Nature and Farming: Sustaining Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes.

Abstract

THIS book is a valuable historic record of the practices employed by land managers, government programs and community groups to ensure a place for nature in farming landscapes. Its strength lies in the 16 case studies of individual properties and the 14 examples of general approaches to integrating conservation into production systems. Those two very practical sections, plus another describing programs such as Landcare, carbon credits and offsetting, make up just under half the book. This practical, real world middle section is sandwiched between two sections that are quite different in tone and character to the sympathetic description of local heroes in the book’s heart. At the beginning are six chapters that introduce the concepts of landscape and community ecology to establish the scientific case for conservation. This includes analysis of types of farming systems, patterns of remnant vegetation distribution, and the functional properties of the agricultural matrix from the perspective of biodiversity. At the end are four chapters reflecting on the case studies and their implications. In both the introductory and concluding sections, the voice is that of the concerned ecologist, looking over the farm fence and wondering aloud ‘is this really going to be enough?’ Right towards the end is the warning that unless things change, “…the biodiversity train wreck lying ahead could exceed even our worse fears.”