Trade-offs between multifunctionality and profit in tropical smallholder landscapes

Ingo Grass (), Christoph Kubitza, Vijesh Krishna, Marife D. Corre, Oliver Musshoff, Peter Pütz, Jochen Drescher, Katja Rembold, Eka Sulpin Ariyanti, Andrew D. Barnes, Nicole Brinkmann, Ulrich Brose, Bernhard Brümmer, Damayanti Buchori, Rolf Daniel, Kevin F. A. Darras, Heiko Faust, Lutz Fehrmann, Jonas Hein, Nina Hennings, Purnama Hidayat, Dirk Hölscher, Malte Jochum, Alexander Knohl, Martyna M. Kotowska, Valentyna Krashevska, Holger Kreft, Christoph Leuschner, Neil Jun S. Lobite, Rawati Panjaitan, Andrea Polle, Anton M. Potapov, Edwine Purnama, Matin Qaim, Alexander Röll, Stefan Scheu, Dominik Schneider, Aiyen Tjoa, Teja Tscharntke, Edzo Veldkamp and Meike Wollni
Additional contact information
Ingo Grass: University of Hohenheim
Christoph Kubitza: University of Göttingen
Marife D. Corre: University of Göttingen
Peter Pütz: University of Göttingen
Jochen Drescher: University of Göttingen
Katja Rembold: University of Göttingen
Eka Sulpin Ariyanti: University of Lampung
Andrew D. Barnes: University of Waikato
Nicole Brinkmann: University of Göttingen
Ulrich Brose: EcoNetLab, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Damayanti Buchori: IPB University, Bogor Agricultural University, Jalan Pajajaran
Rolf Daniel: University of Göttingen
Kevin F. A. Darras: University of Göttingen
Heiko Faust: University of Göttingen
Lutz Fehrmann: University of Göttingen
Jonas Hein: Kiel University
Nina Hennings: University of Göttingen
Purnama Hidayat: Bogor Agriculture University, Jln. Kamper, Kampus IPB Dramaga
Dirk Hölscher: University of Göttingen
Malte Jochum: University of Göttingen
Alexander Knohl: University of Göttingen
Martyna M. Kotowska: University of Göttingen
Valentyna Krashevska: University of Göttingen
Holger Kreft: University of Göttingen
Christoph Leuschner: University of Göttingen
Neil Jun S. Lobite: University of the Philippines
Rawati Panjaitan: Bogor Agriculture University, Jln. Kamper, Kampus IPB Dramaga
Andrea Polle: University of Göttingen
Anton M. Potapov: University of Göttingen
Edwine Purnama: University of Göttingen
Matin Qaim: University of Göttingen
Alexander Röll: University of Göttingen
Stefan Scheu: University of Göttingen
Dominik Schneider: University of Göttingen
Aiyen Tjoa: Tadulako University
Teja Tscharntke: University of Göttingen
Edzo Veldkamp: University of Göttingen

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Land-use transitions can enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers but potential economic-ecological trade-offs remain poorly understood. Here, we present an interdisciplinary study of the environmental, social and economic consequences of land-use transitions in a tropical smallholder landscape on Sumatra, Indonesia. We find widespread biodiversity-profit trade-offs resulting from land-use transitions from forest and agroforestry systems to rubber and oil palm monocultures, for 26,894 aboveground and belowground species and whole-ecosystem multidiversity. Despite variation between ecosystem functions, profit gains come at the expense of ecosystem multifunctionality, indicating far-reaching ecosystem deterioration. We identify landscape compositions that can mitigate trade-offs under optimal land-use allocation but also show that intensive monocultures always lead to higher profits. These findings suggest that, to reduce losses in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, changes in economic incentive structures through well-designed policies are urgently needed.

Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-15013-5

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15013-5

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