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Research article2019Peer reviewedOpen access

A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

Dainese, Matteo; Martin, Emily A.; Aizen, Marcelo A.; Albrecht, Matthias; Bartomeus, Ignasi; Bommarco, Riccardo; Carvalheiro, Luisa G.; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca; Gagic, Vesna; Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Ghazoul, Jaboury; Grab, Heather; Jonsson, Mattias; Karp, Daniel S.; Kennedy, Christina M.; Kleijn, David; Kremen, Claire; Landis, Douglas A.; Letourneau, Deborah K.; Marini, Lorenzo;
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Abstract

Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services in addition to and independent of abundance and dominance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society.

Published in

Science Advances
2019, Volume: 5, number: 10, article number: eaax0121
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

      SLU Authors

        • Associated SLU-program

        SLU Plant Protection Network

        Sustainable Development Goals

        SDG15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
        SDG2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

        UKÄ Subject classification

        Agricultural Science
        Ecology

        Publication identifier

        DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0121

        Permanent link to this page (URI)

        https://res.slu.se/id/publ/102384