Assessing ecosystem services and biodiversity tradeoffs across agricultural landscapes in a mountain region

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ability of agricultural areas to produce non-commodity outputs in addition to food and fiber, i.e. multifunctionality, is increasingly at the core of policies promoting sustainability. Assessing the potential benefits for biodiversity and understanding tradeoffs among multiple ecosystem services (ES) from agricultural areas remain key challenges, especially in mountainous landscapes. Through a case-study approach, we assess the tradeoffs and synergies between the ES associated with agricultural areas. We map and assess the ES provided by seven study areas in northern Italy, aiming to provide guidance on the relationship between the agricultural land use intensity and provision of ES. In total, we performed a quantitative evaluation of 10 ES indicators, followed by their thematic aggregation and correlation analyses to gain a better understanding of the spatial ES tradeoffs. Our findings highlight that the transition to intensive forms of agricultural exploitation, in addition to the loss of habitats, also involves a reduction in cultural services.