Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - Tập 307 Số 5709 - Trang 550-555 - 2005
Rhys E. Green1,2,3,4, Stephen J. Cornell1,2,3,4, Jörn P. W. Scharlemann1,2,3,4, Andrew Balmford1,2,3,4
1Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
2Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
3Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, SG19 2DL, UK
4The Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.

Tóm tắt

World food demand is expected to more than double by 2050. Decisions about how to meet this challenge will have profound effects on wild species and habitats. We show that farming is already the greatest extinction threat to birds (the best known taxon), and its adverse impacts look set to increase, especially in developing countries. Two competing solutions have been proposed: wildlife-friendly farming (which boosts densities of wild populations on farmland but may decrease agricultural yields) and land sparing (which minimizes demand for farmland by increasing yield). We present a model that identifies how to resolve the trade-off between these approaches. This shows that the best type of farming for species persistence depends on the demand for agricultural products and on how the population densities of different species on farmland change with agricultural yield. Empirical data on such density-yield functions are sparse, but evidence from a range of taxa in developing countries suggests that high-yield farming may allow more species to persist.

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We thank M. Avery J. Brashares T. Brooks G. Daily D. Gibbons and B. Grenfell for discussion and A. Stattersfield M. Sneary and M. Balman for access to the World Bird Database. S.J.C. acknowledges funding from the Wellcome Trust.

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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Tập 307 Số 5709

550-555

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