Biodiversity-positive food systems (KB-44)
Biodiversity is declining globally at an unprecedented rate. Our current food systems contribute to this biodiversity loss, while this biodiversity loss at the same time undermines the underlying ecosystem services that are necessary for food systems. It is therefore essential to explore solutions that lead to food systems in which biodiversity is an intrinsic and indispensable component.
We explore this in the following three research lines (‘flagships’):
- Breeding for diversity to broaden the genetic base of the food system
- Scaling up promising biodiversity-positive practices
- Post-harvest implications for diversity and variation in raw materials.
Within this theme, new WUR expertise and knowledge in the field of agriculture and the environment will be brought together in a systems approach for food systems that meet local and global objectives for food safety, biodiversity conservation and human well-being.
Projects
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KB-44-005-003 - Restoration education
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) is ongoing, building momentum for the restoration of land-and foodscapes. This in turn has led to... -
KB-44-005-004 - Ecoacoustics: a biodiversity yardstick
Nature and farmland are full of sounds. By capturing and analysing these sounds with machine learning, it might be possible to derive conclusions... -
KB-44-005-005 - Designing agroforestry systems
Complex agroforestry systems (CAS) are emerging as a novel land use system in the Netherlands, mainly under the popular name of food forests. To... -
KB-44-005-006 - Cover crops and AMF
The project aims to identify potential feedbacks between cover crops (CC) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) communities. The project will... -
KB-44-005-007 - Detection bees
Biodiversity-positive Food Systems is one of WUR’s updated Strategic Plan’s investment themes. A part of the investment is allocated to...