This document summarizes the research projects within WP1 investigating the impacts of energy crops on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The research aims to quantify the effects of novel energy crops like Miscanthus on biodiversity, examine relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services, and assess impacts of intensive versus extensive energy crop farming. Studies are examining impacts on pollinators, natural enemies, and arable plants across different crop types and landscape scales. Results can inform policy on optimizing bioenergy crop composition and landscape diversity.

1. Prof. Mark Emmerson
The effects of environmental context on biodiversity in
agro-ecosystems: managing for biodiversity and
ecosystem services.
WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning

2. Sectoral Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
WP1 Project Team
Dara Stanley Lisa Dolan WP1 & 2 Mark Emmerson
Pollinators Research Assistant Biocontrol
QUB
Jesko Zimmerman Florence Hecq WP1 Jane Stout
Research Assistant Pollination
Carbon sequestration
TCD
Erin O’Rourke Jens Dauber Padraig Whelan
Biocontrol Project Manager Invasions
UCC
Rosalyn Thompson David Bourke Mike Jones
Invasion resistance Project Manager Carbon sequestration
TCD
~20 Graduate and Undergraduate Research Assistants

3. WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Food? Fuel?

4. WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Conventional crops Novel Bioenergy Crop

5. WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Novel Bioenergy Crop
Novel Bioenergy Crop
Miscanthus x giganteus
•High dry weight annual yield (25t/h).
•Rhizomatous perennial grass with a C4
photosynthesis pathway.
•Originates in Asia.
•Adapted to temperate climates.
•Introduction subsidised in Ireland.

6. WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Conventional crops
Conventional Crops
•Oilseed rape
•Conventional winter wheat
•Conventional pasture
Provide reference controls against
which to compare the effects of
planting Miscanthus x giganteus.

7. The role of Energy Crops in landscapes.
Source or refuge for Biodiversity Sink for Biodiversity

8. The experimental design and sampling effort for studying the
Valuation of Ecosystem Services
natural enemy biodiversity of bioenergy crops.
Pollinators
€535 Million UK Economy
Enemies
Natural
€3.6 Billion US Economy
Arable
Plants
?Unknown?
Carbon
Seq.
€847 Million UK Economy
NEA (2011), Power (2010)

9. WP1. Impacts of Energy Crops on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
• Quantify the effects of novel energy crops on the biodiversity of
agricultural ecosystems (O’Rourke et al., Stanley et al., Emmerson et
al.)
• Define the relationship between biodiversity and the delivery of
ecosystem services in agricultural systems (Emmerson et al.)
• Assess impacts of high and low intensity energy crop farming on
diversity. (O’Rourke et al.)
• Document landscape scale effects of intensification on biodiversity
in energy crops. (Bourke et al.)

10. The experimental design and sampling effort for studying the
Experimental Design
natural enemy biodiversity of bioenergy crops.
CROP TYPE
Carbon
Sequestration
MT MG OSR CT CG
EDGE MARGIN CENTRE
pollinators Arable Plants Natural Enemies

11. Study Area
Counties:
Wexford
Kilkenny
Conventional Grass
Miscanthus on Tillage
Carlow
Miscanthus on Grass Waterford
Winter Oilseed Rape
Tipperary
Conventional Tillage
Cork

12. Pollination services Dara Stanley
TCD
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of pollinators?
c
20
b,c
Species Richness
b b
15
a,b
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5
MG CG MT CT OSR
Crop Type

13. Pollination services Dara Stanley
TCD
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of pollinators?
6.0
MT
MG
5.8
OSR
CT
CG
5.6
Pollination Potential
5.4
5.2
5.0
4.8
4.6
0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
log10(Species Richness)

14. Erin O’Rourke
Biocontrol services UCC
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of natural enemies?
20
Species Richness
b
a,b
15
a a a
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5
MG CG MT CT OSR
Crop Type

15. Erin O’Rourke
Biocontrol services UCC
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of natural enemies?
1.5
MT
MG
1.0
OSR
CT
CG
)
0.5
0.75
Consumption (M
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
log10(Species Richness)

16. Rosalyn Thompson
Production services UCC
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of arable plants?
b b b
30
b
Species Richness
25
20
a
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5
MG CG MT CT OSR
Crop Type

17. Rosalyn Thompson
Production services UCC
• How do energy crops affect the
Biodiversity of arable plants?
3.2 MT
MG
OS
CT
CG
3.0
log 10 (Percent Cover)
2.8
2.6
2.4
0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
Log10log10(Species Richness)
(Species Richness)

18. Information to inform policy
• Different energy crops affect components of biodiversity differently.
• We can account for these context dependencies.
• Manage for directly for biodiversity and you manage for the delivery
of associated ecosystem services indirectly.
• Information to inform composition of bioenergy crops that maximise
biodiversity.
• Diversity of crop types at the landscape scale has positive effects on
landscape diversity.

19. Acknowledgements
All PhD students and Post Doctoral Researchers working on
SIMBIOSYS.
Many Farmers that enabled the work.
Funders: EPA