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Should agricultural policies encourage land sparing or wildlife‐friendly farming?
Author(s) -
Fischer Joern,
Brosi Berry,
Daily Gretchen C,
Ehrlich Paul R,
Goldman Rebecca,
Goldstein Joshua,
Lindenmayer David B,
Manning Adrian D,
Mooney Harold A,
Pejchar Liba,
Ranganathan Jai,
Tallis Heather
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1890/070019
Subject(s) - agriculture , wildlife , biodiversity , environmental resource management , land use , environmental planning , natural resource economics , wildlife conservation , balance of nature , agricultural land , agricultural productivity , business , geography , agroforestry , ecology , environmental science , economics , archaeology , biology
As the demands on agricultural lands to produce food, fuel, and fiber continue to expand, effective strategies are urgently needed to balance biodiversity conservation and agricultural production. “Land sparing” and “wildlife‐friendly farming” have been proposed as seemingly opposing strategies to achieve this balance. In land sparing, homogeneous areas of farmland are managed to maximize yields, while separate reserves target biodiversity conservation. Wildlife‐friendly farming, in contrast, integrates conservation and production within more heterogeneous landscapes. Different scientific traditions underpin the two approaches. Land sparing is associated with an island model of modified landscapes, where islands of nature are seen as separate from human activities. This simple dichotomy makes land sparing easily compatible with optimization methods that attempt to allocate land uses in the most efficient way. In contrast, wildlife‐friendly farming emphasizes heterogeneity, resilience, and ecological interactions between farmed and unfarmed areas. Both social and biophysical factors influence which approach is feasible or appropriate in a given landscape. Drawing upon the strengths of each approach, we outline broad policy guidelines for conservation in agricultural landscapes.