Integrating Intensive Agriculture with Sustainable Landscape Management Fact, Myth or Magic?

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1 Integrating Intensive Agriculture with Sustainable Landscape Management Fact, Myth or Magic? Les Firbank & Sofia Biffi University of Leeds

2 Is the paradigm of sustainable intensification useful? Is the model for sustainable intensification correct? Can the model be used to drive land use change? Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape anyway?

3 Conceptual model of SU Agricultural production Enhanced yield and resource use Greening the edges Low-input agriculture Knowledge exchange & investment Production of non-food ecosystem services Non-food ecosystem services Firbank, L. (2012). International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

4 The key assumptions That agricultural production and ecosystem services can be managed as trade-offs That decision makers will manage these tradeoffs according to larger scale objectives That SI is an appropriate proxy for sustainable land management

5 Change in food production & GHG emissions leading farms in UK A Arable; D Dairy; L Upland livestock; M - Mixed

6 Change in food production & biodiversity leading farms in UK A Arable; D Dairy; L Upland livestock; M - Mixed

7 Leading UK farms typically 1. Reduced pollution by increasing resource efficiency Typically saves money win-win 2. Enhanced the farm for biodiversity and landscape, supported by external payments Typically costs money win-neutral or win-lose 3. Changed the nature of the enterprise Outcome is very case-specific

8 Can SI drive sustainable landscape change in the UK? Only by subsidies (PES) / cross-compliance / regulation / planning Requires some form of external planning and control Agricultural production and some ecosystem services can be managed as trade-offs Leading UK farmers will manage trade-offs according to larger scale objectives provided the larger scale objectives are made to fit into the farm business model

9 What about High Nature Farming (Cluj district, Romania)? North South

10 What about High Nature Farming (Cluj district, Romania)? NORTH SOUTH In-field biodiversity Landscape heterogeneity Farm size

11 Can SI drive sustainable landscape change in High Nature Farming? Small farmers are driven more by culture & socioeconomics than by profit or policy Biodiversity may be out of equilibrium with farming change Agricultural production and ecosystem services cannot be managed simply as trade-offs

12 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

13 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

14 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

15 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

16 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

17 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

18 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

19 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

20 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

21 Is there such a thing as a sustainable cultural landscape?

22 The key assumptions That agricultural production and ecosystem services can be managed as trade-offs True for some ES and in some situations That decision makers will manage these tradeoffs according to larger scale objectives Only if there is political will, resources and agreement by farmer That SI is an appropriate proxy for sustainable land management Only in very short term!

23 Integrating Intensive Agriculture with Sustainable Landscape Management Fact, Myth or Magic? That agricultural production and ecosystem services can be managed as trade-offs FACT (sometimes) That SI is an appropriate proxy for sustainable land management MYTH cultural landscapes are dynamic! That decision makers will manage these tradeoffs according to larger scale objective If only! MAGIC is needed!

24 With thanks to Horea Cacovean Institute of Biological Research, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA