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A market‐based approach for biodiversity conservation can promote sustainable food production, but little is known about how consumers perceive rice and organisms conserved through biodiversity‐friendly farming (BFF). To address this gap, we conducted a web survey of 600 Japanese respondents to investigate their visual preferences for 20 photographs of organisms and landscapes found in paddy field areas and their willingness to pay (WTP) for BFF rice. Our results showed that paddy field landscapes were most preferred, followed by plants and birds, while insects and an endangered frog were the least preferred. Lowland flat and mountainous terraced paddy landscapes were most often selected as package photographs for BFF rice. Most respondents were willing to pay a premium of 0%–30% for BFF rice. Interest in biodiversity conservation was a common respondent characteristic, and it had a relatively strong influence on image preferences and WTP. Presence of children in certain age groups, sex, age, and experience with living near farmlands or conservation activities also affected the image preference or WTP answers, but to a lesser extent. These findings reveal consumer perceptions of BFF and the importance of effective eco‐labeling strategies for communicating conservation activities and improving promotion of sales to consumers. Paddy field landscapes were the most preferred, followed by plants and birds, while insects and an endangered frog were the least favored among Japanese respondents in a web survey. Respondents were generally willing to pay a premium of 0%–30% for biodiversity‐friendly farming rice, with a strong influence from their interest in biodiversity conservation. These findings emphasize the importance of effective eco‐labeling strategies to communicate conservation efforts and increase sales to consumers.

Irrigated paddy fields provide alternative habitats for aquatic species amid degrading natural wetland habitats. Paddy field biodiversity depends on surrounding landscapes and agricultural practices, and biodiversity surveys are important in understanding it. However, its assessment is often time‐consuming and depends on specialist skills. To overcome these limitations, we used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of paddy water samples to detect species diversity of insects, fishes, and birds, and assessed the optimal sampling effort and sampling design. From each of seven paddy fields, we collected samples at each of eight positions. eDNA metabarcoding detected 118 insect, 14 fish, and 6 bird operational taxonomic units, most of them aquatic. Resampling analyzes suggested that four sampling replicates can recover all detectable operational taxonomic units of fishes and birds with > 50% probability, but the species accumulation curves suggested greater insect diversity than we detected, attributable to insufficient reference data. Samples collected near inlets included eDNA from irrigation channels, so inlets should be avoided in assessing biodiversity in paddy fields. Pooled samples could detect abundant species, but the samples detected fewer species than the total species diversity detected from eight sampling replications. Our findings are applicable to most paddies in Japan because the research was conducted in Japanese standard rectangular paddies. Moreover, given the prevalence of small agricultural fields in many Asian countries, our findings will promote the use of eDNA in biodiversity monitoring in paddy fields. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding identified 118 insect, 14 fish, and 6 bird operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in rice paddy water samples. Resampling analyzes indicated that four sampling replicates are sufficient to detect all fish and bird OTUs with a probability greater than 50%. However, species accumulation curves revealed that insect diversity was likely underestimated, primarily due to limited reference data. Additionally, samples collected near inlets contained eDNA originating from irrigation channels, suggesting that inlet sites should be avoided when assessing biodiversity within paddy fields.

To halt biodiversity loss in the humid tropics of developing countries, it is crucial to understand the roles and effects of human-modified landscapes with fragmented forest remnants in maintaining biodiversity while fulfilling the demands of local communities and reducing poverty. To implement appropriate landscape planning for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, appropriate information is required about parameters of habitat suitability among various anthropogenic habitats with a range of distances to forests and vegetation characteristics, but such information is limited. We examined differences in avian communities between a remnant forest and four types of man-made forest (two mature plantations and two agroforests) in a forest–agricultural landscape of West Java, and we analyzed the effects of both local and landscape factors on various types of species richness in this landscape. The results from non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed avifauna in the two types of agroforest was clustered separately from that in the remnant forest, mainly because drastic declines in the abundance of forest specialists (including IUCN red-listed species) and their replacement with open-habitat generalists. The mixed-tree agroforests were colonized by 30 % of forest specialists and forest-edge species found in the remnant forest, and maintained the highest richness of species endemic to Indonesia among man-made forests, implying that some forest specialists and endemics might have adapted to ancient landscape heterogeneity. High proportion of insectivorous birds was found in the remnant forest (more than 50 %) and drastically decline in man-made forests, although the species richness of insectivores did not decline significantly in broad-leaved plantations. We concluded that protection of remnant forests should be prioritized to conserve forest bird diversity. However, as different environmental factors affected the richness values of different ecological groups, appropriate landscape design and habitat management could improve functional diversity in forest–agricultural landscapes in the tropics.

