Journal of Applied Ecology

O_LIReassembling ecological communities and rebuilding habitats through active restoration treatments requires curating the selection of plant species to use in seeding and planting mixes. Ideally, these mixes should be assembled based on attributes that support ecosystem function and services, promote plant and animal species interactions and ecological networks in restoration while balancing project constraints. Despite these critical considerations, it is common for species mixes to be selected opportunistically. Reframing the selection of seed mixes for restoration around ecological objectives is essential for success but accessible methods and tools are needed to support this effort. C_LIO_LIWe developed a framework to optimize species seed mixes based on prioritizing plant species attributes to best support different objectives for ecosystem functions, services, and trophic relationships such as pollination, seed dispersal, and herbivory. We compared results to approaches where plant species are selected to represent plant taxonomic richness, dominant species, and at random. We tested our framework for 176 plant species found in European alpine grasslands and identified 163 associated attributes affiliated to trophic relationships, ecosystem functions, and services. C_LIO_LIIn all cases, trophic relationships, ecosystem functions, and services can be captured more efficiently through objective-based prioritization using the functional identity of plant species. Solutions (plant species lists) can be compared quantitatively, in terms of costs, species, or objectives. We confirm that a random draw of plant species from the regional plant species pool cannot be assumed to support other trophic groups and ecosystem functions and services. C_LIO_LISynthesis and Applications. Our framework is presented as a proof of concept to help restoration practitioners better apply quantitative decision-support to plant species selection in order to meet ecological restoration outcomes. Our approach may be tailored to any restoration initiative and habitat where seeding or planting mixes will be applied in active treatments. As global priority and resources are increasingly placed into restoration, this approach could be advanced to help make efficient decisions for many stages of the restoration process. C_LI

Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, with agriculture as one of the major drivers. There is mounting evidence that intercropping can increase insect biodiversity while maintaining or increasing yield. Yet, intercropping is often considered impractical for mechanized farming systems. Strip cropping is a type of intercropping that is compatible with standard farm machinery and has been pioneered by Dutch farmers since 2014. Here, we present ground beetle data from four organically managed experimental farms across four years. Ground beetles are sensitive to changes in habitats and disturbances, and hold keystone positions in agroecosystem food webs. We show that strip cropping systems can enhance ground beetle biodiversity, while other studies showed that these increases have been achieved without incurring major yield loss. Strip cropped fields had on average 15% more ground beetle species and 30% more individuals than monocultural fields. The higher ground beetle richness in strip crops was explained by the merger of crop-related ground beetle communities, rather than by ground beetle species unique to strip cropping systems. The increase in field-level beetle species richness in organic agriculture through strip cropping approached increases found for other readily deployed biodiversity conservation methods, like shifting from conventional to organic agriculture (+19% - +23%). This indicates that strip cropping is a potentially useful tool supporting ground beetle biodiversity in agricultural fields without compromising food production.

SummarySporobolus anglicus (C.E. Hubb) P.M. Peterson & Saarela (synonym Spartina anglica) is a highly invasive coastal weed that forms dense monocultures in intertidal mudflats and estuaries, displacing native reedbeds and associated fauna. Introduced to Aotearoa New Zealand from Britain in the early 1900s to aid coastal land reclamation, it became a conservation concern by the 1960s, prompting control efforts in the South Island from the 1970s. This study presents a detailed S. anglicus eradication case study from the Marlborough Sounds, where detections are nearing zero. We model changes in detection probability over time in Te Hoiere / Pelorus Sound, a complex estuarine catchment. We aim to inform control efforts and assess the effectiveness of ongoing management, by evaluating the probability of non-detection as a proxy for functional eradication. Using data from the Department of Conservation (DOC), we analysed detections across 79 search blocks between 2013 and 2024. A generalised linear mixed model was used to generate predicted detections through to 2040, using a modified dataset with pseudo-zero values for probable absences. The data were modelled as presence/absence with a binomial distribution, to identify the first year with a <0.01 probability of a positive detection (upper 99% confidence limit). Results suggest that by 2032, the likelihood of further detections under current management practices is remote, and that functional eradication may have occurred. We interpret this decline in detection probability as indicative of management success. Model outputs can support decision-making as to when active surveillance might reasonably be ceased. To accelerate the tail-end of eradication efforts, we recommend intensifying search effort and widening delimitations within the catchment over the next five years, to ensure removal of any remaining individuals. We also propose the use of environmental DNA as a cost-effective backstop for after operational wind-down. Implications for ManagersO_LIOur modelling predicts that S. anglicus detections in Te Hoiere / Pelorus Sound should decline to levels consistent with functional eradication by 2032, and may render continued manual surveillance uneconomical after this date. C_LIO_LIFull, regular and repeated surveillance of suitable habitats is needed within a five-year intensive monitoring period at the tail-end phase of eradication, as detections approach zero and managers consider withdrawal. C_LIO_LIWhile statistical analyses support eradication management decisions, absolute certainty of absence is unattainable. Decisions must balance technical feasibility with practical risk tolerance. C_LIO_LIEnvironmental DNA could provide an effective post-withdrawal monitoring tool, to allay the risk of re-invasion. C_LI

Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate due to rapid environmental change and increasing human pressures. Ongoing urban expansion fragments natural systems, while urban design increasingly seeks to mitigate these impacts through the integration of blue-green infrastructure. Effective biodiversity monitoring is therefore essential to evaluate ecological conditions within these novel socio-ecological systems. Although urban biodiversity monitoring is challenged by its high landscape heterogeneity, dense human populations provide opportunities for large-scale data collection through public participation in citizen science. Using data from 25 City Nature Challenge (CNC) projects across the United Kingdom (2020-2025), we assessed the effects of the four-day bioblitz on species inventories, participation in biological recording, and spatial patterns of recording effort. CNC events doubled public participation in iNaturalist recording relative to baseline activity, leading to the documentation of numerous previously unrecorded species through increased observer effort and broader use of urban blue-green spaces. These results show that CNC events enhance urban biodiversity datasets by increasing the number of observers and reducing spatial and observer biases, providing a cost-effective tool for enriching urban biodiversity data. In addition to generating ecological data, CNC events could have public health benefits through increased exposure to urban blue-green spaces.

In biodiversity offsetting, balancing biodiversity losses with gains can be achieved by using multipliers that define the ratio between the magnitude of biodiversity loss and the area required to deliver equivalent biodiversity gains. Although there is broad scientific consensus that multipliers should be calibrated to deliver no net loss or a net gain for biodiversity, they are often applied without quantitative assessment of the ecological outcomes of offset actions. Here we operationalise the Response-based Habitat Hectare Assessment of Biodiversity Gains (REHAB), a framework where multipliers are informed by an understanding of habitat-specific ecological responses to offset action. To support Finlands national biodiversity offsetting scheme, we harnessed the knowledge of 111 experts to compile ecological attributes and condition matrices for all 388 Finnish habitat types and derive 346 offset action multipliers that represent ecological response functions for 216 habitat type-specific offset actions including restoration, management and passive recovery. Our analysis reveals substantial variation in response-functions, resulting in offset multipliers between 1.3-4,000 across offset actions and habitat types. We find that the fixed multipliers commonly used in offset schemes would result in net loss in 60% of the cases if action- habitat specific responses were not considered. This variability underscores that fixed multipliers cannot deliver reliable biodiversity outcomes and should be avoided in offsetting schemes. The REHAB framework has already been integrated into Finlands national offsetting policy. Other potential areas of application include informing ecosystem restoration planning and assessing biodiversity gains linked to credit issuance in emerging nature-credit markets.

1 Beavers have been promoted as a cost-effective nature-based solution to restore degraded stream ecosystems and enhance overall biodiversity. However, the extent to which beaver-engineering boosts biodiversity in human-impacted landscapes remains poorly understood. 2 We assessed the responses of aquatic and terrestrial taxa (amphibians, dragonflies, fish, macrophytes, plankton, terrestrial vegetation, bats, aquatic, flying and terrestrial invertebrates) to beaver-engineering along a gradient of human land-use intensity in Switzerland. In 16 streams, we measured species richness, abundance, unique species richness, evenness, beta and gamma diversity in a beaver-engineered site with beaver dams and a control site without beaver activity. 3 Especially aquatic and semi-aquatic species profited from beaver-engineering. In response to beaver-engineering, amphibians, dragonflies, macrophytes, and plankton increased in species richness, abundance and unique species richness, while fish and terrestrial plants increased in species richness and unique species richness. Bats only increased in unique species richness, while for the other terrestrial taxa, we found no difference between beaver-engineered and control sites. Community evenness remained largely unaffected across all groups. 4 Overall, beaver-engineering increased biodiversity across a land-use gradient. For macrophytes and amphibians (species richness, unique species richness and abundance), as well for dragonflies (species richness and unique species richness), increases were smaller under higher land-use intensity. For the remaining taxa and metrics, we found no relationship between land-use intensity and responses to beaver engineering. 5 However, for beta-diversity, we found that sites with a high land-use intensity had a lower component of nestedness and stronger community turnover in comparison to more natural sites, with a significant effect for macrophytes. Gamma species richness was generally unaffected by land- use intensity, except for amphibians, which were often only found in beaver-engineered sites in high- land-use intensity areas. 6 Synthesis and applications. Our findings demonstrate that beaver-engineering significantly enhances local biodiversity across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, even at sites with high land-use intensity. Hence, beavers can effectively restore stream biodiversity from urban to agricultural to natural landscapes. Integrating beaver-engineering into river restoration strategies can substantially advance biodiversity goals under frameworks such as the EU Water Framework Directive and national conservation policies.

Accurately estimating the likelihood of occurrence of threatened species is essential for effective impact assessments at development sites. Current survey guidelines often rely on coarse, static species distribution maps, risking misalignment for migratory birds present only seasonally. We evaluated 70 wind farms in eastern Australia to assess the alignment between survey timing and seasonal occurrence of four migratory species. Using eBird-based relative abundance models we classified recommended and actual survey periods as optimal, suboptimal, or poorly timed. Half of all surveys were not optimal, and one fifth missed the species potential temporal window of presence altogether. Field detections mostly occurred within modelled optimal or suboptimal windows, validating our approach. Likelihood of occurrence was significantly lower in poorly or suboptimally timed surveys, indicating current guidance for surveying migratory birds at Australian windfarms contains critical shortcomings. Evidence-based alignment with seasonal presence is needed to improve biodiversity assessment guidelines for wind energy development.

While many herbicide active substances have been banned and weed infestation is a major threat to crop productivity, it is still unknown to what extent natural weed control provided by seed predators can help farmers manage weed communities. We aim to quantify the contribution of seed predators to crop productivity through weed control and to evaluate whether the magnitude of their influence depends on farming systems such as conservation agriculture. We set up 112 seed predator-exclusion cages in 28 cereal fields in France (14 pairs of conservation and conventional agriculture fields), surveyed weed emergence and biomass, measured crop yield and sampled the main seed predators: carabid beetles and rodents. We found that seed predators activity reduces the yield loss due to weeds by 20%. By extrapolation, it represents an economic gain of 285{euro}/ha. However, the yield loss remains at 60% below the maximum crop yield potential reached in the absence of weeds. Moreover, conservation agriculture enhances weed control, but this does not translate into increased crop yield. This study demonstrates the tangible importance of considering seed predators for weed control but highlights the need to combine this approach with weed control practices or to substantially redesign cropping systems to enhance the beneficial effects of biodiversity on crop productivity. Significance statementAlthough weed biomass is the main driver of decreasing the crop productivity worldwide and the use of herbicides is massively disparaged, we have not yet quantified the role played by on-farm biodiversity to control weeds. Using an experimental design set up in 28 commercial cereal fields in France, we showed that weed seed predators reduce crop yield loss due to weeds by 20%. By extrapolation, it represents an economic gain of 285{euro}/ha. However, in the absence of any other weed control practices, the yield loss remains at 60% below the maximum crop yield potential reached in the absence of weeds. This study demonstrates the quantitative importance of considering seed predators to design pesticide-free systems.

