Restoring the web of life in farmland

MSCA fellowship funds METAGROLAND project on optimising environmental farming schemes

University of Göttingen

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Do common measures used for Agri-environmental schemes (AES) – such as this permanent flower strip in agricultural land in the Northeim region in Germany – truly attract and maintain pollinator species in ways that support insect population growth across agricultural landscapes. The METAGROLAND project will investigate.

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Credit: Arne Wenzel

Dr Elena Velado-Alonso at the University of Göttingen has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship to launch “METAGROLAND: Understanding metacommunity dynamics through plant–pollinator interactions in agroecosystems to improve the efficiency of agri-environmental schemes.” Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are government-funded schemes set up to help farmers manage their land in an environmentally friendly way. The new 24-month project will investigate how AES can better sustain pollinator communities and the fundamental interactions that underpin plant reproduction and crop yields. Supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, METAGROLAND will develop tools to guide the design of more effective, large-scale AES and help build more resilient agricultural ecosystems.

 

Across Europe’s farmlands, biodiversity loss is a pressing challenge that leads not only to fewer species, but also to fewer interactions between them. These interactions drive essential ecosystem functions such as pollination and natural pest control. Evidence suggests that these functions are disappearing even faster than species themselves. METAGROLAND addresses this challenge by studying interactions between plants and pollinators. It will also test whether common AES measures – such as permanent wildflower strips or areas – truly attract and maintain pollinator species in ways that support insect population growth across agricultural landscapes. A distinctive feature of METAGROLAND is that it takes both a social and ecological perspective. The project will examine how land managers’ social networks – meaning how farmers exchange knowledge and make decisions – shape ecological outcomes. METAGROLAND will generate practical guidance for AES that align ecological processes with real-world management.

 

“Farmers and policymakers need conservation measures that work beyond single fields,” says Velado-Alonso. “By looking at the web of interactions – and how it spreads and persists across entire landscapes – we can redesign agricultural schemes to support both nature and sustainable food production.”

METAGROLAND will study interactions between plants and pollinators – such as this solitary bee visiting a flower.

Credit

Alfred Kok