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Humans have profoundly altered phosphorus (P) cycling across scales. Agriculturally driven changes (e.g., excessive P‐fertilization and manure addition), in particular, have resulted in pronounced P accumulations in soils, often known as "soil legacy P." These legacy P reserves serve as persistent and long‐term nonpoint sources, inducing downstream eutrophication and ecosystem services degradation. While there is considerable scientific and policy interest in legacy P, its fine‐scale spatial heterogeneity, underlying drivers, and scales of variance remain unclear. Here we present an extensive field sampling (150‐m interval grid) and analysis of 1438 surface soils (0–15 cm) in 2020 for two typical subtropical grassland types managed for livestock production: Intensively managed (IM) and Semi‐natural (SN) pastures. We ask the following questions: (1) What is the spatial variability, and are there hotspots of soil legacy P? (2) Does soil legacy P vary primarily within pastures, among pastures, or between pasture types? (3) How does soil legacy P relate to pasture management intensity, soil and geographic characteristics? and (4) What is the relationship between soil legacy P and aboveground plant tissue P concentration? Our results showed that three measurements of soil legacy P (total P, Mehlich‐1, and Mehlich‐3 extractable P representing labile P pools) varied substantially across the landscape. Spatial autoregressive models revealed that soil organic matter, pH, available Fe and Al, elevation, and pasture management intensity were crucial predictors for spatial patterns of soil P, although models were more reliable for predicting total P (68.9%) than labile P. Our analysis further demonstrated that total variance in soil legacy P was greater in IM than SN pastures, and intensified pasture management rescaled spatial patterns of soil legacy P. In particular, after controlling for sample size, soil P was extremely variable at small scales, with variance diminished as spatial scale increased. Our results suggest that broad pasture‐ or farm‐level best management practices may be limited and less efficient, especially for more IM pastures. Rather, management to curtail soil legacy P and mitigate P loading and losses should be implemented at fine scales designed to target spatially distinct P hotspots across the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of agricultural production to support demographic growth has been invoked as a necessary correlate to the important socio-economic changes involved in the urbanisation process of Western Central Italy at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. Yet, the agricultural economy of the early urban centres in the region remains poorly understood. Ongoing excavations at Gabii provide a new substantial archaeobotanical dataset that allows the investigation of crop production and farming practices during the transitional period between the eighth and the sixth century BCE. This study presents a multi-proxy approach that integrates archaeobotanical data with carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses on charred cereal grains to reconstruct Gabii's crop husbandry regimes. Our results show an unexpected local combination of staples in which barley is the most common crop. No significant changes are visible throughout the period suggesting a remarkable consistency in crop selection and persistence of traditional practices. The stable nitrogen isotope analysis has revealed low values that we argue could be an indication of intercropping cereals and pulses. A drop in the water availability during the sixth century BCE could be related to a combination of environmental factors, human behaviours, and, possibly, production stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification and expansion are regarded as main drivers of biodiversity loss. This conclusion is mainly based on observed declines of local diversity (α-diversity), while effects on community composition homogenization (decrease of β-diversity) at a larger spatial scale are less well understood. Carabid beetles and spiders represent two widespread guilds and are important predators of pest species. Here we surveyed carabid beetles and spiders in 66 winter wheat fields in four northwestern European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and UK) and analyzed how their community composition was related to geographic distance (separation distance between any pairwise fields) and three environmental variables: crop yield (proxy for land-use intensity), percentage cropland (proxy for landscape complexity) and soil organic carbon content (proxy for local soil conditions). We further analyzed whether the relationship between carabid beetle and spider community composition and geographic distance was influenced by environmental variables. We found that, 55 % and 75 % of all observed carabid and spider individuals, respectively, belonged to species that occurred in all four countries. However, individuals of species that were unique to a particular country only accounted for 3 % of all collected individuals for both taxa. Furthermore, we found a negative relationship between distance and similarity of spider communities but not for carabid beetle communities. None of the environmental variables were related to similarity of carabid beetle and spider communities, nor moderated the effects of distance. Our study indicates that across a great part of the European continent, arthropod communities (especially carabid beetles) in agricultural landscapes are composed of very similar species that are robust to current variations in environment and land-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of interspecific and spatiotemporal variation in demography–environment relationships is key for understanding the population dynamics of sympatric species and developing multispecies conservation strategies. We used hierarchical random‐effects models to examine interspecific and spatial variation in annual productivity in six migratory ducks (i.e., American wigeon [Mareca americana], blue‐winged teal [Spatula discors], gadwall [Mareca strepera], green‐winged teal [Anas crecca], mallard [Anas platyrhynchos] and northern pintail [Anas acuta]) across six distinct ecostrata in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America. We tested whether breeding habitat conditions (seasonal pond counts, agricultural intensification, and grassland acreage) or cross‐seasonal effects (indexed by flooded rice acreage in primary wintering areas) better explained variation in the proportion of juveniles captured during late summer banding. The proportion of juveniles (i.e., productivity) was highly variable within species and ecostrata throughout 1961–2019 and generally declined through time in blue‐winged teal, gadwall, mallard, pintail, and wigeon, but there was no support for a trend in green‐winged teal. Productivity in Canadian ecostrata declined with increasing agricultural intensification and increased with increasing pond counts. We also found a strong cross‐seasonal effect, whereby more flooded rice hectares during winter resulted in higher subsequent productivity. Our results suggest highly consistent environmental and anthropogenic effects on waterfowl productivity across species and space. Our study advances our understanding of current year and cross‐seasonal effects on duck productivity across a suite of species and at finer spatial scales, which could help managers better target working‐lands conservation programs on both breeding and wintering areas. We encourage other researchers to evaluate environmental drivers of population dynamics among species in a single modeling framework for a deeper understanding of whether conservation plans should be generalized or customized given limited financial resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The lower Yangtze Valley is a fruitful area to examine the interplay between the origins and intensification of agriculture and socio-political complexity. Most archaeological research on the emergence and decline of the complex society in this region has focused on large late Neolithic centres, such as the Liangzhu ancient city. Many small- to medium-size sites were also involved in dynamic regional social networks and further investigations into these smaller sites can help archaeologists contextualise core–hinterland relationships. In this paper, we report a zooarchaeological analysis of Daxie, a late Neolithic island village located in Ningbo, China. The faunal assemblage is dominated by wild animals with a few livestock, indicating a subsistence economy reliant primarily on wild resources incorporating limited use of domesticates. The heavy exploitation of marine resources is also a distinctive feature: marine fish were procured and sea salt production was developed. Such a self-sustaining village economy, on one hand, was loosely connected to the Liangzhu core area's subsistence. On the other hand, the island industry specialised in salt production might have forged Daxie's connection within the regional society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agricultural intensification affects life history and functional