Do improved pollination services outweigh farm-economic disadvantages of working in small-structured agricultural landscapes? - Development and application of a bio-economic model.

ABSTRACT: Increases in the size of agricultural fields, the loss of permanent green field edges and other semi-natural habitats have accompanied the intensification of agriculture, and are still ongoing. From a farm economic perspective, an increase in field size increases efficiency mainly due to cost savings. However, recent evidence suggests that increases in field size might lead to the loss of ecosystem services provided by farmland biodiversity, but this trade-off is rarely considered. Here, we aim to quantify the economic and ecological effects of these changes by developing a bio-economic simulation-based land-use modelling framework based on spatially explicit data from an agricultural region in Germany. The results show a substantial decrease in flower visitation in oilseed rape when field

SUBMITTER: Kirchweger S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7115987 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature