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Yann Clough. Photo.

Yann Clough

Professor

Yann Clough. Photo.

Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes

Author

  • Yann Clough
  • Vijesh V. Krishna
  • Marife D. Corre
  • Kevin Darras
  • Lisa H. Denmead
  • Ana Meijide
  • Stefan Moser
  • Oliver Musshoff
  • Stefanie Steinebach
  • Edzo Veldkamp
  • Kara Allen
  • Andrew D. Barnes
  • Natalie Breidenbach
  • Ulrich Brose
  • Damayanti Buchori
  • Rolf Daniel
  • Reiner Finkeldey
  • Idham Harahap
  • Dietrich Hertel
  • A. Mareike Holtkamp
  • Elvira Hörandl
  • Bambang Irawan
  • I. Nengah Surati Jaya
  • Malte Jochum
  • Bernhard Klarner
  • Alexander Knohl
  • Martyna M. Kotowska
  • Valentyna Krashevska
  • Holger Kreft
  • Syahrul Kurniawan
  • Christoph Leuschner
  • Mark Maraun
  • Dian Nuraini Melati
  • Nicole Opfermann
  • César Pérez-Cruzado
  • Walesa Edho Prabowo
  • Katja Rembold
  • Akhmad Rizali
  • Ratna Rubiana
  • Dominik Schneider
  • Sri Sudarmiyati Tjitrosoedirdjo
  • Aiyen Tjoa
  • Teja Tscharntke
  • Stefan Scheu
Show all

Summary, in English

Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.

Department/s

  • Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate

Publishing year

2016-10-11

Language

English

Publication/Series

Nature Communications

Volume

7

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Topic

  • Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2041-1723