Biodiversity Commons^™

Diversification And Ecosystem Services For Conservation Agriculture: Outcomes From Pastures And Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems, Matt A. Sanderson, David Archer, John Hendrickson, Scott Kronberg, Mark Liebig, Kris Nichols, Marty Schmer, Don Tanaka, Jonathan Aguilar

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Conservation agricultural systems rely on three principles to enhance ecosystem services: (1) minimizing soil disturbance, (2) maximizing soil surface cover and (3) stimulating biological activity. In this paper, we explore the concept of diversity and its role in maximizing ecosystem services from managed grasslands and integrated agricultural systems (i.e., integrated crop–livestock–forage systems) at the field and farm level.We also examine trade-offs that may be involved in realizing greater ecosystem services. Previous research on livestock production systems, particularly in pastureland, has shown improvements in herbage productivity and reduced weed invasion with increased forage diversity but little response in terms of animal …