Applications of behavioral science to biodiversity management in agricultural landscapes: conceptual mapping and a California case study.

The plot-level decisions of land managers (i.e., farmers, ranchers, and forest owners) influence landscape-scale environmental outcomes for biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The impacts of their decisions often develop in complex, non-additive ways that unfold over time and space. Behavioral science offers insights into ways decision-makers manage complexity, uncertainty, choice over time, and social influence. We review such insights to understand the plot-level conservation actions of farmers that impact biodiversity. To make these connections concrete, we provide a case study of the decision to adopt biodiversity management practices in the heavily cultivated region of the Central Valley, California, USA. We use results from a survey of 122 farmers in the region to test whether adoption is related to farm tenure arrangements or peer influence. We find farmers who are more sensitive to peer influence are three times more likely to adopt practices that support biodiversity, including wildflowers, native grasses, cover crops, hedgerows, and wetlands. This relationship could have important implications for how plot-level decisions aggregate to landscape-scale outcomes. Finally, we suggest priorities for future research and program design to integrate behavioral science into biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. By considering land managers' plot-level conservation decisions with the lens of behavioral science, we identify barriers and opportunities to promote environmental benefits.

Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science.

Human activities are degrading ecosystems worldwide, posing existential threats for biodiversity and humankind. Slowing and reversing this degradation will require profound and widespread changes to human behaviour. Behavioural scientists are therefore well placed to contribute intellectual leadership in this area. This Perspective aims to stimulate a marked increase in the amount and breadth of behavioural research addressing this challenge. First, we describe the importance of the biodiversity crisis for human and non-human prosperity and the central role of human behaviour in reversing this decline. Next, we discuss key gaps in our understanding of how to achieve behaviour change for biodiversity conservation and suggest how to identify key behaviour changes and actors capable of improving biodiversity outcomes. Finally, we outline the core components for building a robust evidence base and suggest priority research questions for behavioural scientists to explore in opening a new frontier of behavioural science for the benefit of nature and human wellbeing.