Programme of Work on Below-Ground Biodiversity and related Ecosystem Services Jeroen Huising...

Programme of Work on Below-Ground Biodiversity and related Ecosystem

Services

Jeroen Huising

Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute (TSBF), Nairobi

International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia

Afr. Regional Workshop on Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity2

A multi-disciplinary approach to research in soil related ecosystem services

Ecosystem functions

Soil processes

Ecosystem services

for human welfare

Soil Organisms

Soil Biodiversity

soil biology - microbiology

Soil ecology

Soil science

Environmental economics

Resource economics

Sociology

Political sciences

Afr. Regional Workshop on Sust. Use of AB3

Assessment 1: Large percentage of species of soil organisms is unknown

(Source: Barrios et al, in press)


Assessment 2:Organisms, functional groups and ecosystem process

Examples of diverse biota within functional groups are listed for a few ecosystem processes that are similar in soils and sediments

(Source: Wall (ed.), 2004)

Organisms Functional groups Ecosystem process

Vertebrates (lizards, beavers); invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscks in sediments; ants, termites in soils)

Bioturbators, ecosystem engineers

Soil and sediment alteration and structure, laterally and to greater depths, redistribute organic matter and microbes

Plant roots, algae, diatoms Primary producers Create biomass, stabilize soils and sediments

Decapods, millipedes Shredders Fragment, rip, and tear organic matter, providing smaller pieces for decay by organisms

Bacteria and Fungi Decomposers Recycle nutrients, increase nutrient availability for primary production

Symbiotic (e.g Rhizobium) and asymbiotic (e.g. Azobacter, Cyanobacter)

Nitrogen fixers Biologically fix atmospheric N2

Methanogenic bacteria, denitrifying bacteria

Trace-gas producers Transfer of C, N2, N2O, CH4

denitrification

Roots, soil organisms CO 2 producers Respiration, emission of CO2


KEY FUNCTIONAL GROUPS OF SOIL BIOTA

Pests andDiseasese.g. fungi, invertebrates

Decomposerse.g. cellulose degradersMicro-symbionts

mycorrhizalFungi

N-fixingBacteria

C&N transformerse.g.methanogens & nitrifiers

MicroregulatorsNematodes

Macrofauna(Ecosystem Engineers)– Earthworms– Termites

Maize Legume

Source Swift (2002)


Assessment 3: Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services provided by

soil and sediment biota Regulating biogeochemical cycles Retention and delivery of

nutrients to plants and algae Generation and renewal of soil

and sediment structure Bioremediation Provision of clean drinking water Modification of the hydrological

cycle (e.g. erosion control) Translocation of nutrient, particles

and gases Regulation of atmospheric trace gasses Modification of anthropogenically driven global change Regulation of animal and plant populations Contribution to plant production for food, fuel and fiber Contribution to landscape heterogeneity and stability Vital component of habitats important for recreation and natural history

MEA


Assessment 4: Importance of processes for provision of goods and services

(SCOPE/SSBEF/GLIDE)

Provision of goods and services in a temperate grassland ecosystem

(Source Wall (Ed.), 2004


Assessment 5: Vulnerability of ecosystem goods and services

(SCOPE)

Arable tilled ecosystems provided by the soil biota to three agents of global change; invasive species, climate change and land-use change


Results from Indonesia confirm loss of BGBD with increasing land use intensity (termites)

b = -0.7143*R2 = 0.5092

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

FLI (1) FI (2) Shrb (3) TBLI (4) TBI (5) CBLI (6) CBI (7)

LAND USE TYPE (RANK)

b = -2.3357*

R2 = 0.5171

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


LANDUSE TYPE (RANK)

TER

MIT

E A

BU

ND

AN

CE

(nos

of e

ncou

nter

/ la

nd u

se)

b-soil = -0.5286*R2-soil = 0.4207

b-w ood = -0.1857nsR2-w ood = 0.0922

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8


LAND USE TYPE (RANK)

Soil feeder Wood feeder


Decrease in earthworm biomass with increasing land use intensity (Indonesia)