trait diversity of farmland bird communities. • We calculated the functional diversity index and the community-weighted mean for six life history traits and the brood value index of 30 bird species in eight European farmland areas. • Stronger agricultural intensification at the field level (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes. Agricultural intensification reduces the taxonomic diversity of bird communities, but its influence on functional diversity has been less studied. Here, we analyze the response of functional diversity of different cereal farmland bird communities across Europe to a gradient of agricultural intensification. We collected bibliographical information on life history traits (i.e. body mass, brain size, age of sexual maturity, clutch size, number of clutches, lifespan) of 30 species of birds recorded during field surveys in eight European countries. The index "brood value" was calculated to know each species' level of reproductive investment per clutch. Intensification gradients at two spatial scales were obtained from field data through PCA, related to management practices at the field scale and the variation in structure and composition of farmland at the landscape scale respectively. We calculated the functional diversity index (FD) and the community-weighted mean (CWM) for each trait and sampling area, and linear mixed models in relation to the two intensification gradients were performed. Results showed that stronger intensification at the field level favors the assembly of shorter-lived communities and bird species with smaller relative brain sizes, also decreasing overall trait diversity. It also restricts the range of strategies for parental investment, reducing the functional diversity of the brood value index. More intensive field management would favor bird communities dominated by generalist and even introduced and/or managed hunting species, while putting at risk those farmland- and grassland-adapted species, typically more associated with the provision of ecosystem services. This highlights the relevance of field management (agrochemicals use, ploughing frequency) for the functional composition of bird communities and the conservation of farmland biodiversity. These findings add to existing knowledge on how species' pace of life and cognitive capacity interact with drivers of global change, such as agricultural intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agricultural impacts on field margin plants vary with spatial resolution and extent. • Plant richness is explained locally by agricultural practices. • Plant richness is explained by climate and crop diversity at large-scales. • Plant composition responds more to fertilization and crop diversity at large-scales. • Agricultural effects are better detected at a regional scale and are region-specific. In recent decades, agricultural intensification has led to a strong decline in biodiversity. Field margins act as shelters and dispersal corridors for biodiversity in highly disturbed landscapes, and are critical to the maintenance of ecosystem services. However, they are also impacted by agricultural practices in neighboring fields. Agricultural impacts are often studied at field to landscape scales, and rarely across biogeographic regions. One of the challenges in large-scale studies is the lack of standardized monitoring schemes including both biodiversity and accurate estimation of agricultural practices. Here, we take advantage of a national monitoring scheme in 462 sites in France, to assess the effects of agricultural practices on field margin flora at different extents and resolutions. We used spatial simultaneous autoregressive and generalized dissimilarity models to assess the response of plant richness and composition to climatic, soil and landscape conditions, and to agricultural (fertilization, herbicides) and margin management drivers. Analyses were repeated at the site-level, 40 and 75 km resolutions, and at regional and national extents. We found that the impact of agricultural practices on species richness was most important at the site-level, whereas climate and crop diversity became more important at the 75 km resolution. Compositional variations responded differently, with climate being more important at the site-level, and fertilization and crop diversity at the coarsest resolution. There was a strong variation in the variance explained by models among regions, but climate effects were weaker within biogeographic units compared to the national level, and different agricultural practices stood out as influential in different regions, suggesting that the regional context is fundamental in determining plant community structure. To efficiently conserve biodiversity, we therefore recommend the implementation of agricultural measures adapted to each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundance of sensitive plant species in calcareous grasslands is threatened by agricultural intensification with nutrient addition and increased livestock densities as well as by land abandonment. The Hill-Shannon diversity is decreasing, and the species composition of Danish calcareous grassland is generally unstable and is expected to experience further change in the coming years. In order to quantify the effects of selected environmental and land-use factors on the observed variation and changes in the vegetation of calcareous grasslands, large-scale spatial and temporal pin-point plant cover monitoring data are fitted in a structural equation model. The analyzed vegetation data come from 100 Danish sites monitored over an eight-year period. The important sources of measurement and sampling uncertainties have been included using a hierarchical model structure. Furthermore, the measurement and sampling uncertainties are separated from the process uncertainty, which is important when generating ecological predictions that may feed into local conservation management decisions. There were significant negative effects of grazing and nitrogen deposition on the change in cover of sensitive plant species. Whereas the negative effect of nitrogen deposition on the cover of sensitive species was expected, it was surprising that the model results suggest that sensitive species may be subjected to overgrazing by the grazing regimes that are currently applied at protected Danish calcareous grasslands. The standardized regression coefficients suggest that the effects of both grazing and nitrogen deposition are relatively benign compared to the effects of soil type, soil pH and precipitation. The relatively large effect of precipitation is interesting, since it is predicted that the amount of precipitation and its distribution over the seasons will change due to climate change, and the results suggest that climate change may lead to important species compositional changes in calcareous grasslands. The fitted model may be used to quantify the uncertainties when generating ecological forecasting and local adaptive management plans. More specifically, this study suggests that it is relevant to rethink the currently used criteria for vegetation height when assessing the conservation status of calcareous grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural practices and intensification during the past two centuries have dramatically altered the abundance and temporal continuity of floral resources that support pollinating insects such as bumble bees. Long‐term trends among bumble bees within agricultural regions suggest that intensive agricultural conditions have created inhospitable conditions for some species, while other species have maintained their relative abundances despite landscape‐level changes in flower availability. Bumble bee responses to spatiotemporal resource heterogeneity have been explored at the colony and behavioral level, but we have yet to understand whether these conditions drive community structure and ultimately explain the diverging patterns in long‐term species trends. To explore the relationship between landscape‐level floral resource continuity and the likelihood of bumble bee occurrence, we mapped the relative spatial and temporal availability of floral resources within an intensive agricultural region in the US Upper Midwest and related this resource availability with bumble bee species relative abundance. Across the bee community, we found that relative bumble bee occurrence increases in landscapes containing more abundant and more temporally continuous floral resources. Declining species, such as Bombus terricola, exhibited the strongest, positive responses to resource abundance and continuity whereas common, stable species, such as Bombus impatiens, showed no statistical relationship to either. Together with existing experimental evidence, this work suggests that efforts to increase spatiotemporal flower availability, along with overall flower abundance at landscape scales may have positive effects on bumble bee communities in the US Upper Midwest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kiva is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agricultural intensification is a persistent and growing threat to biodiversity worldwide. Olive groves cover extensive areas in the Mediterranean basin and play a fundamental