Established invasive alien plant species require ongoing, costly management to reduce harm to agricultural and environmental values. Heterogeneous landscapes are often under threat from multiple long-established invasive plants, whose simultaneous management presents strategic and tactical challenges. Systematic monitoring of weed populations enables more strategic management by providing more detailed insights into invasion threats than the more readily available presence-only data. We leveraged six years of weed density monitoring and high-resolution environmental data to model habitat suitability for four high-priority weeds across the Australian Capital Territory. We developed habitat suitability maps for African lovegrass, Chilean needle grass, serrated tussock grass and St Johns wort. Maps were then standardised and combined to derive potential multi-species invasion hotspots at different management thresholds and explore patterns of secondary invasion threat. While some species shared environmental drivers such as elevation, each responded to distinct combinations and interactions among environmental drivers. Overall, we found approximately 71% of land had suitability for multiple weeds at various densities, but only 11% is suitable for two or more species to reach high densities. Areas suitable for most weeds often had St Johns wort as the next most suitable invader. These findings could improve management efficiency and reduce intervention challenges by focussing integrated control across species in a small number of priority areas. These findings support spatially explicit, multi-species decision-support tools for surveillance, prioritisation and strategic landscape-scale control.

New banksia woodland vegetation was established at two sites totalling 50 ha in the Perth region of Western Australia as part of an offset-funded project. Restoration methods included topsoil transfer (16 ha), planting of nursery-raised local provenance seedlings (46,000 seedlings over 39.5 ha) and direct seeding with machinery or by hand (16.5 ha) with treatments overlapped. Six years of rigorous monitoring revealed trends in plant diversity, density and cover and allowed comparison of vegetation structure and composition to reference sites. Of the 162 native plants recorded, 115 originated primarily from the topsoil seed bank and the remainder from planting and seeding. Native plant germination from topsoil peaked at 700,000 stems per ha in year 2, but there was very high attrition during extreme summer drought. By year 5, native perennials averaged 20,000 stems per ha, well above the target of 7,000, but there was high spatial variability in plant density with 1/3 of quadrats below target. Saplings of Banksia spp. (the dominant local trees) plateaued at 150-220 stems per ha due to high summer mortality. Native plant cover reached 20% and perennial weed cover stabilised at under 5% within 5 years. Several complimentary methods were required for successful restoration, since transferred topsoil established most of the plant diversity. However, trees required planting or seeding, due to their canopy stored seed. Direct seeding and planting without respread topsoil led to lower overall diversity and density, but higher tree density. Most completion criteria targets were reached after 5 years. Areas with respread topsoil are trending towards recovery as a banksia woodland, but areas with only planting and seeding are likely to remain a separate vegetation type. Evidence for resilience of restored areas was provided by abundant pollination and seed set and second-generation seedlings. We suggest it may be possible to restore banksia woodland despite major challenges due to unpredictable offset funding, climate, weeds, grazing, recalcitrant species, and seed availability, but long-term monitoring is required to confirm this.

