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Targeting Perennial Vegetation in Agricultural Landscapes for Enhancing Ecosystem Services Heidi Asbjornsen Iowa State University, [email protected]

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Targeting Perennial Vegetation in Agricultural Landscapes for Enhancing Ecosystem Services Heidi Asbjornsen Iowa State University, Hasbjorn@Iastate.Edu Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications 2013 Targeting perennial vegetation in agricultural landscapes for enhancing ecosystem services Heidi Asbjornsen Iowa State University, [email protected] V. Hernandez-Santana Iowa State University Matthew Z. Liebman Iowa State University, [email protected] J. Bayala World Agroforestry Center J. Chen FUonilvloerwsit ythi of sT oalenddo additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs See nePxat pratge of for the addiAtiongraicl aulturuthors al Science Commons, Agriculture Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons, and the Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ abe_eng_pubs/374. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Targeting perennial vegetation in agricultural landscapes for enhancing ecosystem services Abstract Over the past century, agricultural landscapes worldwide have increasingly been managed for the primary purpose of producing food, while other diverse ecosystem services potentially available from these landscapes have often been undervalued and diminished. The incorporation of relatively small amounts of perennial vegetation in strategic locations within agricultural landscapes dominated by annual crops—or perennialization—creates an opportunity for enhancing the provision of a wide range of goods and services to society, such as water purification, hydrologic regulation, pollination services, control of pest and pathogen populations, diverse food and fuel products, and greater resilience to climate change and extreme disturbances, while at the same time improving the sustainability of food production. This paper synthesizes the current scientific theory and evidence for the role of perennial plants in balancing conservation with agricultural production, focusing on the Midwestern USA as a model system, while also drawing comparisons with other climatically diverse regions of the world. Particular emphasis is given to identifying promising opportunities for advancement and critical gaps in our knowledge related to purposefully integrating perennial vegetation into agroecosystems as a management tool for maximizing multiple benefits ot society. Keywords Agronomy, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, biodiversity, ecosystem services, perennial plants, resilience, sustainable agriculture, Agronomy, Natural Resource Ecology and Management Disciplines Agricultural Science | Agriculture | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering | Natural Resources Management and Policy Comments This article is from Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, doi:10.1017/S1742170512000385. Authors Heidi Asbjornsen, V. Hernandez-Santana, Matthew Z. Liebman, J. Bayala, J. Chen, Matthew J. Helmers, C. K. Ong, and Lisa A. Schulte This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/374 Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: Page 1 of 25 doi:10.1017/S1742170512000385 Targeting perennial vegetation in agricultural landscapes for enhancing ecosystem services H. Asbjornsen1,2*, V. Hernandez-Santana1,2,3, M. Liebman4,J.Bayala5, J. Chen6, M. Helmers7, C.K. Ong8 and L.A. Schulte1† 1Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA. 2Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. 3IRNAS CSIC, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia, Seville 41080, Spain. 4Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. 5World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), ICRAF-WCA/Sahel Node, BP E5118 Bamako, Mali. 6Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606-3390, USA. 7Department Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. 8World Agroforestry Centre, 30677, Nairobi, Kenya. *Corresponding author: [email protected] Accepted 13 November 2012 Review Article Abstract Over the past century, agricultural landscapes worldwide have increasingly been managed for the primary purpose of producing food, while other diverse ecosystem services potentially available from these landscapes have often been undervalued and diminished. The incorporation of relatively small amounts of perennial vegetation in strategic locations within agricultural landscapes dominated by annual crops—or perennialization—creates an opportunity for enhancing the provision of a wide range of goods and services to society, such as water purification, hydrologic regulation, pollination services, control of pest and pathogen populations, diverse food and fuel products, and greater resilience to climate change and extreme disturbances, while at the same time improving the sustainability of food production. This paper synthesizes the current scientific theory and evidence for the role of perennial plants in balancing conservation with agricultural production, focusing on the Midwestern USA as a model system, while also drawing comparisons with other climatically diverse regions of the world. Particular emphasis is given to identifying promising opportunities for advancement and critical gaps in our knowledge related to purposefully integrating perennial vegetation into agroecosystems as a management tool for maximizing multiple benefits to society. Key words: biodiversity, ecosystem services, perennial plants, resilience, sustainable agriculture Introduction Although this trend has led to the more than doubling of global food production since the 1950s2, maintaining With the intensification of global food production, these productivity levels over time demands large agricultural strategies have increasingly emphasized amounts of external inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, maximizing crop yields, often at the expense of other irrigation and fossil fuels3. Concomitantly, many of the ecosystem services (ES)1. This has been accomplished, ES provided by diverse, native plant communities— in part, by replacing the original native vegetation with including regulating (e.g., water supply and quality, simplified systems dominated by a single or a few crop climate and pest control), supporting (nutrient cycling, species, and by favoring annual over perennial species. soil formation and pollination), and cultural (spiritual, recreation, education, medicine, etc.) services—are being lost or severely diminished4. As the global society — † Co-authors are listed alphabetically after the third co-author to reflect increasingly confronts the consequences of these losses their equal contributions to the manuscript. acutely evidenced by expanding hypoxic zones, declining © Cambridge University Press 2013 2 H. Asbjornsen et al. water quality, increased incidence of severe flooding High and drought, and impoverished biodiversity—there is a growing urgency for developing multifunctional agricul- tural landscapes that provide diverse ES in addition to provisioning services such as food, fiber, fuel and fodder production5–7. One promising approach to expanding ES provided by ‘ ’ agricultural landscapes is through perennialization , Benefits defined here as the strategic incorporation of diverse perennial plants as integral and purposeful components of agroecosystems to enhance ES benefits. This approach is based on the premise that the positive impacts of perennial plants can be magnified when perennials are targeted to Low landscape positions that yield disproportionately high ES Low High fi Proportion of the bene ts relative to the land area they occupy. Diverse landscape in perenninals perennial plant communities have been shown to enhance hydrologic regulation8, water quality9, carbon sequestra- Figure 1. Disproportionate benefits hypothesis: perennial tion and storage10, beneficial organisms for pest control vegetation is expected to produce benefits disproportional to fi and pollination11, soil quality12 and biological function- its extent within landscapes; ecosystem bene ts of non targeted fi ing13 relative to simplified cropping systems. Perennial perennial cover (dashed line), ecosystem bene ts of targeted perennial cover (solid line), and socio-economic benefits plants can also provide a range of provisioning services to fi fi (dotted line). Examples of ecological bene ts include clean society, including food, ber, fuel and feed, which can water, flood control, pollination, pest suppression and outdoor contribute to diversifying production and reducing risk. recreational opportunities. Examples of social benefits include The societal benefits of perennialization also include inspiration, connectedness and civic engagement. cultural and social amenities, as more diverse landscapes can positively impact aesthetic, recreational, tourism and health values within local communities14. landscapes are not utilized to produce food, fiber or fuel, Perennialization can also provide a tool for both but instead are maintained under perennial vegetation to mitigating and adapting to
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