New paper published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

14 March 2023

This study uses a spatial multi-objective optimization framework to explores how restructuring landscapes by introducing woody features and decreasing field sizes can support both bird biodiversity and net returns in farming. The paper concludes that increasing woody features and reducing field sizes can be effective to increase farmland biodiversity without deteriorating net returns. This suggests that targeted land use planning can help strike a better balance between economic objectives of farmers and societal desire for conservation.

Wesemeyer, Maximilian; Kamp, Johannes; Schmitz, Tillman; Müller, Daniel; Lakes, Tobia (2023) Multi-objective spatial optimization to balance trade-offs between farmland bird diversity and potential agricultural net returns. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 345