Recent studies have shown significant impacts of past landscapes on present distributions of species, and discussed the existence of an extinction debt. Understanding of the processes building an extinction debt is fundamentally important for explaining present and future diversity patterns of species in fragmented landscapes. Few empirical studies, however, have examined the responses of different plant functional groups (PFGs) to historical landscape changes. We aimed to reveal PFG-based differences in species' persistence by focusing on their vegetative, reproductive, and dispersal traits. We examined whether the present distributions of PFGs of grassland species in the edges of remnant woodlands established on former semi-natural grasslands are related to the past surrounding landscapes at different time periods and spatial scales. The effects of past landscapes varied significantly among the PFGs. Richness of short, early flowering forbs and tall, late-flowering, wind-dispersed forbs showed significant positive relationships with the surrounding habitat proportions more than 50 years ago (the 1950s) and at wide spatial scales (more than 1 km²). Richness of tall, late-flowering forbs with unassisted and other types of dispersal mechanisms showed positive relationships with the surrounding habitat proportions in recent times (the 1970s) and at smaller spatial scales (0.25 km²). Our results suggested that plant growth form, flowering season and dispersal ability—with additional information on seed bank persistence—can be good indicators for identifying species' specific sensitivity to surrounding habitat loss. Trait-based approaches can be useful for understanding present and future distributions of grassland species with different persistence strategies in human-modified landscapes. past surrounding landscapes at different time periods and spatial scales. The effects of past landscapes varied significantly among the PFGs. Richness of short, early flowering forbs and tall, late-flowering, wind-dispersed forbs showed significant positive relationships with the surrounding habitat proportions more than 50 years ago (the 1950s) and at wide spatial scales (more than 1 km²). Richness of tall, late-flowering forbs with unassisted and other types of dispersal mechanisms showed positive relationships with the surrounding habitat proportions in recent times (the 1970s) and at smaller spatial scales (0.25 km²). Our results suggested that plant growth form, flowering season and dispersal ability—with additional information on seed bank persistence—can be good indicators for identifying species' specific sensitivity to surrounding habitat loss. Trait-based approaches can be useful for understanding present and future distributions of grassland species with different persistence strategies in human-modified landscapes.

Agroforestry systems have been re-evaluated with a renewed scientific interest as appropriate models for achieving sustainable production while maintaining planned and associated biodiversity and agroecosystem functioning. Traditional bamboo-tree gardens in West Java are known to play substantial ecological and socioeconomic roles. In this study, we attempted to elucidate the relationship between income generation and biodiversity by studying 83 bamboo-tree gardens that varied in species composition and degree of commercialization. We conducted a survey of the vegetation and interviewed the owners or managers of each plot. We identified 42 planned and utilized species and 19 associated non-use species. Eight vegetation groups were identified by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), each of which varied in individual densities of different utilization species types, Simpson’s diversity index, management intensities, and potential annual gross income. The group with the highest potential income generation was dominated by clove trees ( Syzygium aromaticum ); however, this group also had a lower level of diversity and higher levels of management intensity than the other groups, but all of the pairwise groups were not significantly different. About 60% of the villagers used at least some fuelwood as a domestic energy source, and almost all of them collected fuelwood from bamboo-tree gardens regardless of ownership. There were no significant differences in density of potential fuelwood species among the vegetation groups. There were significant positive correlations between income and most management activities. The regression model between gross income and Simpson’s diversity index with the best fit was a unimodal curve, which strongly suggests that maximum diversity can be conserved at an intermediate level of income. Nevertheless, this intermediate level of gross income is probably not adequate as the primary source of income for garden owners, although some gardens had the potential to achieve higher income levels with no decline in diversity. We suggest that maximizing individual density and multistratifying canopy layers could improve profitability within perennial crop-based agroforestry systems in West Java.

