Data for study Conventional land-use intensification reduces species richness and increases production: A global meta-analysis

Most current research on land‐use intensification addresses its
potential to either threaten biodiversity or to boost agricultural
production. However, little is known about the simultaneous effects of
intensification on biodiversity and yield. To determine the responses
of species richness and yield to conventional intensification, this
dataset was created and a global meta‐analysis on it was carried out,
thus synthesizing 115 studies. The dataset consists of 449 cases that
cover a variety of areas used for agricultural (crops, fodder) and
silvicultural (wood) production. It was found that across all
production systems and species groups, conventional intensification is
successful in increasing yield (grand mean + 20.3%), but it also
results in a loss of species richness (−8.9%). However, analysis of
sub‐groups revealed inconsistent results. Within high‐intensity
systems species losses were non‐significant but yield gains were
substantial (+15.2%). Conventional intensification within medium
intensity systems revealed the highest yield increase (+84.9%) and
showed the largest loss in species richness (−22.9%). Production
systems differed in their magnitude of richness response, with
insignificant changes in silvicultural systems and substantial losses
in crop systems (−21.2%). In addition, this meta‐analysis identifies a
lack of studies that collect robust biodiversity (i.e. beyond species
richness) and yield data at the same sites and that provide
quantitative information on land‐use intensity. These findings suggest
that, in many cases, conventional land‐use intensification drives a
trade‐off between species richness and production. However, species
richness losses were often not significantly different from zero,
suggesting even conventional intensification can result in yield
increases without coming at the expense of biodiversity loss. These
results, which were published in a paper titled Conventional land‐use
intensification reduces species richness and increases production: A
global meta‐analysis, could guide future research to close existing
research gaps, and to understand the circumstances required to achieve
such win‐win or win‐no‐harm situations in conventional agriculture.