role as refuge and wintering quarters for many bird species, but the effects of their current intensification on bird communities remain unclear. This study aims to evaluate the response of wintering birds to the management of olive groves with different degrees of intensification (traditional, intensive and super-intensive management) in central Spain. Based on two bird censuses conducted in 25 groves in early and late winter, we examined the influence of habitat structure and composition at different spatial scales on species richness and abundance of the entire farmland bird community, and of the diet-based functional groups. Total species richness tended to decrease with intensive olive grove management, probably due to reduced habitat heterogeneity, whereas total abundance did not, indicating the capacity of intensive and super-intensive olive groves to sustain large numbers of wintering birds. The negative effect of intensification was particularly evident in frugivore species richness, while frugivore abundance was positively (but marginally) associated with olive fruit availability. Granivorous species were positively associated with lower vegetation cover, but insectivorous species did not respond to intensification gradients. Species richness and abundance (total and by diet-based functional groups) also decreased from early to late winter, which may be due to the effect of olive harvest, but also to an extreme cold event. Overall, our findings show how olive grove intensification and the associated management practices result in significant changes in habitat structure and composition at different spatial scales, thus affecting wintering bird communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigation pathways that stabilise global warming to 1.5 °C describe rapidly increasing deployment of land-based solutions, including increased carbon sequestration in soils and biomass. This places additional demands on land, which is also required to provide food security and other ecosystem services. Sustainable Intensification (SI) of agriculture has the potential to facilitate meeting demands for food and fibre, while simultaneously meeting environmental and ecological goals. The scientific literature has most often addressed the challenge of SI separately to climate change mitigation objectives in agricultural systems. Using a systematic review approach, we explored the compatibility of SI and carbon sequestration research through two contrasting case studies: Case Study I on Grassland Agriculture in Europe, and Case Study II on Smallholder Agriculture in Africa. We find contrasting levels of research theme similarity for SI and carbon sequestration, with European grassland agriculture research having lower similarity compared with African smallholder agriculture research. There was a focus on minimising biodiversity loss and environmental impacts in Europe, in contrast to a food security emphasis in Africa, reflecting regional and development differences. While there are clear context and agricultural-system specific differences between both case studies, both suggest that sustainable land use policies can be used to achieve SI integrated with climate mitigation in agriculture. • Climate mitigation pathways increasingly incorporate land-based carbon storage. • Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture may reduce demand for land. • We investigated the compatibility of research on SI and carbon sequestration. • There were significant contrasts reflecting a need for better integration. • Sustainable land use policies can help achieve mitigation where integrated with SI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid expansion of the human population poses a challenge for wildlife conservation in agricultural landscapes. One proposal for addressing this challenge is to increase biodiversity in such landscapes by increasing crop diversity. However, studies report both positive and negative effects of crop diversity on biodiversity. One possible explanation, derived from the "area–heterogeneity tradeoff hypothesis," is that the effect of crop diversity on biodiversity depends on a tradeoff between increasing the number of crop types in a landscape and decreasing the amount of each single crop type. This should cause positive effects of increasing crop diversity at low to intermediate crop diversity and negative effects at intermediate to high crop diversity. We also propose two factors that could change the point at which the effect of increasing crop diversity shifts from positive to negative. First, we predicted that this shift would occur at a lower crop diversity when the surrounding landscape contains less semi‐natural habitat and at a higher crop diversity when the landscape contains more semi‐natural habitat. This should increase the likelihood of detecting negative effects of crop diversity when semi‐natural cover is low and positive effects when it is high. Second, we predicted that the shift from a positive to negative effect would occur at a lower crop diversity when it is measured locally than when it is measured at greater distances from the site, making detection of negative crop diversity effects more likely when measurements are at local extents. We tested these predictions using data on the biodiversity of herbaceous plants, butterflies, syrphid flies, woody plants, bees, carabid beetles, spiders, and birds at 221 crop field edges in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We found support for an area–crop diversity tradeoff. Semi‐natural cover and measurement extent influenced the biodiversity–crop diversity relationship, with positive effects when semi‐natural cover was high and negative effects when semi‐natural cover was low and when crop diversity was measured at local extents. The results suggest that policies/guidelines designed to increase crop diversity will not benefit biodiversity in the landscapes where conservation action is most urgently needed, that is, in landscapes with high agricultural use and low semi‐natural cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Agricultural expansion and intensification are major drivers of global change. Quantifying the importance of different processes governing the assembly of local communities in agroecosystems is essential to guide the conservation effort allocated to enhancing habitat connectivity, improving habitat quality or managing species interactions. We used multiple detection methods to record the occurrence of medium‐sized and large‐sized mammals in three managed landscapes of a heterogeneous Mediterranean region. Then we used a joint species distribution model to evaluate the relative influence of dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, and interspecific interactions on the local assembly of mammal communities in 4‐km2 plots. The partitioning of the explained variation in species occurrence was attributed on average 99% to environmental filters and 1% to dispersal filters. No role was attributed to biotic filters, in agreement with the scarce support for strong competition or other negative interactions found after a literature review. Four principal environmental factors explained on average 63% of variance in species occurrence and operated mainly at the landscape scale. The amount of shrub cover in the neighboring landscape was the most influential factor favoring mammal occurrence and accounted for nearly one‐third of the total variance. The proportion of intensively managed croplands and proxies of human activity within landscape samples limited mammal presence. At the microhabitat scale (~80 m2 plots) the mean percentage area deprived of woody vegetation also had a negative effect. Functional traits such as body mass or social behavior accounted for a substantial fraction of the variation attributed to environmental factors. We concluded that multiscale environmental filtering governed local community assembly, whereas the role of dispersal limitation and interspecific interactions was negligible. Our results suggest that further removal of shrubland, the expansion of intensive agriculture, and the increase of human activity are expected to result in species losses. The fact that community integrity responds to a single type of ecological process simplifies practical recommendations. Management strategies should focus on the conservation and restoration of shrubland, adopting alternatives to intensive schemes of agricultural production, and minimizing recreational and other human activities in remnant natural habitats within agroecosystems or mosaic landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rare arable plant cover can reduce the total number of aphids. • Cereal aphids decreased through predation of active hunting spiders. • Direct effects of rare arable plants only on active hunting spiders. In agricultural landscapes, arable plants are negatively affected by management intensification. These species can fulfill various ecosystem functions, such as biological pest control, by supporting predators. The ecosystem functions of common plant species are widely known. By contrast, the contribution of rare arable plants (RAPs) to biocontrol in cereal fields remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effect