Scale matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales

  1. Doreen Gabriel1,*,
  2. Steven M. Sait1,
  3. Jenny A. Hodgson1,
  4. Ulrich Schmutz2,
  5. William E. Kunin1,
  6. Tim G. Benton1

Article first published online: 5 MAY 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01481.x

Issue

Ecology Letters

Ecology Letters

Volume 13, Issue 7, pages 858–869, July 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Gabriel, D., Sait, S. M., Hodgson, J. A., Schmutz, U., Kunin, W. E. and Benton, T. G. (2010), Scale matters: the impact of organic farming on biodiversity at different spatial scales. Ecology Letters, 13: 858–869. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01481.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute of Integrative & Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

  2. 2

    HDRA (Henry Doubleday Research Association), Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry CV8 3LG, UK

* Correspondence and present address: Department of Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. E-mail: D.Gabriel@leeds.ac.uk

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 JUN 2010
  2. Article first published online: 5 MAY 2010
  3. Editor, Thomas Crist Manuscript received 9 December 2009 First decision made 14 January 2010 Second decision made 17 March 2010 Manuscript accepted 22 March 2010

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Keywords:

  • Agri-environment schemes;
  • agro-ecology;
  • conservation;
  • diversity;
  • landscape;
  • spill-over

Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 858–869

Abstract

There is increasing recognition that ecosystems and their services need to be managed in the face of environmental change. However, there is little consensus as to the optimum scale for management. This is particularly acute in the agricultural environment given the level of public investment in agri-environment schemes (AES). Using a novel multiscale hierarchical sampling design, we assess the effect of land use at multiple spatial scales (from location-within-field to regions) on farmland biodiversity. We show that on-farm biodiversity components depend on farming practices (organic vs. conventional) at farm and landscape scales, but this strongly interacts with fine- and coarse-scale variables. Different taxa respond to agricultural practice at different spatial scales and often at multiple spatial scales. Hence, AES need to target multiple spatial scales to maximize effectiveness. Novel policy levers may be needed to encourage multiple land managers within a landscape to adopt schemes that create landscape-level benefits.

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