title: Dedicated biomass crops can enhance biodiversity in the arable landscape.
abstract: Suggestions that novel, non-food, dedicated biomass crops used to produce bioenergy may provide opportunities to diversify and reinstate biodiversity in intensively managed farmland have not yet been fully tested at the landscape scale. Using two of the largest, currently available landscape-scale biodiversity data sets from arable and biomass bioenergy crops, we take a taxonomic and functional trait approach to quantify and contrast the consequences for biodiversity indicators of adopting dedicated biomass crops on land previously cultivated under annual, rotational arable cropping. The abundance and community compositions of biodiversity indicators in fields of break and cereal crops changed when planted with the dedicated biomass crops, miscanthus and short rotation coppiced (SRC) willow. Weed biomass was consistently greater in the two dedicated biomass crops than in cereals, and invertebrate abundance was similarly consistently higher than in break crops. Using canonical variates analysis, we identified distinct plant and invertebrate taxa and trait-based communities in miscanthus and SRC willows, whereas break and cereal crops tended to form a single, composite community. Seedbanks were shown to reflect the longer term effects of crop management. Our study suggests that miscanthus and SRC willows, and the management associated with perennial cropping, would support significant amounts of biodiversity when compared with annual arable crops. We recommend the strategic planting of these perennial, dedicated biomass crops in arable farmland to increase landscape heterogeneity and enhance ecosystem function, and simultaneously work towards striking a balance between energy and food security.
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research West Common Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ UK.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Haughton
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR 1347 Agroécologie, Pôle ECOLDUR 17 rue Sully Dijon CEDEX 21065 France.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bohan
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research West Common Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ UK.
authors.forename: Suzanne J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research West Common Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ UK.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Mallott
authors.affiliation: 168 Putteridge Road Luton LU2 8HJ UK.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mallott
authors.affiliation: Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Burgate Manor Fordingbridge Hampshire SP6 1EF UK.
authors.forename: Rufus
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sage
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research West Common Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ UK.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karp
keywords: biodiversity indicators; bioenergy; biomass crops; canonical variates analysis; functional traits; invertebrates; miscanthus; seedbank; short rotation coppiced willow; weed biomass