Biodiversity–production feedback effects lead to intensification traps in agricultural landscapes
Intensive agriculture with high reliance on pesticides and fertilizers constitutes a major strategy for ‘feeding the world’. However, such conventional intensification is linked to diminishing returns and can result in ‘intensification traps’—production declines triggered by the negative feedback of biodiversity loss at high input levels. Here we developed a novel framework that accounts for biodiversity feedback on crop yields to evaluate the risk and magnitude of intensification traps.
Read more in the article by IBioS faculty member Dr. Claire Kremen and colleagues.
Both technological innovations and cultural change are key to a sustainability transition
We are said to be living in the Anthropocene, a time when human activities are having as great an impact on the Earth system as other geological forces. According to the “Planetary Boundaries” framework, which uses the past 10,000 years (the Holocene) as a benchmark, human influence on the Earth system has greatly exceeded the “safe operating space” across multiple indicators, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and nutrient pollution. A critical message is that even if we solve the climate problem, the biodiversity and nutrient pollution challenges will remain.
Read more in the article by IBioS faculty member Dr. Navin Ramankutty.
The benefits of climate change mitigation to retaining rainbow trout habitat in British Columbia, Canada
Climate change is increasing stream temperatures and thereby changing habitat suitability for a variety of freshwater fishes. We investigate how suitable stream habitat for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a valuable cold-water species, may change in British Columbia, Canada, currently near the north end of their range.
Read more in article by IBioS faculty member Dr. Rashid Sumaila and colleagues.