‘Ecological

intensification’ swaps
pesticides for
biodiversity
Semi-natural habitats such as a flower strip along a winter wheat field in the Netherlands can attract
insects to eat pests or pollinate crops. Image courtesy of Professor David Kleijn
 Intensive agriculture aims to
achieve the highest yield at
the lowest cost possible. It’s a
resource-heavy practice and
can cause biodiversity loss,
soil degradation, pollution of
water resources, and high
greenhouse gas emissions.

‘The current trend in

agriculture is that
everything should be done
on a larger scale and if you
have a problem you spray
with pesticides, or add
artificial fertilisers,’ said
who is the project coordinator of Professor David Kleijn
LIBERATION, an EU-funded
ecological project
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), if global population and food
consumption trends continue, the world will need to
produce 60 % more food by 2050.
Conventional Intensification

Conventional intensification seems to be the most likely choice, but

there are alternatives, such as indoor farming and emerging techniq
ues referred to in agricultural circles as ecological intensification.

Ecological intensification uses services provided by nature to benefit

farmers, like incorporating semi-natural habitats into farms to attract
insects.
‘The farmers themselves were willing to invest in biodiversity-enhancing meas
ures because they feel they can benefit economically from higher yields,’ said
Prof. Kleijn.

‘We provide guidance and evaluate the biodiversity and agronomic effects of t
he measures. If the outcomes are good the farmers will keep the wildflower ha
bitat after the end of the demonstration project.’
While the technique can work wonders for some farmers, it isn’t much use for
those who grow crops that don’t need pollination, like wheat, corn and root v
egetables.

‘We did a series of interviews with farmers asking if they would be interested i
n practices to enhance biological pest control and pollination. A very obvious
result came out, if they didn’t have pollinated crops then they weren’t interest
ed in pollination-enhancing measures. Pest control scored very low across the
board, possibly because insecticides are currently cheap and effective,’ said Pro
f. Kleijn.
A solution may rest in using other ecological inte
nsification practices for profitability, such as preci
sion farming with drones, reducing the amount o
f ploughing, or tillage, needed in order to maint
ain the long-term nutrient content of the soil, an
d using crops grown for the enrichment of the
soil, known as cover crops.
OSCAR, an EU-funded project, had a team of eco
nomists who explored the profitability of farmers
switching to ecological intensification.
‘They showed the farmers that if they go to mini
mum tillage and use cover crops, if it works well,
you can have as much income, or even higher in
come than before,’ said project coordinator Profe
ssor Maria Finckh of the University of Kassel, Ger
many.
The OSCAR project is experimenting with various cover crops which can enrich the soil of a field. These crops are later
removed before planting the commercial crop. Image credit: OSCAR project wiki/ Willemhoogmoed
To support reduced tillage, OSCAR has been testing different species of cover crops. These are ty
pes of plants, like clovers, legumes and grasses, which are planted alongside or between cash cro
ps where their ecological services boost yield and reduce the need of fertilisers, pesticides and he
rbicides.

This is because they compete with weeds and create ecosystems where earthworms, bacteria and
fungi can thrive and help create soil organic matter. It also stops soil erosion and can lock in extra
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
‘We are trying to give farmers ideas because no one knows the land better than them,’ said Prof.
Finckh.

But she also warns that the first few years after changing is usually challenging in terms of yield a
nd weed growth.

‘We have to change the system so it becomes stable in itself again, but that’s not so easy and it t
akes time.’