Optimising land sparing and sharing to restore ecosystem services (ARC Linkage Project administered by the University of Melbourne) (2025-2029)
Abstract
Can we reconcile nature restoration and agricultural production in a finite landscape? Restoration provides benefits to people, such as pollination, but the complex flows of these benefits makes it difficult to recognise where ¿ and how much ¿ land to restore without reducing agricultural production. This project aims to develop novel tools for optimising restoration that solves how to spatially arrange restoration sites and allocate different land-use intensities (sparing vs sharing) while accounting for time lags and dynamic ecosystem service flows. Illustrating potential synergies, and developing a framework to achieve them, should provide substantial benefits by motivating landholders to undertake restoration in agricultural landscapes.
