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It doesn’t matter if you live in the urban jungle or an actual jungle, everyone lives in an ecosystem. Food production is a service ecosystems provide along with clean air and water, habitat for wildlife and natural pollination of plants. Agricultural producers are simply working with these services that nature provides freely in a sense.
Christine Campbell, western hub manager with ALUS Canada, explains what ecosystem services are and how they interact with agricultural land. Campbell also goes over the support that is available to producers in Alberta from groups like ALUS Canada to give ecosystem services a helping hand.
Highlights:
11:50 – A large downfall of monocultures is that they are extracting the same nutrients all the time. Increasing biodiversity helps maintain better soil nutrient levels.
14:23 – How can increased biodiversity translate to increased yields? It’s like a form of hybrid vigour – the more diversity there is, the more likely there will be a population capable of withstanding damage.
17:06 – Who is ALUS? Farmer delivered and community developed, the organization partners with counties and municipalities. They offer annual payment to agricultural producers for the producers ecosystem services.
35:12 – ALUS can work alongside other conservation organizations. As an example, if a producer is working with Ducks Unlimited on a water easement, ALUS can work beyond the easement creating a larger riparian area.
39:50 – Want to get involved with ALUS? Here’s how!
Useful Links:
ALUS Canada- https://alus.ca
Ducks Unlimited Canada – https://www.ducks.ca
Nature Conservancy of Canada – http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/
Cows & Fish – http://cowsandfish.org
Want to learn more about ecosystems on agricultural land? Listen to our 3-part Farming with Biodiversity series.