Freshwater ecosystems in Scotland are increasingly threatened by multiple interacting stressors, including pollution, hydrological alteration, land use change, and climate-driven pressures. Scotland's rivers are amongst the most physically diverse and dynamic in the UK, contributing significantly to the country-s economy and natural heritage. Monitoring 125,000 km of waterways presents an issue, with limited funding and capacity of environmental agencies creating an environmental monitoring deficit at a time when robust data are essential for delivering national and global biodiversity targets. Citizen science offers a scalable, community driven approach to strengthening environmental evidence. This study evaluates the development, implementation, and outcomes of Guardians of our Rivers (GooR), a nationwide citizen science programme using macroinvertebrate-based river health assessments based on the Anglers' Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (RMI) established by the Riverfly Partnership. Between 2022 and 2025, GooR trained more than 850 volunteers, established 123 monitoring sites across Scotland, and generated over 860 surveys-surpassing the previous 16 years of aquatic invertebrate monitoring efforts. Standardised field training, full equipment provision, and structured support enabled high-quality data collection across diverse catchments. The establishment of nationally applied trigger and target thresholds created a consistent mechanism for detecting ecological deterioration and ensured that verified trigger breaches (n = 39 in 2025) resulted in formal investigation or follow-up. Analysis of national abundance patterns revealed ecological and biogeographic trends across the eight RMI taxa, confirming data sensitivity to habitat differences, water quality, and regional pressures. A detailed case study of the Lothian Esk catchment demonstrated the programme's capacity to detect seasonal macroinvertebrate dynamics and site level ecological trajectories over time. Overall, GooR illustrates how well-designed and well-supported citizen science can deliver high resolution spatiotemporal datasets, enhance early warning systems, empower communities, and make a meaningful contribution to promoting river health. Importantly, GooR forged a working partnership with Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) that allowed communities to not only gather data but also transformed the way citizen science is recognized as contributing to freshwater conservation. Continued investment and long-term support will be essential to sustain these gains and realise the full potential of citizen-driven freshwater stewardship.

IntroductionHuman land-use intensification and the resulting habitat loss are primary drivers of insect pollinator declines. Habitat restoration offers a promising approach to counteract these declines, yet landscape-level evaluations of bee responses to restoration and management remain limited. We conducted a two-year, landscape-scale study in Wisconsin, USA, to assess how different intensities of tallgrass prairie restoration and management affect bumble bees (Bombus spp.). ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine whether (1) bumble bee abundance and diversity increase with assisted restoration, and (2) outcomes differ between low-(seeded only) and moderate-intensity (seeded and managed with prescribed fire) interventions. MethodsUsing catch-and-release surveys, we measured bumble bee abundance and diversity at 32 sites representing a gradient in restoration intervention: no intervention (unassisted recovery), low intervention, and moderate intervention. ResultsBumble bee abundance and diversity were higher at assisted restoration sites (low and moderate intervention) than at unassisted sites. Although both tended to be greater at moderate than low intervention intensities, these differences were not statistically significant. Bumble bee community composition also differed across intervention intensity, driven by shifts in dominant species (e.g., B. impatiens and B. griseocollis). Rarer taxa, including endangered and vulnerable species, occurred only at assisted restoration sites, with the largest populations at moderate intervention sites. Across all sites, bumble bee responses were strongly and positively associated with floral abundance, but not with semi-natural habitat in the surrounding landscape. ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that assisted grassland restoration can effectively increase bumble bee abundance and diversity, supporting its value as a conservation practice for pollinators. Implications for Practice: (1) Grassland restorations targeting plant communities can successfully support nontarget pollinators across a range of management intensities and landscape contexts. Adding seeds of pollinator-preferred plants could improve restorations with low floral abundance and diversity. (2) Management of existing restorations is important to maintain abundant floral resources and diverse pollinator communities. Because sites varied widely in prescribed fire use, our findings likely represent a conservative estimate of its benefits, and higher intervention intensity (e.g., repeated seeding, regular fire, mechanical or chemical shrub and invasive plants control) may further enhance outcomes for bumble bees.

