carmona N (2021) A global database of diversified farming effects on biodiversity and yield. Sci Data 8:212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-01000-y
Jonsson M, Buckley HL, Case BS et al (2012) Agricultural intensification drives landscape-context effects on host-parasitoid interactions in agroecosystems: land-use intensity decreases parasitism rates. J Appl Ecol 49:706–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02130.x
Jonsson M, Bommarco R, Ekbom B et al (2014) Ecological production functions for biological control services in agricultural landscapes. Methods Ecol Evol 5:243–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12149
Katayama N, Osada Y, Mashiko M et al (2019) Organic farming and associated management practices benefit multiple wildlife taxa: a large-scale field study in rice paddy landscapes. J Appl Ecol 56:1970–1981. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13446
Le Féon V, Schermann-Legionnet A, Delettre Y et al (2010) Intensification of agriculture, landscape composition and wild bee communities: a large scale study in four European countries. Agric Ecosyst Environ 137:143–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2010.01.015
Le Féon V, Burel F, Chifflet R et al (2013) Solitary bee abundance and species richness in dynamic agricultural landscapes. Agric Ecosyst Environ 166:94–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.06.020
Lefebvre M, Franck P, Toubon J-F et al (2016) The impact of landscape composition on the occurrence of a canopy dwelling spider depends on orchard management. Agric Ecosyst Environ 215:20–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.09.003
Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical ecology. 2nd English Edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam
Leibold MA, Holyoak M, Mouquet N et al (2004) The metacommunity concept: a framework for multi-scale community ecology. Ecol Lett 7:601–613. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00608.x
Leventon J, Duşe IA, Horcea-Milcu AI (2019) Leveraging biodiversity action from plural values: Transformations of governance systems. Front Ecol Evol 9:609853. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.609853
Levin G (2007) Relationships between Danish organic farming and landscape composition. Agric Ecosyst Environ 120:330–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2006.10.018
Lichtenberg EM, Kennedy CM, Kremen C et al (2017) A global synthesis of the effects of diversified farming systems on arthropod diversity within fields and across agricultural landscapes. Glob Change Biol 23:4946–4957. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13714
Maalouly M, Franck P, Bouvier J-C et al (2013) Codling moth parasitism is affected by semi-natural habitats and agricultural practices at orchard and landscape levels. Agric Ecosyst Environ 169:33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.02.008
Marrec R, Badenhausser I, Bretagnolle V et al (2015) Crop succession and habitat preferences drive the distribution and abundance of carabid beetles in an agricultural landscape. Agric Ecosyst Environ 199:282–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.10.005
Marrec R, Caro G, Miguet P et al (2017) Spatiotemporal dynamics of the agricultural landscape mosaic drives distribution and abundance of dominant carabid beetles. Landsc Ecol 32:2383–2398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0576-x
Marrec R, Brusse T, Caro G (2022) Biodiversity-friendly agricultural landscapes – integrating farming practices and spatiotemporal dynamics. Trends Ecol Evol 37:731–733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.004
Marshall E (2002) Introducing field margin ecology in Europe. Agric Ecosyst Environ 89:1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(01)00314-0
Monteiro LB, Lavigne C, Ricci B et al (2013) Predation of codling moth eggs is affected by pest management practices at orchard and landscape levels. Agric Ecosyst Environ 166:86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2011.10.012
Montgomery I, Caruso T, Reid N (2020) Hedgerows as ecosystems: service delivery, management, and restoration. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 51:81–102. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012120-100346
Muneret L, Thiéry D, Joubard B, Rusch A (2018) Deployment of organic farming at a landscape scale maintains low pest infestation and high crop productivity levels in vineyards. J Appl Ecol 55:1516–1525. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13034
Muneret L, Auriol A, Bonnard O et al (2019) Organic farming expansion drives natural enemy abundance but not diversity in vineyard-dominated landscapes. Ecol Evol 9:13532–13542. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5810
Nesme T, Lescourret F, Bellon S, Habib R (2010) Is the plot concept an obstacle in agricultural sciences? A review focussing on fruit production. Agric Ecosyst Environ 138:133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2010.04.014
Newbold T, Hudson LN, Hill SLL et al (2015) Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity. Nature 520:45–50. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14324
Pei Z, Fang S, Yang W et al (2019) The relationship between NDVI and climate factors at different monthly time scales: a case study of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China (1982–2015). Sustain 11:7243. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247243
Pekár S (2012) Spiders (Araneae) in the pesticide world: an ecotoxicological review: spiders and pesticides. Pest Manag Sci 68:1438–1446. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.3397
Petit S, Alignier A, Colbach N et al (2013) Weed dispersal by farming at various spatial scales. A Review. Agron Sustain Dev 33:205–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-012-0095-8
Petit S, Gaba S, Grison A-L et al (2016) Landscape scale management affects weed richness but not weed abundance in winter wheat fields. Agric Ecosyst Environ 223:41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.02.031
