ABSTRACT

Agricultural productivity and the sustainability of farming systems both draw heavily on the ecosystem services provided and supported by biodiversity. Further, there is some evidence that the biodiversity-related loss of ecosystem services may matter more in biodiversity-poor or intensive farming systems than in biodiversity-rich, ‘wild’ or extensive systems. Modern agricultural practices and the intensification often associated therewith have been linked to biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems services (MEA, 2005). In addition, modern intensive agriculture has been criticized for largely ignoring the symbiotic interactions and resource-use complementarities between agricultural and non-agricultural species (Omer et al., 2007).