The rapid expansion of oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia has caused extensive deforestation and landscape fragmentation. Riparian buffers (vegetated strips along the edges of rivers) have been shown to enhance biodiversity, water quality, and erosion control. However, plantation managers have raised concerns that these buffers may harbour pests such as nettle caterpillars, bagworms, and rhinoceros beetles (Oryctes rhinoceros). These pests damage the palms and facilitate the spread Ganoderma boninense (a fungal pathogen). Using causal inference modelling we examined how riparian buffer characteristics (width and habitat quality), oil palm age, and surrounding landscape features influence pest and disease incidence in oil palms adjacent to riparian areas in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We surveyed 47,500 palms for pest and disease damage and used mark-release-recapture techniques to track O. rhinoceros movements in oil palms adjacent to riparian buffers. Most O. rhinoceros activity (66.30%) occurred within the plantations, and only 6.10% occurred within riparian buffers, with limited movement between habitats. Oil palm age was a dominant driver of pest attacks: young palms were more susceptible to lepidopteran caterpillars and O. rhinoceros, whereas G. boninense was more prevalent in mature palms. Neither the surrounding forest cover nor the quality of the riparian buffer affected the incidence of pest attacks. Riparian buffer width increased O. rhinoceros attacks, reduced G. boninense infection, and had no effect on lepidopteran caterpillars, highlighting that surrounding forest cover and riparian buffers do not drive pest attacks in oil palm plantations. Instead, management of oil palms within the buffers s is likely to be more important in managing pests; increases in invasive oil palms within the buffers increased the incidence of caterpillar damage, and higher numbers of remnant old oil palms increased O. rhinoceros attacks in adjacent oil palms. Overall, riparian buffers were found to contribute little to pest spillover, suggesting that their biodiversity and connectivity benefits outweigh minor pest risks, especially if invasive young and remnant old oil palms within the buffers are effectively managed and native vegetation restored.

O_LIRewilding, the restoration of natural processes to create self-sustaining and resilient ecosystems, is an increasingly popular conservation approach. However, outcomes are often unpredictable, and effective ecological monitoring is critical for understanding impacts. Integrating environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with other non-invasive tools may help provide more comprehensive assessments of taxonomic and functional diversity and trophic complexity. C_LIO_LIWe applied an integrated monitoring approach at a rewilding site in Scotland, comparing vertebrate diversity detected by metabarcoding four eDNA sample types (water, soil, tree rolling, scat) with passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) and camera trapping. Each method was evaluated for taxonomic richness, community composition, functional diversity using trait-based analyses, and trophic complexity through co-occurrence networks. The comparative effectiveness of these methods is rarely explored beyond basic taxonomic diversity metrics. C_LIO_LIIn total, 79 vertebrate taxa were detected: PAM captured 52 taxa, eDNA 44, and camera traps 17. Of the eDNA substrates, water and tree-rolling samples had the highest richness. Each method detected unique species, with birds and bats best covered by PAM, and small mammals by eDNA. Community composition varied between methods, with eDNA substrates capturing broader communities. PAM revealed the most pronounced community differences between wooded and open habitats. C_LIO_LITree rolling and water eDNA captured the greatest functional diversity, while PAM showed higher redundancy, detecting species with similar ecological roles. No single method captured all functional traits. Integrating eDNA methods with PAM produced the most complete trophic network. PAM provided the most complete network but missed key terrestrial interactions that were filled by eDNA. C_LIO_LISynthesis and applications: Our findings highlight the necessity of an integrated multi-method toolkit for practitioners to comprehensively capture vertebrate richness, functional diversity, and trophic complexity, particularly in rewilding contexts. We recommend combining PAM with either tree rolling or water eDNA sampling as an optimal monitoring strategy, balancing their complementary strengths in taxonomic and functional coverage. C_LI

Recovery debt (RD) quantifies the interim deficit of biodiversity and function during the recovery process after disturbance. Unlike typical recovery indices derived from data on experimental-control comparisons, RD further considers the target (reference) biodiversity level, modelling the rate at which it is approached over time. However, the application of the RD approach to active restoration has not been explicitly implemented to date. Here, we extend the RD framework to evaluate active ecological restoration in agricultural systems, defining the onset of recovery as the shift from intensive to wildlife-friendly management. We applied this approach to assess short-term pollinator recovery in 14 olive groves across a gradient of farming intensification and landscape complexity in southern Spain. Restoration actions included adopting low-intensity ground cover management and actively restoring field margins. At one, three, and five years post-restoration, we assessed community responses by quantifying bee abundance, species richness, plant-bee network properties, and flower visitation rates. Reference systems were defined by olive groves in complex landscapes with low-intensity herb cover management and organic farming practices. Following restoration, the RD of bee abundance decreased from 71% to 55%. We found no significant effects of pre-intervention agricultural management on RD. Instead, across sites, the reduction of the RD (i.e., recovery) of bee abundance, richness, network connectance and flower visitation rate was strongly mediated by the availability of high-quality semi-natural areas in the surrounding landscape and by the ecological contrast created by restoration interventions at both the farm and floral patch levels. RD for other network metrics showed no significant pattern of variation. Our study demonstrates that wildlife-friendly management and targeted habitat restoration can rapidly reduce recovery debt for bee abundance and function in permanent agroecosystems. However, the recovery of more complex interaction-network properties likely requires longer timescales.

