ABSTRACT
Maintaining biodiversity and other ecosystem services to sustain efficient food and fibre production is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Efficient industrialised agriculture,
powered by energy and nutrient subsidies and technology, helps secure human wellbeing by providing “provisioning services” (efficient and sustainable production of food and fibre). However it has also weakened nature’s ability to deliver other key regulating and supporting ecosystem services, e.g. purification of air and water, protection from disasters, and nutrient cycling. “Cultural ecosystem services” underpin connection to place, community support, land stewardship values, local economies, transfer of knowledge, and the identity of farmers. These cultural services provide the incentives and enhance capacity to sustain and adapt coupled social and ecological systems. All types of ecosystem services are required to capture new opportunities and counteract challenges such as climate change, peak oil, globalisation of markets, biosecurity risks and transgenic organisms (Darnhofer et al., 2011; Pretty et al., 2010).