of RAPs on biocontrol potential. We compared cropped plots with and without sowing of rare and threatened arable plant species and investigated the effects on cereal aphids and their antagonistic predators, active hunting, and web-building spiders, as well as carnivorous/omnivorous carabids. We counted the total number of aphids on cereal shoots and trapped ground-dwelling arthropods on an experimental field and on 10 agricultural farms in the vicinity of Munich, Germany, in 2018 and 2019. The effects of the presence of RAPs were analyzed using linear mixed-effect models, whereas cover of RAPs was analyzed using structural equation models. Linear models revealed that the presence of RAPs did not significantly affect the aphid density and the activity densities of spiders and carabids. Structural equation models revealed direct negative effects of RAP cover on aphid density. However, no indirect effects via the predators of aphids were detected. Direct negative effects of active hunting spiders on aphids were determined, but not of the other potential predators. Our results suggest that RAPs may impact aphid infestation, however, the activity density of spiders and carabids were unsuitable indicators for such interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Due to global agricultural expansion and intensification, many animal species must now survive within a landscape dominated by agroecosystems. For bats, agroecosystems can provide a valuable foraging-habitat, and many species of bats thrive within such habitats whilst also providing a range of ecosystem services for farmers. Despite this, bat usage of many agroecosystem types remains unstudied. Here, we investigated the diversity of insectivorous bats in the vanilla agroecosystems of northeastern Madagascar, the world's principal vanilla-growing region. To assess bat diversity, we used a passive acoustic survey technique, and we identified and classified bat species diversity using PCA and DFA analysis of echolocation call acoustic parameters. In total, we were able to detect the presence of at least 13 different bat species within Madagascar's vanilla agroecosystems, seven of which we were able to confidently identify to species level. However, due to our conservative classification approach, the true diversity of bats in vanilla agroecosystems is likely to be higher. The results of this study indicate that Madagascar's vanilla agroecosystems represent suitable foraging habitat for numerous bat species, particularly forest-specialists, which is a highly encouraging finding for the conservation of Madagascar's bats. Expansion of vanilla agroecosystems is therefore likely to provide valuable habitat extensions for Madagascar's forest bats in the future, provided this expansion does not come at the expense of existing largely-undisturbed natural habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the ancient settlement pattern and rural landscape recognized in the archaeological survey of the Upper Vinalopó Valley (Alicante Province, eastern Spain). The archaeological fieldwork was assisted by geospatial techniques such as GIS, lidar, GPS, and GPR that allowed analyzing the obtained results along multiple scales. Through this data, we analyze the occupation dynamics and ancient land use during ancient times (2nd century b.c.–3rd century a.d.), attending especially to the intensification process linked to agrarian practices such as manuring. In this sense, the historical dynamics of the region are recognized and compared within a regional framework. In addition, we propose a socio-economic organization of agricultural work that contributes to the global discussion of intensification processes and agrarian strategies worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change predicts the increased frequency, duration, and intensity of inclement weather periods such as unseasonably low temperatures (i.e., cold snaps) and prolonged precipitation. Many migratory species have advanced the phenology of important life history stages and, as a result, are likely to be exposed to these periods of inclement spring weather more often, therefore risking reduced fitness and population growth. For declining avian species, including aerial insectivores, anthropogenic landscape changes such as agricultural intensification are another driver of population declines. These landscape changes may affect the foraging ability of food provisioning parents and reduce the survival of nestlings exposed to inclement weather through, for example, pesticide exposure impairing thermoregulation and punctual anorexia. Breeding in agro‐intensive landscapes may therefore exacerbate the negative effects of inclement weather under climate change. We observed that a significant reduction in the availability of insect prey occurred when daily maximum temperatures fell below 18.3°C, and thereby defined any day when the maximum temperature fell below this value as a day witnessing a cold snap. We then combined daily information on the occurrence of cold snaps and measures of precipitation to assess their impact on the fledging success of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) occupying a nest box system placed across a gradient of agricultural intensification. Estimated fledging success of this declining aerial insectivore was 36.2% lower for broods experiencing 4 cold‐snap days during the 12 days post‐hatching period versus broods experiencing none, and this relationship was worsened when facing more precipitation. We further found that the overall negative effects of a brood experiencing periods of inclement weather was exacerbated in more agro‐intensive landscapes. Our results indicate that two of the primary hypothesized drivers of many avian population declines may interact to further increase the rate of declines in certain landscape contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Intensive agriculture causes landscape homogenization and massive defaunation. The creation of Strict Nature Reserves (SNR) where management is proscribed aims to stem this trend; this is the case for SNR forests in Western Europe. Yet, unmanaged forests are subjected to rapid habitat closing; semi-open bushy habitats that are essential to many thermophilic organisms can be squeezed between industrial agriculture and high timber forests. Long-term capture-mark-recapture monitoring of snake populations (∼27 years; 3,447 individuals) coupled with canopy closure monitoring conducted in a 2,579 ha forest amid a landscape dominated by intensive agriculture in France provides an illustration of this threat. Prior to SNR classification, logging maintained a mosaic of habitats (e.g., open, semi-open, closed plots) favorable to snakes (Hierophis viridiflavus, Zamenis longissimus). SNR classification promoted the growth of trees and rapid habitat closing, causing the disappearance of open woodlands and a strong decline of snake abundance (∼60 % drop). The impact was rapid in the most thermophilic species (H. viridiflavus) and delayed in the less thermophilic species (Z. longissimus). This study provides robust and direct evidence that habitat changes can entail a drastic decrease of snake abundance. Unintendedly, applying the most protective conservation status to temperate forests might be less valuable in terms of snake abundance and diversity than a status where limited conservation management actions are permitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-year field study was conducted to explore the use of Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a cost-effective alternative to conventional tillage (CT) in rice-wheat (RW) systems. Therefore, to minimize the weed menace while sustaining the system productivity, a three-year field study was undertaken with different CA-based practices layered with flooded (FI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). In rice, weed density (WD) in Sc8 {Zero tillage direct seeded rice with residue (+R) and SDI} recorded 72.9% lowered then Sc1 (CT-Puddled transplanted rice) after three years. However, maximum WD (162 m−2) and dry matter (WDM; 772.8 g m−2) were recorded in ZTDSR without residue (-R) with FI (Sc3) during third year which reduced rice yield by ∼37%. In wheat, the WD and WDM of Phalaris minor, Coronopus didymus, Melilotus indica and other species lowered in CA with SDI system (Sc5-Sc8) than CTRW system (Sc1 and Sc2). Lowest weed index (WI) observed with Sc8 during third year, while diversity indices (H', R, E) increased by 10, 57 and 10% under SDI system than CTW-R scenario (Sc1). CA-system improved productivity by 7.40–37.11% over CTRW systems in weed free (WF) conditions, regardless of residue and irrigation management. Under weedy check (WC), Sc8 was top yielder with yield of 8.32 Mg ha−1. Moreover, sustainable intensification (Sc7-Sc8) improved productivity by 35.2 and ∼52% than CTRW systems in WF and WC plots, respectively. In conclusion, CA+SDI scenarios may be recommended for RW system owing to their system yield enhancement, resource savings and weed reduction advantages. [Display omitted] • CA based sustainable intensification options ensures food security in IGP. • CA with SDI reduced the weed density (∼73% in rice) then CT system. • CA with SDI