Organic farming has potential for the conservation of global biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Despite this, knowledge of the effects of organic farming systems on farmland biodiversity is limited in Asia, the worldwide leader in rice production. We conducted the first national‐scale study to investigate the effects of three different rice farming systems (conventional, low‐input and organic) and specific management practices (e.g. herbicide and insecticide applications, crop rotation and levee‐vegetation management) on species richness and abundance of multiple taxonomic groups (plants, invertebrates, Pelophylax and Hyla japonica frogs, cobitid loaches and birds) in Japan during 2013–2015. Organic fields supported the highest richness and abundance of several taxonomic groups (native/Red List plants, Tetragnatha spiders, Sympetrum dragonflies and Pelophylax frogs), followed by low‐input and conventional fields. We also found taxon‐specific responses to specific management practices. For instance, plant richness and Tetragnatha and Sympetrum abundance increased with reduced herbicide and/or insecticide applications. Sympetrum and cobitid loach abundance increased in the absence of crop rotation, whereas H. japonica abundance increased with crop rotation. Pelophylax abundance increased with an increased height of levee vegetation. At spatial scales larger than single fields, waterbird richness and abundance were positively correlated with the proportion of organic rice fields, presumably due to increased prey abundance. Meanwhile, landbird richness and abundance were positively associated with annual precipitation and annual mean temperature, suggesting that such climate increases food availability. Synthesis and applications. We highlight the positive effects of organic and low‐input farming for biodiversity relative to conventional farming in rice paddies. We also provide the scientific basis of the current agri‐environmental schemes in Japan, subsidising organic and low‐input farming for biodiversity. The taxon‐specific associations with management practices indicate that avoiding crop rotation, maintaining levee vegetation and organic farming at large spatial scales can also be wildlife friendly. These practices may thus be incorporated into agri‐environment schemes for effective biodiversity conservation. 要旨 有機農業は、生物多様性と、それに関連する生態系サービスの保全に重要な役割を果たすと考えられている。しかし、有機農業が農地の生物多様性にもたらす影響は十分にわかっておらず、特に水稲の主要な生産地であるアジアにおいて知見が非常に少ない。 私たちは、日本の水田では初となる全国規模の野外調査を2013–2015年に行い、慣行、減農薬および有機栽培の3つの農法の違い、および、除草剤・殺虫剤の施用、輪作の有無、畦畔の植生管理等の管理手法の違いが複数の生物種群（植物、無脊椎動物、トノサマガエル属、ニホンアマガエル、ドジョウ科および鳥類）に与える影響を評価した。 在来／レッドリスト植物種数、アシナガグモ属、アカネ属およびトノサマガエル属の個体数は有機栽培の水田で最も多く、次いで減農薬栽培田、慣行栽培田となった。また、管理手法の違いに対する応答は分類群毎に異なることが明らかとなった。具体的には、植物種数、およびアシナガグモ属とアカネ属の個体数は除草剤もしくは殺虫剤施用の少ない水田に多かった。アカネ属とドジョウ科の個体数は輪作を実施しない水田に多かったが、一方でニホンアマガエルの個体数は輪作を実施する水田に多かった。トノサマガエル属の個体数は畦畔の植生高に比例して増加した。 水田団地のスケールでみると、水鳥類の種数・個体数は有機栽培田の面積率と正の相関を示しており、これは食物量の増加によるものと考えられた。一方、陸鳥類の種数・個体数は年降水量および年平均気温と正に相関しており、こうした気候が食物量を増加させる結果と示唆された。 総括および応用　慣行栽培と比較して、有機栽培および減農薬栽培が農地の生物多様性に正の影響をもたらすことが明らかになった。これにより、現在、日本で実施される農業環境政策（有機・減農薬栽培等に対する交付金制度）の効果について科学的な評価基盤を提供することができた。さらに、輪作を回避すること、畦畔植生を適当な高さに維持すること、および有機栽培を行う水田を空間的にまとめることも、特定の分類群の保全に有効であることがわかり、こうした取組の推進が望まれる。 We highlight the positive effects of organic and low‐input farming for biodiversity relative to conventional farming in rice paddies. We also provide the scientific basis of the current agri‐environmental schemes in Japan, subsidising organic and low‐input farming for biodiversity. The taxon‐specific associations with management practices indicate that avoiding crop rotation, maintaining levee vegetation and organic farming at large spatial scales can also be wildlife friendly. These practices may thus be incorporated into agri‐environment schemes for effective biodiversity conservation.

