SIMBIOSYS Project: Response of farmland biodiversity to environmental change: effects of scale and landscape structure
This page displays all of the metadata information which describes this resource. This metadata information provides details of: the owners and creators of this resource; download links to any files which are available for downloading; geographical and temporal information about the datasets or project in general; other information such as a description of the project, experimental techniques used, data download restrictions, etc.
View other resources on SAFER owned/managed by the owner of this resource.
Resource or Project Abstract
The recent growth in bioenergy crop cultivation, stimulated by the need to implement measures to reduce net CO2 emissions, is driving major land-use changes with consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. While the type of bioenergy crop and its associated management is likely to affect biodiversity at the local (field) scale, landscape context and its interaction with crop type, may also influence biodiversity on farms. In this study, we assessed the impact of replacing conventional agricultural crops with two model bioenergy crops (either oilseed rape Brassica napus or Miscanthus x giganteus) on vascular plant, bumblebee, solitary bee, hoverfly and carabid beetle richness, diversity and abundance in 50 sites in Ireland. We assessed whether within-field biodiversity was also related to surrounding landscape structure. We found that local- and landscape-scale variables correlated with biodiversity in these agricultural landscapes. Overall, the differences between the bioenergy crops compared with the conventional crops on farmland biodiversity were mostly positive (e.g. higher vascular plant richness in Miscanthus planted on former conventional tillage, higher solitary bee abundance and richness in Miscanthus and oilseed rape compared to conventional crops) or neutral (e.g. no differences between crop types for hoverflies and bumblebees). We showed that these crop type effects were independent of (i.e. no interactions with) the surrounding landscape composition and configuration. However, surrounding landscape context did relate to biodiversity in these farms, negatively for carabid beetles and positively for hoverflies. While we conclude that the bioenergy crops compared favourably with conventional crops in terms of biodiversity of the taxa studied at the field scale, the effects of large-scale planting in these landscapes could result in very different impacts. Maintaining ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services will require a greater understanding of impacts at the landscape-scale to ensure the sustainable development of climate change mitigation measures.
The data uploaded from this project has contributed to the following peer reviewed published paper:
Bourke D, Stanley DA, O Rourke E, Thompson R, Carnus T, Dauber J, Emmerson M, Whelan P, Hecq F, Flynn E, Dolan L, & Stout J. (2013) Response of farmland biodiversity to the introduction of bioenergy crops: effects of local-factors and surrounding landscape context. Global Change Biology Bioenergy. doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12089
Go back to top of page
Top
Contact Information for This Resource
Data, Files, Information Objects Related To This Project Resource
There are currently 0 data files and/or information objects connected to this resource. You will need to contact the owners of this resource to enquire if data files and/or information objects will be made available to the public in the future. Contact information for the owners of this resource can be found in the Responsible Parties information section of the metadata.
Go back to top of page Top
Access Information For This Resource
SAFER-Data Display URL | https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=3033 |
Resource Keywords | biodiversity, bioenergy crops, climate change mitigation measures, landscape composition, landscape configuration, semi-natural habitats |
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code | 2007-B-CD-1-S1 |
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme | Biodiversity |
Resource Availability: |
![]() Semi-Private |
Limitations on the use of this Resource | Time restrictions based on publishing peer reviewed articles from this research are requested.
Please contact Dr David Bourke for more details bourkedo@tcd.ie |
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download): | 0 |
Project Start Date | Tuesday 1st April 2008 (01-04-2008) |
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Monday 1st September 2008 (01-09-2008) |
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Sunday 30th June 2013 (30-06-2013) |
Published on SAFER | Thursday 24th October 2013 (24-10-2013) |
Date of Last Edit | Thursday 24th October 2013 at 22:23:50 (24-10-2013) |
Datasets or Files Updated On | Thursday 24th October 2013 at 22:18:29 (24-10-2013) |
Go back to top of page
Top
Geographical and Spatial Information Related To This Resource
Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
This study was conducted in agriculturally dominated landscapes in south-east Ireland, where tillage crops are interspersed with grassland-based beef and dairy farming. Typical of Irish rural landscapes, most fields were relatively small (mean of 2.8 ha) and surrounded by hedgerows. Fifty fields were selected comprising 10 replicates of five crop types geographically interspersed throughout the study area. These crop types were oilseed rape; Miscanthus planted on former tillage; Miscanthus planted on former grassland; winter wheat (control tillage); and grasslands (control grassland).
Go back to top of page
Top
Supplementary Information About This Resource
In this section some supplementary information about this resource is outlined. Lineage information helps us to understand why this project was carried out, what policy or research requirements did it fulfil, etc. Lineage is important in understanding the rationale behind the carrying out of a project or the collection of a specific dataset etc. Links to web sites, applications, papers, etc are outlined to provide you with additional information or supplementary reading about the project or dataset
Lineage information about this project or dataset |
The SIMBIOSYS Project investigated the impacts that human activity have on biodiversity and ecological functioning, and the associated benefits of biodiversity to human society, that is, ecosystem services. Three expanding sectors of enterprise were addressed in the project: (i) the cultivation of bioenergy crops; (ii) the landscaping of road corridors; and (iii) the aquaculture of sea-food. Field-based studies quantified biodiversity at the genetic, species and habitat levels under current commercial regimes, compared with traditional practices, and investigated ecosystem service delivery in all three sectors. The SIMBIOSYS Project has been a four-and-a-half-year research effort, involving six leading academics in four institutions, six PhD students, eleven research assistants at graduate and postdoctoral level, more than twenty MSc and undergraduate students and many other academic collaborators, both in Ireland and overseas. |
Supplementary Information |
NONE |
Links To Other Related Resources |
SIMBIOSYS Project Website:
http://www.tcd.ie/research/simbiosys/ (Opens in a new window) SIMBIOSYS Synthesis Report: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/biodiversity/strive115simbiosys.html (Opens in a new window) Links to papers from this research: http://www.tcd.ie/research/simbiosys/outputs/journal-papers/index.php (Opens in a new window) |
Any links supplied by the resource owner are stored such that they will open in a new window. Following such a link may lead to a 3rd party website over which EPA has no control in regards to contents or suitability.
Go back to top of page
Top
The following is a list of similiar projects and resources on SAFER. Usually these resources share a similiar thematic area to the resource SIMBIOSYS Project: Response of farmland biodiversity to environmental change: effects of scale and landscape structure you are currently viewing. You can view the full description for these projects and resources by using the links supplied.
- The CreBeo Soil Biodiversity Project View Full Metadata Description
- BIODIVERSITY RICHNESS AND PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS; A COMPARISON WITH NATURAL WETLANDS View Full Metadata Description
- SIMBIOSYS Project: Into the Wild - Documenting and Predicting the Spread of Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in Ireland View Full Metadata Description
- SIMBIOSYS Project: Pollinators and pollination in changing agricultural landscapes; investigating the impacts of bioenergy crops View Full Metadata Description
- Tide level data: Collected at Lough Hyne and Barloge Creek, Co. Cork. Ireland View Full Metadata Description
Go back to top of page
Top