increased the diversity indices (H′, R, E) then CT wheat. • In weedy check, CA with SDI get higher system yield then CT rice-wheat system. • Mungbean integration in CA based RW system with SDI owing yield enhancement, resource savings and weed reduction advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agricultural intensification causes a generalized land use pattern. • The new (2023–2027) CAP and the EU Green Deal support biodiversity preservation. • Small woody landscape feature (SWLF) restoration can improve biodiversity. • Suitable SWLF preservation/restoration areas were detected with GIS-based modelling. • A SDSS can help bypass existing gaps in SWLF-targeted CAP measure implementation. Years of agricultural intensification across Europe's plains, valleys and hills had left behind a more or less generalized land use pattern dominated by profitable land cover types. Small landscape features with no direct (financial) benefit to the farmer, have been, in many cases, removed and converted to arable land. This study investigates the possibilities to integrate small woody landscape features (SWLF) into the new (2023–2027) CAP measures, which are in conjunction with the EU Green Deal ambitions and support biodiversity preservation in agroecosystems. A spatial SWLF preservation/restoration algorithm, based on the most recent European (SWF2018) and improved national level (SWLF2015) status databases, was developed and then applied to identify priority SWLF management regions and areas in Slovenia. In addition, a self-standing (LPIS independent) information, monitoring and decision support system has been designed for a target priority area (Goričko) in different spatial scales (from regional, 1 km, 300 m, AH to parcel level) to bypass existing gaps in SWLF-targeted CAP measure implementation strategies in Slovenia. Such results are urgently needed across all European countries to easier, faster and better realize CAP national strategic plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural intensification and urbanization have increased the risk of proliferation of rodents in rural and urban habitats. Management of rodent populations is a challenge in terms of food security and public health. However, conventional efforts to manage rodents are currently reactive and based on the inadequate use of synthetic chemical rodenticides, including first- and second-generation anticoagulants and acute rodenticides. This approach carries substantial environmental and health risks and has yielded limited success in terms of reduction of rodent populations sustainably. In this paper, which is the second part of a diptych, we advocate for a shift towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches, such as Ecologically-Based Rodent Management (EBRM), as a realistic alternative to synthetic rodenticides. This method is based on a good knowledge of habitat use, species diversity and population dynamics of major rodent pests, and involves community-based interventions aimed at reducing rodent abundance to economically and hygienically acceptable levels in the long term. We present for the first time a comprehensive compilation of published and unpublished information derived from observational field studies conducted in Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal with the aim to provide an overview of EBRM case studies in these countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This paper intends to serve as a catalyst for change, encouraging the transformation of rodent management practices towards sustainable methods. We aim at stimulating further research and interventions that promote EBRM in Africa, ultimately fostering more environmentally conscious and effective solutions. [Display omitted] • In Africa, agricultural intensification and urbanization are major changes. • These changes increase the risk of rodent proliferation in rural and urban habitats. • Conventional rodent control relies on reactive, inappropriate use of rodenticides. • Ecologically-Based Rodent Management has been poorly tested in sub-Saharan Africa. • This method can be a realistic, sustainable and environment-friendly alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

■ In unprotected grasslands 35% of the patches were converted to other biotope types ■ Expansion of bioenergy-crop cultivation main driver of grassland conversion ■ Nature reserves successfully prevent the conversion of grasslands ■ Well-managed protected grasslands play a vital role for grasshopper conservation Land-use and climate change are considered the major drivers of recent insect loss. Orthoptera (hereinafter termed 'grasshoppers') are the main arthropod consumers in grasslands and, hence, are important elements for supporting ecosystem services. However, for intensively-used agricultural landscapes, it is largely unknown to what extent both factors have affected grasshopper assemblages in protected (nature reserves) and unprotected grasslands. Here, we analysed species richness of grasshopper assemblages in protected (n = 14) and unprotected grasslands (n = 49) by comparing two surveys—one in 1995 and one in 2012—of a landscape with intensive agriculture in the NW-German Lowland. The observed changes were associated with the Community Farmland Index (CFI) and the Community Temperature Index (CTI) in order to disentangle possible effects of land-use and climate change on assemblage shifts. Between the two surveys, environmental conditions substantially changed. Summer temperatures increased by 1.1°C, and grasslands suffered from a severe loss of patches. However, the latter only occurred in unprotected grasslands. Here, 35% of the patches were converted to other biotope types, in particular maize fields as a result of the expansion of bioenergy-crop cultivation. In the grasslands still existing in 2012, irrespective of its protection status, species richness usually increased, except for species with low dispersal ability in unprotected grasslands. By contrast, the development of the CFI and CTI clearly varied between the two grassland types. In protected grasslands, neither the CFI nor the CTI changed. However, in unprotected grasslands, the CFI decreased but the CTI increased. Land-use change has led to a biotic homogenisation at the landscape level and within unprotected grassland patches. Additionally, our study highlights that the legal designation of grasslands as a nature reserve successfully prevents the conversion of grasslands. Overall, well-managed grasslands in nature reserves play a vital role for the conservation of grasshopper biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In the Westerwald mountain range, mid-western Germany, humid long-term fallows rather than traditional hay meadows harboured the highest spider richness and diversity. • Spider assemblages were structured by on-site management, and additionally by eutrophication, fallow-related parameters, and the proportion of forests in the surrounding landscape. • In traditional landscapes of rather low land-use intensity, enhancing structural heterogeneity, e.g. through fallows, may be of key importance to promote spider diversity. • Long-term grassland fallows should be subsidized under agri-environmental schemes. Agricultural intensification is an important driver of biodiversity decline. Regarding grassland ecosystems, traditionally managed hay meadows, as opposed to highly productive silage grassland, are often of high conservation value. Here, we compare spider assemblages among five grassland management regimes along an intensification gradient, ranging from long-term fallows (not farmed for ≥ 30 years) via traditionally managed hay meadows to high-intensity silage grassland. Humid long-term fallows harboured highest species richness and diversity, and their assemblages differed strongly from other management regimes. There was surprisingly little variation though among different types of hay meadows and silage grassland. We also included environmental parameters and land-cover types in the surroundings of study sites, indicating that spider assemblages were most strongly shaped by fallow-related parameters and the proportion of forests. The high spider diversity on fallows may result from their undisturbed vegetation structure, while management, regardless of frequency, may have detrimental effects. Our results demonstrate the high importance of unmanaged areas even in regions with an overall low land-use intensity, such as grassland ecosystems. We thus recommend the inclusion of temporal grassland fallows (unmanaged for 3-5 years) in agri-environmental schemes to increase landscape heterogeneity and preserve spider diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of MESO is the property of Zadruzna Stampa D.