The most frequent question I get when I talk to investors about regenerative agriculture is how we monitor biodiversity. Although there is still little consensus on methods and metrics that can be applied in multiple landscapes to generate relevant quantitative data that gives us proof that the interventions we are doing are going in the right direction, the recent data coming from the monitoring that Luxor Agro, one of our key investments in Brazil, is doing in our farms gives hopeful insights.
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On the three farms under a regenerative transition, two in the state of Mato Grosso applying holistic cattle management integrated with grains and agroforestry, and one in the state of Minas Gerais making the transition from monoculture to agroforestry coffee, we have used bioacoustics to generate our long-term biodiversity metrics. The first set of data collection already points towards a promising tool and way of monitoring.
Eight automatic sensitive sound recorders were installed in different areas of each of the three farms, representing different states of ecology and uses of the land, ranging from the native protected areas to the areas under rewilding, to the agroforestry systems and the conventional monocultural plots.
The recordings focus on bird species. They are chosen due to their large diversity of species, with many being very sensitive to agricultural landscapes. Birds also have a fast response to behavioral changes following changes in the landscape, as well as playing a crucial role in dispersing seeds and feeding on insects that we refer to as pests, and working at the top of the food chain at the farm level.
Recordings were collected during five consecutive days for eight hours a day, with scientists monitoring the hours when bird activity is most active in the early morning and late afternoon. Besides capturing the diversity and quantity of species present in each plot, scientists also monitor the dominance of species and the equilibrium between individuals of each species. This helps to identify when there is an imbalance in the ecosystem favoring a handful of species and repelling others.
Here are the highlights of what we found:
- In our coffee farm in the state of Minas Gerais, where centuries ago the Atlantic tropical forest was chopped down to give way to agricultural land, we found 81 different species of birds in the natural reserve areas on our farm, while in the the degraded areas that we are rewilding to create biodiversity corridors, the number goes down to 61. In the agroforestry coffee areas, we found 62 species, a number much higher than in the fields where we still have monoculture coffee, where the number of species drops to 48.
- In the two cattle integrated with grains and agroforestry operations, the results followed a similar trend. At the farm where we first developed the Pasto Vivo project and are more advanced in the transition, we start with 76 species in the native areas, down to 73 in the areas we are restoring. The difference between the agroforestry pastures and conventional ones is similar to the coffee farm, 71 species in agroforestry to 49 on the regular pasture land.
- On the larger farm, a data outlier in our monitoring showed the importance of a landscape approach to concentrate restoration efforts among river banks and lakes. In one of those areas still in the process of restoration, 85 species were found, surpassing even the amount we found in the native forest of 73 species.
The data through this simple indicator also highlights the importance of agroforestry systems in creating a more favorable landscape for birds to thrive. When our fields become more bird-friendly, natural pest control starts taking place and seeds are dispersed by the real natural experts, which can accelerate restoration projects.
Bioacoustics as a tool to monitor biodiversity gives us an important indicator of how attractive our fields are to multiple species of birds that will help our system thrive. As the data shows, birds dislike monoculture fields that are thriving grounds for insects safe from predators. Making our fields more bird-friendly and integrated is a crucial part of the regeneration work. Additionally, enabling wild species to move within crops is an important ecosystem service for the conservation of these species, reducing the isolation of populations and preventing their degeneration.
In the next monitoring exercise, we have requested that recorders be placed also in the monoculture soy fields where we know our data on species diversity will be lower, but it’s important to shed light on the true impact on biodiversity of each of our productive zones. With accurate data, it is easier to open a discussion of why we will need to find alternative biodiversity-friendly ways to plant and manage our role crops.
Bioacoustics, with the help of AI, has the potential of becoming less costly, more accurate, and accessible to farmers around the world. But it is already a reality that if we follow the singing of the birds, we will know we will be going in the right direction.
