Publications

The use of land to produce food and other bio-based resources is the main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Land use diversification, i.e., the intentional enhancement of functional biodiversity in agricultural and forestry landscapes to maintain ecosystem services, has been proposed as one of the strategies to reduce the impacts of agriculture and forestry on the abundance and diversity of wildlife. While several studies provide evidence for the biodiversity benefits of land use diversification measures, much less is known about biodiversity in (diversified) land use sites in comparison to natural reference sites. Hence, it is unknown to what extent land use diversification may compensate for the negative impacts of agricultural and forestry land use.

We synthesised data from 99 studies that recorded mammal populations or assemblages in natural reference sites and in cropland and forest plantations, with or without diversification measures. We quantified the responses to diversification measures based on individual species abundance, species richness, and assemblage intactness (quantified by the mean species abundance indicator). In cropland with natural elements (e.g., strips of natural vegetation), mammal species abundance and richness were, on average, similar to natural conditions. In cropland without natural elements, abundance and richness were reduced by 28% and 34%, respectively. We found that mammal species richness was comparable between diversified forest plantations and natural reference sites, and 32% lower in plantations without natural elements. In addition, we found that responses to land use were modified by species traits and environmental context. While habitat specialist populations were reduced in cropland without diversification and in forest plantations, habitat generalists benefited. Furthermore, assemblages were impacted more by land use in tropical regions and landscapes containing a larger share of (semi)natural habitat compared with temperate regions and more converted landscapes.

In both cropland and plantations, assemblage intactness was reduced compared with natural reference conditions, but the reduction was smaller if diversification measures were in place. Given that mammal assemblage intactness is reduced also in diversified landscapes, special attention should be directed to species that suffer from land use impacts. That said, our results suggest that land use diversification may mitigate on-site effects on natural ecosystems, provided that the diversification measures do not compromise yield (resulting in an expansion of agricultural area).