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Some emerging and reemerging diseases have been associated with certain species of bats. These diseases have emerged in anthropogenic environments where the conditions for spillover of infectious agents between bats, domestic animals, and humans are present. Mexico is the country with the fourth highest bat diversity in the world, and some of these bat species live in anthropogenic environments such as a backyard production system. The objective of this study was to analyze the virome of three species of bats (Artibeus spp., Macrotus waterhousii and Pteronotus parnellii) that inhabit roosts near rural backyard farms and have large geographic distributions. Rectal swabs were taken and analyzed by the next-generation sequencing (NGS). Thus, it was possible to study the virome of these bat species which has not been previously reported. In one of them, P. parnellii, sequences of the family Coronaviridae were found. The detected viral communities of these three bat species included mostly bacteriophages while showing low numbers for known animal viruses. Viral diversities varied among the species studied and differed from previous studies. The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the virome of bat species which have large geographical distributions and, as in this case, inhabit anthropogenic habitats differing from intensive farms or urban settelments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of agriculture and increased insecticide use have been implicated in global losses of farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services. We hypothesized that increased insecticide applications (proportion of area treated with insecticides) in Canada's expansive agricultural landscapes are due, in part, to shifts toward more simplified landscapes. To assess this relationship, we analyzed data from the Canadian Census of Agriculture spanning 20 years including five census periods (1996–2016) and across 225 census units within the four major agricultural regions of Pacific, Prairie, Central, and Atlantic Canada. Generalized mixed effects models were used to evaluate if changes in landscape simplification — defined as the proportion of farmland in crops (cereals, oilseeds, pulses and fruit/vegetables) — alongside other farming and climatic variables, influenced insecticide applications over time. Bayesian spatial–temporal models were further used to estimate the strength of the relationship with landscape simplification over time. We found that landscape simplification increased in 89% and insecticide applications increased in 70% of the Census Division spatial units during the 1996–2016 period. Nationally, significant increases in landscape simplification were observed in the two most agriculturally intensive regions of Prairie (from 55% to 63%) and Central (from 51% to 60%) Canada. For both regions, landscape simplification was a strong and significant predictor of higher insecticide applications, even after accounting for other factors such as climate, farm economics, farm size and land use practices (e.g., area in cash crops and tillage). If current trends continue, we estimated that insecticide applications will increase another 10%–20% by 2036 as a result of landscape simplification alone. To avoid increased reliance on toxic insecticides, agri‐environmental policies need to consider that losing diverse natural habitat can increase insect pest pressure and resistance with negative environmental consequences extending beyond the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation agriculture (CA) represents a paradigm shift towards more sustainable and climate-smart intensification of smallholder farming systems in southern Africa. This can only be achieved with reasonably fast, widespread, and sustained adoption of CA. However, many farmers are slow to adopt CA and when they do, they often do not continue using it and eventually dis-adopt. We combine duration models and quantile regression models to study how long farmers take to adopt conservation agriculture once they are trained; and to assess the distributional effects of the drivers of the persistence of adoption once a farmer adopts. Both models account for self-selection which makes adoption endogenous. We find that, on average, farmers take four years to adopt once trained and that there is a congruence between factors that reduce the duration to adoption and those that increase the persistence of adoption. Access to CA extension and credit, labor availability, education and hosting demonstrations increase the speed of adoption by 13–28 %. The duration from the first training, access to extension services, and farming experience increase the persistence of adoption, especially in the initial years. The findings point to the need for implementing multi-year CA promotional programs with medium-term time horizons that should prioritize enhanced training through community-embedded demonstrations and learning sites, and digital extension for extended reach. • We study how long farmers take to adopt CA once trained among true adopters. • And for how long they persist in adoption once they adopt. • We use duration and quantile regression models with selection. • Demonstrations, extension, and training speed up and lengthen CA adoption. • Findings call for investments in long-term, farmer led demonstrations and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clear-cutting is believed to have a negative impact on forest biodiversity, but numerous studies have also shown its positive effects, especially in temperate and boreal regions. This phenomenon is mainly related to the creation of early successional habitats that serve as temporary meadows. Among the species that benefit the most are those associated with semi-natural grasslands, i.e. biotopes that have been disappearing from the landscape due to agricultural intensification. A good example is the Danube Clouded Yellow Colias myrmidone , one of the most endangered butterflies in Europe. Its last lowland metapopulation in the EU exists in the Knyszyn Forest (north-eastern Poland), but the species occurrence is limited to the eastern parts of this large forest complex. All currently known habitats are forest clear-cuts located mainly on former agricultural land, i.e. mostly extensively used pastures that were afforested in the 20th century. Chamaecytisus ruthenicus , the only local larval food plant of C. myrmidone , is currently found almost exclusively in first-generation forests. Logging allows the host plants to flourish, and clear-cuts are colonized by the butterfly. In 2022, intensive mark-release-recapture studies were carried out in the focal metapopulation. The estimated metapopulation size was 4643 adults, indicating a six-fold increase compared to previous studies conducted in 2017. This was plausibly mainly due to the increase in the area of potential habitats, as butterfly densities were very similar in both seasons. The improved connectivity between habitat patches resulted in a very high proportion of dispersing individuals successfully reaching other patches, which is in contrast to the dispersal mortality of ca. 50% observed five years earlier. A relatively high mobility was also observed in the case of the much smaller spring generation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document a reversal of selection against dispersal and it demonstrates that such changes can occur relatively quickly, i.e. within a few generations. In order to ensure the long-term persistence of the viable C. myrmidone metapopulation and mitigate the negative effects of climate change, a network of stable forest-steppe-like habitats in combination with the creation of clear-cuts in forest stands with presence of C. ruthenicus would be optimal. To achieve this, we recommend leaving some selected clear-cuts without replanting to restore grasslands (through grazing and removal of excess trees, shrubs and invasive plants), while the suitability of ephemeral habitats could be improved through appropriate silvicultural measures. • The last lowland metapopulation of the focal butterfly depends on forest clear-cuts. • Logging intensification plausibly contributed to an increase in species abundance. • Several year old clear-cuts in the first generation forests were mostly occupied. • Improved connectivity among habitat patches reversed selection against dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction and expansion of large-scale modern irrigation technology is often justified on the grounds of agricultural productivity and, more recently, climate change adaptation. However, the impacts of its accompanying process of agricultural intensification are seldom analysed from a social-ecological lens. Here we explore the effects of a large-scale modern irrigation (LSMI) project on farming livelihoods in Navarre, Spain. We identify farmers' main livelihood and land management strategies to show how they are affected by the adoption of LSMI technology. We show that the development of the LSMI project contributes to change farm management practices in ways that simplify cropping patterns while displacing some farmers towards drylands and forcing others to sell their arable lands. Furthermore, we suggest that the LSMI project adopters may become more sensitive to climate change in the long term. In light of these findings, we argue that LSMI projects, and irrigation policy more broadly, may be inadvertently eroding traditional and less intensive small-scale farming while contributing to land accumulation by large-scale and pro-intensification farmers. These processes may be sowing the seeds of future rural vulnerabilities under accelerating climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative multiresidue study of current-use pesticides in multiple matrices was undertaken with field sampling at 32 headwater streams near Lac Saint-Pierre in Québec, Canada. A total of 232 samples were collected in five campaigns of stream waters and streambed sediments from streams varying in size and watershed land use. Novel multiresidue analytical methods from previous work were successfully applied for the extraction of pesticide residues from sediments via pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and quantitative analysis using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) with online sample preparation on a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) column. Of the 31 target compounds, including 29 pesticides and two degradation products of atrazine, 29 compounds were detected at least once. Consistent with other studies, atrazine and metolachlor were the most widely-detected herbicides. Detections were generally higher in water than sediment samples and the influence of land use on pesticide concentrations was only detectable in water samples. Small streams with a high proportion of agricultural land use in their watershed were generally found to have the highest pesticide concentrations. Corn and soybean monoculture crops, specifically, were found to cause the greatest impact on pesticide concentration in headwater streams and correlated strongly with many of the most frequently detected pesticides. This study highlights the importance of performing multiresidue pesticide monitoring programs in headwater streams in order to capture the impacts of agricultural intensification on freshwater ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Quantitative multiresidue study of pesticides in 32 small streams. • Application of novel analytical methods to water and sediment field samples. • 29 of the 31 target compounds were detected at least once in the study. • Small headwater streams were found to have the highest pesticide concentrations. • Intensive agriculture correlated with higher pesticide concentrations in streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid socioeconomic development and urbanization, global agroecosystems (AESs) have undergone varying degrees of transformation, and conducting an in-depth study on how AESs are transforming in karst mountainous areas (KMAs) is essential. To further reveal the transformation process of AESs in KMAs, we proposed a theoretical framework for the transformation of AESs in KMAs. Following a "theory construction–empirical analysis–pattern evolution–mechanism revelation" research methodology, we studied the trend of AES evolution in "typical study area—typical landforms of the study area," summarized the transformation patterns of AESs in different karst landforms, and analyzed the influencing factors of their transformation. The study found that (1) a large amount of productive land (PL) was abandoned as ecological land (EL) on steep slopes at high altitudes in KMAs, while river valleys are dominated by the transformation of PL into ecological and economic land (EEL), and the spatial distribution structure has evolved into a coordinated distribution of EL–EEL–PL, with the dominance of the production function transformed into the dominance of ecological and eco-economic functions and the living function strengthened. (2) The transformation of AESs in different karst landscapes can be summarized into four types: eco-economic development, food supply, ecological conservation, and living service. (3) The transformation of AESs is influenced by various factors, including the region's particular natural environment and socioeconomics. This study also shows that traditional extensive agriculture is moving toward modern intensive agriculture with remarkable ecological and economic win–win benefits. Our study provides theoretical guidance for land remediation, ecological environment restoration, and agricultural transformation in KMAs and similar mountainous areas to alleviate regional human–land conflicts and promote sustainable agricultural development in KMAs. • We constructed a theoretical framework for agroecosystem transformation. • We analyzed trends in agroecosystem transition in karst mountainous areas. • The factors that influence agroecosystem transformation are revealed. • The agroecosystem transformation of different karst landforms is classified into four models. • Agroecosystem transformation promoted ecological restoration in karst mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• State-sponsored irrigation development occurs on the back of promises of a better future. • Expectations of the future are embedded in irrigation infrastructure, technologies and social arrangements. • Farmers enact diverse futures, shaped by their aspirations and access to resources. • Irrigation-driven changes in hydrosocial relations are leading to corporatisation and financialisaton of farming in Tasmania. • Examining effects of the future on the present could provide opportunities for creating alternative futures. Irrigation development projects rely on visions of a better future to get funded. How do these visions shape investments in the present and with what effects? We combine concepts and perspectives from sociological studies of expectations and hydrosocial literature to examine how visions of the future shape interactions between water and society in the context of irrigation development in the island state of Tasmania in Australia. We compare the state's vision of irrigation-driven growth that is embedded in infrastructure and institutions, with the aspirations and lived experiences of farmers, gathered through interviews. Interview data reveal the contingency and multiplicity of the future projected in policies. Our analysis suggests that irrigation development is accelerating agricultural intensification and growth in Tasmania, while at the same time increasing technocratic control of water resources, capital accumulation and corporate investment in farms. Examining the causal influence of the future on actions, infrastructure and social arrangements in the present provides a basis to critically evaluate and shape water futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Burundi's isolation means that agricultural development actors must consider different approaches. • An agroecological model of Boserupian intensification makes sense in a place like Burundi. • Agricultural development approaches are co-produced as their implementation is modified across multiple scales. • Agricultural development knowledge is contested within an international institution. While the New Green Revolution for Africa, a donor supported approach emphasizing high external input agriculture, has been in vogue in many African countries, politically isolated states like Burundi face a different set of constraints and opportunities. Due to political irregularities, international human rights concerns, and tensions with its neighbors, Burundi has been increasingly isolated from international markets. This isolation, combined with poor households more limited access to credit, means that agricultural development actors must consider different approaches to improving agricultural production and household food security. One such initiative, known as the Crop Livestock Integration Project (CLiP), focused on crop-livestock integration and intensification using locally available and affordable resources. An assessment conducted by the author in late 2016 suggests that CLiP was promoting an agroecological model of pro-poor, Boserupian intensification that makes sense in a place like Burundi. While this innovation was occurring under very challenging political economic circumstances in Burundi, and was contested within the International Crop Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) hierarchy, it may serve as a model for promoting resilience and food security at the community level in a variety of contexts. This case is also an interesting example of how agricultural development approaches are often co-produced as their conception and implementation are modified across multiple scales, and how agricultural development knowledge is contested or subverted within an international development institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents the discussion on journal contributing to both practical and academic interest in social licence. Topics include taken up in other industries and areas from agriculture, to forestry, to tourism, and social policy and government; and possessing and understanding a practice of social licensing showing a norm requiring the licensing of some activity.