Piha M, Tiainen J, Holopainen J, Vepsäläinen V (2007) Effects of land-use and landscape characteristics on avian diversity and abundance in a boreal agricultural landscape with organic and conventional farms. Biol Conserv 140:50–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.021
Puech C, Baudry J, Joannon A et al (2014) Organic vs. conventional farming dichotomy: does it make sense for natural enemies? Agric Ecosyst Environ 194:48–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.05.002
Puech C, Poggi S, Baudry J, Aviron S (2015) Do farming practices affect natural enemies at the landscape scale? Landsc Ecol 30:125–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-0103-2
Rundlöf M, Nilsson H, Smith HG (2008) Interacting effects of farming practice and landscape context on bumble bees. Biol Conserv 141:417–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.10.011
Rusch A, Valantin-Morison M, Sarthou J-P, Roger-Estrade J (2011) Multi-scale effects of landscape complexity and crop management on pollen beetle parasitism rate. Landsc Ecol 26:473–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9573-7
Rusch A, Bommarco R, Jonsson M et al (2013) Flow and stability of natural pest control services depend on complexity and crop rotation at the landscape scale. J Appl Ecol 50:345–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12055
Rusch A, Birkhofer K, Bommarco R et al (2014) Management intensity at field and landscape levels affects the structure of generalist predator communities. Oecologia 175:971–983. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2949-z
Rusch A, Valantin-Morison M, Sarthou J-P, Roger-Estrade J (2010) Biol control insect pests agroecosyst. In: Advances in Agronomy. Elsevier, pp 219–259
Sánchez-Bayo F, Wyckhuys KAG (2019) Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: a review of its drivers. Biol Conserv 232:8–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.020
Seufert V, Ramankutty N (2017) Many shades of gray—the context-dependent performance of organic agriculture. Sci Adv 3:e1602638. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1602638
Shearin AF, Reberg-Horton SC, Gallandt ER (2007) Direct effects of tillage on the activity density of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) weed seed predators. Environ Entomol 36:1140–1146. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X(2007)36[1140:DEOTOT]2.0.CO;2
Tougeron K, Couthouis E, Marrec R et al (2022) Multi-scale approach to biodiversity proxies of biological control service in European farmlands. Sci Total Environ 822:153569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153569
Tscharntke T, Tylianakis JM, Rand TA et al (2012) Landscape moderation of biodiversity patterns and processes - eight hypotheses. Biol Rev 87:661–685. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00216.x
Tscharntke T, Karp DS, Chaplin-Kramer R et al (2016) When natural habitat fails to enhance biological pest control – five hypotheses. Biol Conserv 204:449–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.001
Tscharntke T, Grass I, Wanger TC, et al (2021) Beyond organic farming – harnessing biodiversity-friendly landscapes. Trends Ecol Evol S016953472100183X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.010
Turner MG (2005) Landscape ecology: what is the state of the science? Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 36:319–344. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.36.102003.152614
Vasseur C, Joannon A, Aviron S et al (2013) The cropping systems mosaic: how does the hidden heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes drive arthropod populations? Agric Ecosyst Environ 166:3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.08.013
Wintermantel D, Odoux J, Chadœuf J, Bretagnolle V (2019) Organic farming positively affects honeybee colonies in a flower-poor period in agricultural landscapes. J Appl Ecol 1365–2664:13447. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13447
Woodard SH, Jha S (2017) Wild bee nutritional ecology: predicting pollinator population dynamics, movement, and services from floral resources. Curr Opin Insect Sci 21:83–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.05.011
Wrbka T, Schindler S, Pollheimer M et al (2008) Impact of the Austrian Agri-environmental scheme on diversity of landscapes, plants and birds. Community Ecol 9:217–227. https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.9.2008.2.11
Zurbuchen A, Landert L, Klaiber J et al (2010) Maximum foraging ranges in solitary bees: only few individuals have the capability to cover long foraging distances. Biol Conserv 143:669–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.12.003
Acknowledgements
We thank Jodie Thenard for her help and advice on the formatting of the figures. We thank the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation for funding the PhD of T.B. We thank the managing editor and three anonymous reviewers for their comments, which greatly improved the quality of this article.
Funding
R.M and G.C. received funding from France AgriMer, under the framework of the Plan National de Recherche et d’Innovation 2021-2023 (project SEPIM). K.T. held a post-doctoral fellowship from France AgriMer (project IAE-Betterave 2).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
T.B., R.M., and G.C. conceived the review. T.B. conducted the first search of the literature. T.B., R.M., A.B., L.H., K.T., and G.C. analyzed the data and wrote the first draft of the review. T.B., R.M., A.B., L.H., K.T., G.C., and F.D. contributed to the final manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
About this article
Cite this article
Brusse, T., Tougeron, K., Barbottin, A. et al. Considering farming management at the landscape scale: descriptors and trends on biodiversity. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 44, 30 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-024-00966-4
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-024-00966-4