Instant Insights: Biodiversity Management Practices: 53 (Burleigh Dodds Science: Instant Insights)

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on biodiversity management practices in agriculture.

The first chapter reviews biodiversity management practices and benefits in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems. After looking at the importance of soil microorganisms, the chapter looks at how CA systems contribute to soil biological activity, particularly the way cover crops and rotations, with a no-till regime, can enrich soil and the multitude or organisms living in it.

The second chapter synthesizes and reviews the published information on grass hedges and their soil benefits, to better understand the potential of grass hedges for managing water erosion as well as improving soil health in agricultural lands.

The third chapter reviews research on ways of modifying the agricultural landscape to reverse the decline in a range of fauna and flora. The chapter also reviews the characteristics and types of field margins, as well as their role in agroecosystems. The chapter concludes with a discussion on managing field margins to promote insect biodiversity and rare arable plant populations.

The final chapter considers the impact of agricultural intensification on agricultural landscapes, farming systems and biodiversity. The chapter highlights how hedgerows can contribute to the multifunctionality of agroecosystems in intensively-managed agricultural landscapes, focussing on improved pest regulation and enhanced pollination services.

Dr Marie Bartz is a Researcher in the Centre of Functional Ecology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She is also a Visiting Professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná, Brazil. She has published widely on earthworms and other aspects of soil biodiversity.