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Biodiversity-friendly landscapes: A paradox for conservation?
Eliane Seraina Meier1, Alexander Indermaur1, Eva Knop1,2
1Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH-8046 Zürich, Switzerland.
Science Advances
|July 23, 2025
Summary
Biodiversity-friendly landscapes can help native species resist global change impacts. While these areas may aid invasive species, research shows they ultimately inhibit their spread, supporting landscape-wide conservation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Human-induced global change is driving the sixth mass extinction.
- Patch-scale conservation efforts have shown moderate success, leading to biodiversity-friendly landscape concepts.
- These landscapes present a paradox: potentially increasing local biodiversity while also facilitating invasive species spread.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the paradox of biodiversity-friendly landscapes regarding global change winners.
- To quantify the facilitating and inhibitory effects of these landscapes on species thriving under global change.
- To inform conservation strategies by evaluating the net impact on farmland biodiversity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 2050 repeated, systematic vegetation surveys.
- Study conducted across Swiss farmland.
- Evaluation of effects on species tolerant to global change, including invasive alien species.
Main Results:
- Hypothesized facilitating effects of landscapes on global change winners were observed.
- Hypothesized inhibitory effects of landscapes on global change winners were also observed.
- Overall, inhibitory effects were stronger than facilitating effects, indicating a net benefit.
Conclusions:
- Biodiversity-friendly landscapes can strengthen biotic resistance against global change winners.
- Landscape-scale habitat improvements, while potentially aiding dispersal, were outweighed by inhibitory effects.
- A shift from patch-scale to landscape-wide conservation is recommended to halt farmland biodiversity decline.
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