Farm Size Matters: A Spatially Explicit Ecological-Economic Framework for Biodiversity and Pest Control

2025-05-23

AI Summary

Agricultural intensification in Europe—characterized by farm expansion, landscape simplification, and pesticide dependence—is a primary driver of biodiversity decline; however, existing studies typically examine individual drivers in isolation, lacking systematic understanding of cross-scale interactions. Method: We develop a spatially explicit eco-economic model integrating multi-source European data to quantify, for the first time, how farm size modulates the synergistic effects of landscape structure (e.g., hedgerow restoration) and pesticide reduction on natural enemy abundance and farm profitability. Contribution/Results: Farm size emerges as a critical moderator of ecological restoration outcomes: small-to-medium farms achieve co-benefits—enhanced biological pest control and increased net returns—through integrated pesticide reduction and hedgerow restoration, whereas large farms face structural constraints limiting such synergies. This study bridges a key gap in agroecological policy research on scale-dependent effects and provides empirical foundations for designing differentiated, incentive-based conservation policies.

Technology Category

• Game Theory and Economic Paradigms: Coordination and Collaboration
• Multiagent Systems: Mechanism Design
• Search and Optimization: Combinatorial Optimization

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Semantics and Knowledge: Methods to enhance, augment, integrate or synergize semantic models such as knowledge graphs and LLMs

Abstract

The intensification of European agriculture, characterized by increasing farm sizes, landscape simplification and reliance on synthetic pesticides, remains a key driver of biodiversity decline. While many studies have investigated this phenomenon, they often focus on isolated elements, resulting in a lack of holistic understanding and leaving policymakers and farmers with unclear priorities. This study addresses this gap by developing a spatially explicit ecological economic model designed to dissect the complex interplay between landscape structure and pesticide application, and their combined effects on natural enemy populations and farmers' economic returns. In particular, the model investigates how these relationships are modulated by farm size (a crucial aspect frequently overlooked in prior research). By calibrating on the European agricultural sector, we explore the ecological and economic consequences of various policy scenarios. We show that the effectiveness of ecological restoration strategies is strongly contingent upon farm size. Small to medium-sized farms can experience economic benefits from reduced pesticide use when coupled with hedgerow restoration, owing to enhanced natural pest control. In contrast, large farms encounter challenges in achieving comparable economic gains due to inherent landscape characteristics. This highlights the need to account for farm size in agri-environmental policies in order to promote biodiversity conservation and agricultural sustainability.

Problem

• Investigates farm size impact on biodiversity and pest control
• Analyzes interplay between landscape structure and pesticide use
• Evaluates policy scenarios for ecological and economic outcomes

Innovation

• Spatially explicit ecological economic model
• Analyzes landscape-pesticide-natural enemy interplay
• Farm size modulates policy effectiveness