Fractionation of natural habitat and landscape uniformization

Natural habitat fractionation is one of the factors that hugely transform ecosystems, putting them under huge pressure and can drive species extinction. It consists in a reduction in size and in distribution of spaces with certain characteristics, from native forests, prairies, wet ecosystems to hedges, to the advantage of urban structures as buildings and roads and of extending agricultural surfaces. It is often combined with an additional simplification of the landscape, i.e. straightening of water ways, the disappearing of their edges, the uniformization of planted crops on species and genetical level. As the importance of ecosystem services like pollination or microclimate becomes increasingly clear, it is equally important to plan solutions whose impact is up to the size of the issue. To de-fragmentate our landscape for the sake of beneficial insects in particular, and resilience of our livelihoods in general, coherent and coordinated strategies are a must to establish a network of wildlife hotspots in the agricultural landscape, on the way towards an agriculture that is itself a biodiversity promoter and - as experience grows- a climate influencer.