Fish production in ponds has received less attention in the context of reconciliation between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. These systems can contain remarkable biodiversity, including rich macrophyte communities. However, management intensification resulted in ecosystem and biodiversity deterioration. The present study capitalizes on two well-studied fish pond regions (Dombes, France, and Midden-Limburg, Belgium) to investigate how fish stock management type affects local and regional macrophyte community characteristics. We used data from macrophyte inventories in a set of ponds representing major management types. Our results reveal that fish stock management strongly affects local macrophyte richness and community composition. Management types with higher fish stock densities had lower local richness and the highest local diversity was found in ponds without fish stocking. Differences in community composition between management types within region were primarily determined by nestedness patterns. Communities in ponds with higher fish densities formed nested subsets of communities in ponds with lower fish densities. Our findings suggest that successfully combining fish production with biodiversity conservation, and enhancing macrophyte diversity in large anthropogenic fish pond systems, may be best achieved with a subset of ponds managed without fish stocking, while others are more intensively managed for fish farming.
Landscape-scale Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized as vital for addressing the interconnected challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. Their capacity to deliver multiple Nature’s Contributions to People (NCPs), maintain ecological connectivity, and enhance climate resilience makes them particularly valuable. However, their implementation is often hindered by complex policy, financing, social, and economic contexts. This paper explores the challenges of assessing these contextual factors in landscape-scale NbS, drawing on insights from a European research project. Using pondscapes – networks of ecologically valuable ponds and surrounding habitats – as an illustrative example, we synthesize methodological challenges and practical lessons from stakeholder engagement, policy and financing analyses, and socio-economic assessments. The results suggest that while assessing the specific context of landscape-scale NbS is essential for successful implementation, it is also challenging due to diverse stakeholder interests, lack of unified frameworks, and data limitations – factors that ultimately complicate implementation efforts. Our study underscores the challenge of balancing generalizable data collection with site-specific needs, highlighting the value of tailored, stakeholder-informed approaches. Co-production methods, especially workshops, help build trust and improve assessment practices. Our findings aim to inform researchers and practitioners working on systemic and integrated landscape-scale NbS planning.
In the field of agroecology, on-farm experimentation often involves 'co-design' activities. This participatory openness exacerbates the challenges associated with the researcher's stance and the use and goals of experimental approaches. To shed light on this situation and improve upon it, we conducted a reflective and comparative analysis of five agroecological projects involving co-design that were carried out by the co-authors. The aim was to identify and discuss how the use of co-design expanded and diversified the role of on-farm experimentation in scientific research. Three main themes arose from the analysis; each encompassed findings, lessons learned, and considerations to clarify the framework of collaborative on-farm experimentation. The first theme was related to the adaptable, contingent, and transdisciplinary nature of the examined projects. The projects followed a step-by-step design framework. The different phases of each project were completed using various methods and participation modalities, either sequentially or jointly. Farm fields and ponds were important places for social interactions and observations that fueled the ongoing processes of diagnosis, technique adaptation, and evaluation, and the development of shared assumptions and statements among academics and non-academics. The second theme addressed the different experimental approaches used and their relationships to scientific demonstration, depending on the objective of diagnosis and evaluation. We identified and conceptualized three approaches that were taken in the analyzed projects: practice-centered, ecosystem services-centered, and product-centered approaches. The third theme emphasized elements related to the transformative capacity of co-design activities with on-farm experimentation. It emphasized the influence of technical feasibility, expected gain, perceived risk, and the degree of systemic innovation required. Transformative capacity was associated with the conditions and development of the learning process, rather than the success of the innovative practices. This implies changes in farming practices that extend well beyond the project's duration and are inadequately documented.
Over the past decade, interest, stakeholder engagement, and investment in the cultivation of intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) as a perennial grain crop have increased across the Upper Midwest, USA. IWG has been promoted as a multipurpose crop that provides both agricultural products and ecosystem services. Our objective in this study was to describe the current IWG landscape in the Midwest from the perspective of farmers growing the crop, including their objectives, management practices, and the challenges they face. We also examined the concept of multifunctionality within the context of integrating a minor crop into existing farming systems. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with IWG growers in the Upper Midwest. Results show that, beyond direct agronomic benefits, these growers were motivated by a broader vision of agriculture. Due to its distinctive traits, IWG served as a tool to accomplish various non-commercial dimensions of farming such as environmental conservation, education, and community building, and for fulfilling farmers' roles as producers, environmental stewards, and citizens. At the same time, the regional socio-technical context imposed strong constraints on IWG production, particularly in terms of profitability and processing. Cropping practices reflected both the influence of uniform technical recommendations and the need for adaptation to individual farm systems and farmer expertise. Overall, this study provides insight into farmers' perspectives, motivations, and concerns regarding IWG cultivation in the United States.
Adoption rates of agroecological farming practices remain low amongst European farmers and vary from country to country, despite European or national policies aimed at achieving ‘sustainable agriculture’. Our study, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and conducted in eight European countries in 2023 with 268 farmers surveyed, examines behavioural drivers of adoption of agroecological practices in terms of attitudes, perceived behavioural control, social norms, perceived risk, and the role of formal and informal information sources. The main findings reveal three key points: 1) Farmers were more likely to adopt agroecological practices if they had a positive attitude towards them and felt confident in their ability to implement them whilst social pressure had only a limited impact on adoption. 2) Perceived risks associated with agroecological practices significantly reduced farmers’ willingness to adopt. 3) Formal sources of information had a significant positive effect on the perceived risks, whereas informal information sources did not. However, the latter had a significant positive effect on social pressures, suggesting that they influence farmers’ perceptions of what is socially expected by their communities. These findings imply that to accelerate the adoption of agroecological practices, policy and advisory services should focus on mitigating farmers’ risk perceptions through formal, evidence-based information, thereby fostering positive attitudes and a stronger sense of control.