Grasslands are diverse ecosystems that are increasingly threatened by intensive land use. Restoring grasslands by reducing land-use intensity may support insect abundance and diversity, helping to halt insect declines. To test for the effect of reduced land use on invertebrates, we studied an experiment (established 2020) at 45 sites across three regions of Germany. We hypothesized that reduced land use increases invertebrate abundance and diversity, with larger effects in less intensively used grasslands. Using suction sampling, invertebrates were quantitatively sampled in May 2021 and May 2023, with 2021 samples identified by DNA meta-barcoding. Reducing land use to a single late mowing increased invertebrate abundance by 41% after one year and 99% after three years. However, species richness, Shannon diversity, and Simpson diversity did not differ between treatments and controls. Finding more individuals in grasslands with reduced land use suggests that species already present benefit, rather than additional species being recruited from the surrounding area. The effect of land-use reduction on abundance was consistently influenced by land use in the surrounding matrix, with larger positive effect sizes at grasslands with lower mowing frequency but higher fertilization. In spite of these local differences in the magnitude of restoration effects, the consistent increase in invertebrate abundance suggests that reducing land-use intensity can enhance invertebrate populations with potential benefits for ecosystem functions. It will be important to study how outcomes of land-use reduction develop over time, as land-use reduction is likely more successful when implemented permanently.

The detrimental effects of human-induced environmental change on people and other species are acutely manifested in urban environments. While urban greenspaces are known to mitigate these effects and support functionally diverse ecological communities, evidence of the ecological outcomes of urban greening remains scarce. We use a longitudinal observational design to provide empirical evidence of the putative ecological benefits of greening actions. We show how a small greening action quickly led to large positive changes in the richness, demographic dynamics, and network structure of a depauperate insect community. An increase in the diversity and complexity of the plant community led to, after only three years, a large increase in insect species richness, a greater probability of occurrence of insects within the greenspace, and a higher number and diversity of interactions between insects and plant species. We demonstrate how large ecological benefits may be derived from investing in small greening actions and how these contribute to bring indigenous species back to greenspaces where they have become rare or locally extinct. Our findings provide crucial evidence that support best practice in greenspace design and contribute to re-invigorate policies aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of urbanisation on people and other species.

