Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Agriculture: Tradeoffs and Synergies.

Agricultural ecosystems provide humans with food, forage, and fiber and are essential to human wellbeing. These systems rely on ecosystem services provided by natural ecosystems, including pollination, biological pest control, maintenance of soil structure and fertility, nutrient cycling, and hydrological services. In addition to providing provisioning services, agroecosystems provide a wide range of supporting, regulating and cultural services to human populations, including the maintenance of biodiversity. This talk will explore potential trade-offs and synergies between increasing agricultural yields and supporting biodiversity.