This study presents the environmental impacts of agricultural policy instruments as evidence from an ex-ante farm-level policy simulation model in Japan. Simulations did indicate that all types of agri-environmental payments achieved the environmental benefit for the land studied. Conversely, market price support does not inevitably increase nitrogen runoff or greenhouse gas emissions at any time since paddy fields themselves have the function of purifying water pollution and work as a biodiversity nursery. The direction and magnitude of the policy impacts are an empirical matter that should be considered carefully at a local level.

The concept of functional redundancy is at the core of theory relating changes in ecosystem functioning to species loss. However, few empirical studies have investigated the strength and form of the relationship between species and functional diversity (i.e., the presence of functional redundancy in ecological communities) in this context. In particular, we know little about how local extinctions in real communities might impact functional diversity. Here, we examined the relationship between species and functional diversity in plant communities along a grazing gradient across Mongolian rangeland ecosystems. We applied a recently described measure of functional diversity that incorporates species' dissimilarities defined from plant functional traits and tested several hypothesized forms of the relationship between species and functional diversity using linear and nonlinear modeling techniques. We found a significant sigmoid logistic relationship between species richness and functional diversity in relatively benign environmental conditions. This indicates high functional redundancy at low levels of species richness followed by a rapid increase at intermediate levels, until functional diversity reaches an asymptote at high levels (i.e., two-phase functional redundancy). In contrast, we generally observed a positive linear relationship between these parameters in relatively harsh environmental conditions, indicating low functional redundancy. Observed functional redundancy probably resulted from two factors, intrinsic redundancy in species' functional traits and extrinsic redundancy caused by nonrandom compositional change that is nonrandom with respect to functional traits. Lack of either intrinsic or extrinsic redundancy may result in low functional redundancy. Two-phase functional redundancy suggests that functional traits are abruptly lost from a community below a certain level of species richness, and a community then shifts into a contrasting state that has a few limited functional groups characterized by disturbance-resistant traits, as a consequence of disturbances such as livestock grazing. This study represents a major step forward in predicting the consequences of livestock grazing on the functioning of Mongolian rangeland ecosystems.

The current growing body of evidence for diversity—disturbance relationships suggests that the peaked pattern predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) may not be the rule. Even if ecologists could quantify the diversity—disturbance relationship consistent with the IDH, the applicability of the IDH to land management has rarely been addressed. We examined two hypotheses related to the generality and management applicability of the IDH to Mongolian rangeland ecosystems: that the diversity—disturbance relationship varies as a function of landscape condition and that some intermediate scales of grazing can play an important role in terms of sustainable rangeland management through a grazing gradient approach. We quantified the landscape condition of each ecological site using an ordination technique and determined two types of landscape conditions: relatively benign and harsh environmental conditions. At the ecological sites characterized by relatively benign environmental conditions, diversity—disturbance relationships were generally consistent with the IDH, and maximum diversity was observed at some intermediate distance from the source of the grazing gradient. In contrast, the IDH was not supported at most (but not all) sites characterized by relatively harsh environmental conditions. The intermediate levels of grazing were generally located below the ecological threshold representing the points or zones at which disturbance should be limited to prevent drastic changes in ecological conditions, suggesting that there is little \"conundrum\" with regard to intermediate disturbance in the studied systems in terms of land management. We suggest that the landscape condition is one of the primary factors that cause inconsistencies in diversity—disturbance relationships. The ecological threshold can extend its utility in rangeland management because it also has the compatibility with the maintenance of species diversity. This study thus suggests that some intermediate scales of grazing and ecological thresholds are mutually supportive tools for sustainable management of Mongolian rangelands.