Response Doctoral Program

It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for – the whole thing – rather than just one or two stars. – David Attenborough

When we think about ecological diversity, our minds often jump to different species of plants and animals. But what if there is more to this story? Diversity extends beyond genes, plants, and animals—it is also about the variety of ecosystems in the landscapes around us (Fig. 1). Imagine a patchwork quilt of croplands, forests, grasslands, wetlands and meadows. Could this mosaic be the key to a healthier, more resilient environment? Do these diverse ecosystems, working together, contribute to the overall balance of our landscapes on a grander scale?

Recently, researchers have started to explore the role that landscape diversity plays in the broader functioning of our environment. While the question is challenging, the answer is crucial for shaping policies that guide how we plan and manage landscapes in the long term. For example, think about zoning maps. These tools dictate how land is used, and they could greatly benefit from insights into how different ecosystems interact and support each other. To make a real impact, it is essential to connect academic research with political decision-making. By doing so, we can ensure that our understanding of landscape diversity goes beyond the theoretical, and has practical, real-world applications that benefit society as a whole.

Simon Landauer, is a PhD student in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, as well as a RESPONSE fellow in the PhD program Science and Policy. He tackles this challenge by using satellite remote-sensed imagery of land covers derived every year for fifteen years for around 50’000 rectangular plots of 500m by 500m distributed on the North American continent. From this data, he calculates the number of different land covers in each plot, and correlates it with ecosystem functioning, which he operationalizes as the productivity of vegetation for each land cover type in a plot. Then, he determines positive and negative effects of diversity across all plots.

Key research findings

Simon has identified that landscapes with mixed land cover type show higher vegetation productivity, compared to landscapes with a single land cover type. Analysis of the mechanistic underpinnings of these associations indicate that they are driven by two processes. On the one hand, positive complementarity is at play, whereby land cover types in a landscape complement each other and benefit on average from the mixture, bringing about enhanced vegetation productivity. And on the other hand, negative selection is a significant process, whereby those land covers that are generally less productive, for instance shrublands, benefit more from the presence of diverse land covers in the landscape. Interestingly, these patterns are comparable to results from traditional biodiversity research experiments at smaller spatial scales in grasslands. Simon further identified that productive land cover types supported local productivity, while the type thereof differed by location. These results further hint towards the presence of a so-called spatial insurance in diverse landscapes.

Stakeholder engagement at the science-policy interface

Simon acknowledges the importance of identifying and aligning interests of governmental and organizational entities to ensure that these findings of landscape diversity are contextualized for local policy in Switzerland. Therefore, he organized a stakeholder meeting of those engaged at the science-policy interface at the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT). This meeting in Bern was attended by the Head of Sustainability Research, the Head of the forum Landscapes, Alps, Parks, and Simon’s research partner organization at the Swiss Biodiversity Forum.

The stakeholders identified the Landscape Quality Assessment Unit of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) as an essential entity for matters of landscape diversity in Switzerland. Similar to other European countries, Switzerland has witnessed a continuing trend in land consolidation with re-adjustment and industrialization of agricultural land parcels. Consequently, special interest is given to a time series analysis of landscape diversity and the effects of such a process of homogenization. This is also visible in the Areal Statistik – a re-occurring sampling approach-based land use map of Switzerland. Identifying and measuring effects of landscape diversity at a large scale is therefore, likely, of particular interest to landscape quality assessing institutions such as FOEN as well as the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

Insights from the stakeholder meeting

Stakeholders acknowledged an increasing awareness of the idea of landscape diversity (Table 1), although political action in this regard is deemed to be still lacking. The trend of landscapes with a single land cover, i.e. monetization, is still predominant and spreading, despite being contradictory to the growing desire for sustainable diversification of landscapes. Despite being a fundamental issue affecting society, there is little bottom-up interest for landscape diversity. This may be due to the difficulty to assess short-term, direct effects of diverse landscapes on everyday life. Simon also emphasizes that this stakeholder exchange indicated that science and politics are often more closely connected than it appears. Further, he highlighted the value in seeking dialogue to discuss and align interests that can create effective outcomes for society.

This article is co-authored by Simon Landauer and Mary Ann George (University of Zurich, RESPONSE Program office assistant).

Featured Image credits: Hendrik Wulf (2024). The featured image titled “WunderTundra” won the 2nd prize under category “Locations and instruments” in the MNF Science Photo Contest 2024. Image description: “This false-color Landsat 8 image shows the North Siberian tundra along the Indigirka River. In addition to the meandering river, this landscape features several lakes (pink and yellow) next to grasslands and shrubs (green and blue). The vivid colors and patterns of the image reveal the beauty and diversity of the almost untouched tundra landscape in summer.”