Landscape connectivity and diversity maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. The Long Term Agroecosystems Research (LTAR) network is positioned to test the magnitude and generality of landscape effects in aspirational agricultural systems the United States. Kellogg Biological Station is unique as part of the LTAR and Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) networks. As the only agricultural LTER, we will use mechanistic understanding of ecosystem response to landscape diversity to inform new, farm-scale, LTAR treatments. To demonstrate how, I will draw on three studies. First, I will discuss how landscape diversity of bioenergy crops affects ecosystem services provided by ants. Second, I will discuss the effects of decades old landscape corridors on biodiversity in plantation forest landscapes. Third, I will show modeled effects of landscape diversity on pollination services across the upper Midwestern corn belt.
Results/Conclusions
We found that 1) diverse perennial bioenergy crops increase ant species richness, ant diversity, and the services ants provide via pest predation ; 2) corridors increased plant diversity by 14% after 18 years, a level that is still rising; and 3) landscape diversity can be strategically enhanced to improve water quality and pollination services. I will discuss how these mechanistic studies can inform LTAR tests of farm scale management for landscape diversity on ecosystem services. As 1% of the corn belt is three million acres, even small proportion of land dedicated to diversifying landscapes can yield large benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation. Results from LTER and LTAR will provide complementary results to inform this type of region-wide conservation.