Protected geographical indications (PGIs) are an increasingly popular strategy for securing price premiums on food products in the interest of preserving associated rural livelihoods, however they often fail to show clear benefits for small or otherwise marginalized farmers. Their environmental record for supporting low-impact farming practices is also mixed. This case study of the PGI for Spanish almond-based desserts Turrón de Jijona and Turrón de Alicante details a yet unstudied form of such failures, where manufacturers seeking to scale production removed the requirement to source their primary ingredient (almonds) from the region's low-input farms and opted for intensively produced ingredients imported from abroad. This uprooting of turrón from its agroecological origins highlights how the GI designation creates tension between the need to legitimate a product as rooted in traditional agrarian lifeways and the incentive to expand exports by industrial means. While previous studies show how such tension can result in agricultural intensification benefitting larger landholders within a given region, I argue this inequity and ecological risk operates at a global scale. Importantly, the turrón case reveals that "quality" of a product is a moving target shaped not only by culinary legacies but also forged by a global political economy of agriculture suffering chronic overproduction. Finally, the role of the state in structuring PGI institutions more inclusively and adjudicating conflicts among actors along the value chain is fundamental to the capacity of these programs to achieve social and environmental goals. • Turrón manufacturers changed standards to allow internationally imported ingredients. • Material quality of ingredients in PGI products is shaped by global political economy. • Shift to industrial ingredient quality disadvantages ecologically-suited agriculture. • Inclusion of farmers in PGI management is crucial to meet rural socioecological goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatio-temporal modelling of land use allows an analysis of change considering socio-economic, ecological and biophysical factors. We developed a 'spatially explicit' model to simulate land use/cover change in the Calakmul realm during the Late Classic period, taking into account the relationship between population density, agriculture strategies and erosion and drought. Different scenarios were simulated, combining agricultural systems, patterns of distribution of settlements, population densities and rainfall variability. The models showed that scenarios based on slash-and-burn agriculture only exhibit a collapse, with population densities much lower than those widely accepted by archaeologists. The simulation that implements a combination of slash-and-burn and intensive agriculture presents a population collapse around AD 860 in concordance with the records of the abandonment of the Maya Lowlands by the Terminal Classic. Spatially explicit land change models can be useful in reconstructing past environmental conditions and understanding the role of management practices and environmental change in the successes and failures of past societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Avian Conservation & Ecology is the property of Resilience Alliance and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• What helps easter bunnies real world relatives?. • 20 years of direct European brown hare observations on large spatial scale. • Machine learning- and parametric-models. • Comparison of landscape- and weather-effects. • Top ranking for scattered woody vegetation. European brown hare populations have declined during the last decades. Agricultural intensification has been identified as a relevant driver of this process and agri-environment schemes have been implemented to foster biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Because species-specific outcomes of measures strongly depend on tailored design of the policy framework and the local management, while changing climate may pose additional challenges, policy and management need science-based information of which landscape composition should be promoted to achieve set biodiversity goals. Here, we used direct observations of European brown hares over 20 years for evaluating the effects of landscape composition and weather conditions on European brown hare density. For the first time, our analysis compared the estimates of machine learning (gradient boosting machine) and linear mixed models in terms of importance of a wide range of explanatory variables for European brown hare densities and effect trends. Scattered woody vegetation, as represented by the two variables transitional woodland-shrub and small woody features, was on top rankings among the predictors and greater proportions of these elements were accompanied by sharp increases of European brown hare density. Also warmer winter temperature had a positive effect. We conclude that promoting scattered woody vegetation in agricultural landscapes is a powerful tool for improving European brown hare habitat quality. Particularly with the increasing dynamic in agriculture due to climate change, incentives and regulations that create a long-lasting heterogeneity in the landscape composition through near-natural elements can support the population of this popular mammal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of increasing global environmental changes, it has become progressively important to understand the effects of human activity on wildlife populations. Declines in several avian populations have been observed since the 1970s, especially with respect to many farmland and grassland birds, which also include some aerial insectivores. Changes in farming practices referred to as agricultural intensification coincide with these major avian declines. Among those practices, increased pesticide use is hypothesized to be a key driver of avian population declines as it can lead to both toxicological and trophic effects. While numerous laboratory studies report that birds experience acute and chronic effects upon consuming pesticide treated food, little is known about the effects of the exposure to multiple pesticides on wildlife in natural settings. We monitored the breeding activities of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) on 40 farms distributed over a gradient of agricultural intensification in southern Québec, Canada, to evaluate the presence of pesticides in their diet and quantify the exposure effects of those compounds on their reproductive performance between 2013 and 2018. We first assessed the presence of 54 active agents (or derivatives) found in pesticides in 2,081 food boluses (insects) delivered to nestlings by parents and documented their spatial distribution within our study area. Second, we assessed the effect of pesticide exposure through food (number of active agents detected and number of contaminated boluses on a given farm for a given year, while controlling for sampling effort) on clutch size as well as hatching and fledging successes and nestling's mass upon fledging. Pesticides were ubiquitous in our study system and nearly half (46%) of food boluses were contaminated by at least one active agent. Yet we found no relationship between our proxies of food contamination by pesticides and Tree Swallow reproductive performance. More studies are needed to better understand the putative role of pesticides in the decline of farmland birds and aerial insectivores as potential sublethal effects of pesticides can carry over to later life stages and impact fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fragmented agriculture land use remains a policy concern in Rwanda. In response to this, since 2008, land use consolidation (LUC) has been at the central of the agricultural intensification as a component of the Crop Intensification Programme (CIP). It is designed to reduce poverty and ensure national food and nutrition security. Despite emerging positive LUC's effects, fragmented land use persists especially more on the hillside than the marshlands. Existing studies assessing the effectiveness and impacts of LUC have so far generated a mixed and opposing evidence. To enlighten on the current status and dynamics of LUC, this paper has used a systematic review of research conducted to take stock of available empirical evidence on LUC's impacts across economic, food and nutrition security, and environmental and climate change resilience outcomes. Our results substantiate that none of the identified case studies has provided a strong basis to establish the overall effectiveness and impact of land use consolidation. Existing studies have only addressed some constituents of LUC and impacts on certain outcomes while leaving others unpacked. This leaves the studies vulnerable to potential biases, leading consequently to under or overestimate of LUC's effects. Going forward, we stress a need for a comprehensive impact study, specifically designed for a comprehensive empirical evaluation of LUC, taking into account its overall policy and development ecosystem. This will help to establish the achieved impact and inform a clear direction of its future interventions contributing to sustainable agriculture transformation agenda of Rwanda. • This paper is about land use consolidation in Rwanda. • Land use consolidation is designed to reduce poverty and ensure national food and nutrition security • The paper has used a systematic review of existing studies to investigate the effectiveness of land use consolidation • None of the existing case studies has established the effectiveness and impact of land use consolidation •.A more comprehensive impact study of LUC is needed considering overall policy and development ecosystem in Rwanda [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]