0.45

0.31

0.24

0.170.14

0.09 0.11

R2 = 0.9565

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

FLI (1) FI (2) Shrub (3) TBLI (4) TBI (5) CBLI (6) CBI (7)

Land Use and Its Intensity Rank

Bio

mas

s:ab

un

dan

ce (

g.in

div

idu

-1)


Economic valuation of BGBD

Economic benefits derived from biological nitrogen fixation using promiscuous soybean cultivars in Sub-Sahara Africa

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000

US $ (x thousand)

Madagascar

Burundi

Morocco

Gabon

Burkina Faso

Cote d'Ivoire

Tanzania

Benin

Ethiopia

Liberia

Egypt

Cameroon

Uganda

Zambia

Congo DR

Rw anda

Zimbabw e

South Africa

Nigeria

Total benefit in 2004: 180 million US dollars (Chianu et al. unpubl. data)


Assessment: Guiding Principles

Definition of Below-Ground BioDiversity as component of AgroBiodiversity

Documentation and mapping of existing below-ground biodiversity and soil biological resources (degradation of soil biological resources)

Identifying threats to BGBD and trends in loss of BGBD (monitoring)


Management (adaptive) 1: People Land management and Environmental Change (PLEC)

Climatic variabilityMacro- and meso-climateCycles and random trends

Droughts, floods

Agro BioDiversityUse and management of

speciesProduction, conservation

DemographyPopulation,Migration

Gender, age

Macro-economyGovernment services

Subsidies, aid, taxation

LivelihoodsPoverty and food security

Sustainability

Management diversityLocal knowledge

Adaptation and innovationNew technology

Organisational DiversityHousehold characteristics

Resource endowmentsFarm organisation

Biophysical Diversity Soils, productivity

Plants, biotaWater, Microclimate

AGRODIVERSITY

Mainly temporal variationsMainly spatial variations

Natural

Environment

Modified

environment

Relateddevelopment

issues

(Source: Stocking 2005)


Management (adaptive) 2Hierarchical management of soil biota

At which scale levels do gradients in BGBD and land use intensity occur and where to intervene.

– Preservation of key land uses (e.g. forest patches, landscape elements like hedges); Land use mosaics (conservation biology)

– Farm gradients & diversity at farm level. Allocation of resource at the farm (maintaining and improving productivity at farm level; rehabilitating degraded lands?)

– Plot level diversity (Integrated pest management)

HIERARCHICAL MANAGEMENT OF SOIL

BIOTA1. CROPPING SYSTEM LEVEL

Choice of plantsGenetic manipulation

Design in space and timeMicro-symbionts & Rhizosphere

2. SOIL MANAGEMENT LEVELOrganic matter inputs (RQ)

Mineral Fertilisers & AmendmentsTillage, Irrigation

3. KEYSTONE BIOTA LEVELMacrofauna

Biological control agentsChemical manipulation

(Swift, 1998)

Scale levels and gradients


Management (adaptive) 3: limited opportunities to manage BGBD directly

The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on species diversity


Management (adaptive) 4: Mngt. of biodiversity at plot and landscape scales

From Swift et al. (2004)

Hypothesised relationship between diversity and the efficiency of function of ecosystem services at the patch-ecosystem (i.e. plot) scale (Curves 1 and 2) and the scale of the landscape (Curves 3 and 4)


Management (adaptive) 3: negotiation of trade-offs

Source: Tom Tomich et al. (2005)

ASB – matrix trade-off


Management and indicators: stable food webs


Management (adaptive): Guiding principles

Entry points for interventions; tools and techniques Indicators of performance across scales Geographical and socio-economic context (mechanisms) Pathways for intensification of land use/management (use of

fertilizers, organic inputs, conservation measures) Platform for negotiating trade-offs Capacity building:

– Scientific (viz. taxonomy, soil ecology; technological development)

– Technical (adoption, implementation and adaptation of technologies)

– Skills (management, organisation and negotiation)– Political (policy development; decentralisation, empowerment)

Programme of Work on Below-Ground Biodiversity and related Ecosystem Services Jeroen Huising...

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