Urban greening actions across the world are being carried out to support resident, rare and locally extinct insect pollinators. In parallel, an array of best-practise resources have been designed to support build-environment practitioners and professionals seeking to or tasked with implementing greening actions for pollinators. Three main themes permeate these resources: (1) small greenspaces can provide large ecological benefits; (2) high-quality pollinator habitat should include a large share of indigenous plant species; and (3) considering stakeholders aspirations, motivations, experience, and concerns is critical for designing effective actions. Despite high interest in implementing these actions, few projects have evaluated their ecological benefits or demonstrated achievement of specific objectives. Even fewer have been specifically co-designed by practitioners and researchers to bridge the science-practice gap. Here, we demonstrate the success of a co-designed greening action in attracting indigenous pollinators to an urban greenspace. We compiled a plant-pollinator interactions dataset in a public park, within a densely urbanised municipality, that was purposefully greened with indigenous plant species to support existing and attract new indigenous pollinators. We then assessed: (1) how pollinator species richness and species-specific occupancy varied amongst plant species, and how these metrics compared between the existing greenspace plant species and the new added indigenous ones; (2) the effect of flower cover of the added indigenous plant species on the probabilities of occurrence of indigenous and introduced pollinators; and (3) the effect of the added indigenous plant species on the structure of the greenspace plant-pollinator ecological network. An addition of only six indigenous plant species resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in the number of indigenous pollinator species and other flower-visiting insects observed in the park. The added indigenous plants established interactions with all the indigenous pollinators and remarkably almost half of these were found interacting exclusively with the added indigenous plants. Additionally, the number of indigenous pollinators associated with a given plant species was on average 3.5 times higher for the added indigenous plants than for the baseline ones and the probabilities of occurrence of indigenous pollinators were on average invariable higher in the added indigenous than in the baseline plant species. The plant and insect community changes sparked by the greening action resulted in concomitant changes to the structure of the sites plant-pollinator network. We found an average 4.2-fold increase in the number of interactions linking the greened compared to the baseline network, with almost half of these interactions comprising those between the added indigenous plants and indigenous pollinators. By showing that replacing lawn with indigenous plants leads to positive ecological outcomes for indigenous pollinators and other flower-visiting insects - including increasing the overall greenspace biodiversity by attracting new indigenous insect species to the site - our findings contribute to the evidence base underpinning best-practise resources and provide encouragement to build-environment practitioners and professionals responsible for or endeavouring to support existing or bringing insect pollinators back into our cities. Our study establishes a pathway and acts as a catalyst for researchers and government officials seeking to collaboratively demonstrate that greening is a valuable and sound investment for achieving goals from local, regional and global biodiversity and sustainability plans and policies.

O_LIOrganic farming is seen as a prototype of ecological intensification able to conciliate crop productivity and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. However, how natural enemies, an important functional group supporting pest control services, respond to organic farming at different scales and in different landscape contexts remain unclear.\nC_LIO_LIUsing a hierarchical design within a vineyard-dominated region located in southwestern France, we examine the independent effects of organic farming and semi-natural habitats at the local and landscape scales on natural enemies.\nC_LIO_LIWe show that the proportion of organic farming is a stronger driver of species abundance than the proportion of semi-natural habitats and is an important facet of landscape heterogeneity shaping natural enemy assemblages. Although our study highlight a strong taxonomic group-dependency about the effect of organic farming, organic farming benefits to dominant species while rare species occur at the same frequency in the two farming systems.\nC_LIO_LIIndependently of farming systems, enhancing field age, reducing crop productivity, soil tillage intensity and pesticide use are key management options to increase natural enemy biodiversity.\nC_LIO_LISynthesis and Applications. Our study indicates that policies promoting the expansion of organic farming will benefit more to ecological intensification strategies seeking to enhance ecosystem services than to biodiversity conservation.\nC_LI

Maximising ecosystem service (ES) benefits while minimising ecosystem disservices (EDS) is essential for ecological intensification in annual crop systems. Yet ecosystem disservices are often underreported in the scientific literature, potentially biasing how agroecosystem functioning is understood. To test this, we built a predicted network of plausible links between ecosystem service providers (taxa or functional groups that can deliver ecosystem services or disservices), and the ES or EDS they may provide. We then compared this with a realised network based on systematic Scopus searches of annual crop literature. The predicted network contained 47 nodes and 103 links, whereas the realised network contained 33 nodes and 58 links, representing declines of 29.8% in nodes and 43.7% in links. Overall connectivity declined, especially for highly connected nodes, and four of the nine predicted disservice nodes were absent from the literature. ES links were more likely to be documented than EDS links, and EDS links were three times more likely to be absent. Across all links, ES were reported in 6.6 times more papers than EDS. Projected networks, which map indirect connections by linking ES directly to EDS if they share common providers, showed that these bundled interactions were strongly reduced, obscuring multifunctionality and trade-offs. This systematic underrepresentation of EDS, reflecting a cognitive bias, can inflate perceived benefits, distort the evaluation of key taxa and interactions, and create unrealistic expectations about intervention outcomes in biological crop protection. Addressing EDS alongside ES is therefore essential for more balanced assessments of crop-system management and better-informed decisions.