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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 4d

Fascinating article: Afro-descendant communities manage rich food forests across 2M km² in Latin America—yet only 5% are legally recognized. These biodiverse landscapes store carbon, curb deforestation & reflect a deep legacy of resistance. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Food forests are everything’: creating edible landscapes helps nature thrive in Afro-descendant lands

Agroforestry systems in Latin America practised by local communities are a boon to biodiversity, according to research

www.theguardian.com

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 8d

Are you a student at @unikassel.bsky.social or @agrarunigoe.bsky.social & interested in learning participatory scenario planning for sustainable agriculture? If yes, please enroll (e.g. by sending me a message) to our course, taking place from 22.10.25 onwards. (The course will be held in German.)

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Nature Reviews Biodiversity @natrevbiodiv.nature.com · 9d

New online! Addressing landscape multifunctionality in conservation and restoration

Addressing landscape multifunctionality in conservation and restoration

Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 30 September 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00091-4Multifunctional land-use systems supply multiple ecosystem services while contributing to biodiversity conservation. This Review summarizes the provision of ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies with biodiversity at the landscape scale, explores traditional, contemporary and emerging land-use systems, and highlights strategies and challenges to achieve multifunctionality in conservation and restoration.

bit.ly

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 10d

🌍 Out today in 'Nature Reviews Biodiversity': We explore landscape multifunctionality as a way to address biodiversity loss, climate change & food insecurity together. Instead of siloed fixes, multifunctional land-use integrates restoration, production & well-being.
🔗 rdcu.be/eIL2g

Addressing landscape multifunctionality in conservation and restoration

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - Multifunctional land-use systems supply multiple ecosystem services while contributing to biodiversity conservation. This Review summarizes the provision of ecosystem...

rdcu.be

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 12d

While agroforestry is increasingly mainstreamed, it becomes important to promote diversified & regionally adapted systems. In this review, led by T.H. Le, we point to the history of traditional agroforestry in Europe & to the need for integrating traditional & novel systems. doi.org/10.1007/s104...

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 12d

🎉 Great team success! New publication just came out — the result of inspiring group discussions led by @teja-tscharntke.bsky.social It's fantastic to have such a collaborative spirit in the lab!

Biodiversity conservation needs mix of measures and collaboration

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 15d

“Recognizing the vital role local people play in protecting the Amazon rainforest and supporting local communities are essential for long-term conservation and a crucial matter of social justice.” @anthropocenemag.bsky.social. www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/09/how-...

How local villagers practice conservation for a fraction of the cost of outside efforts

Guarding lakes and forests from poachers, local communities in Brazil deliver massive conservation benefits—at less than $1 per hectare.

www.anthropocenemagazine.org

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · 16d

Beautifully illustrated story of how foraged wild edibles & other locally sourced ingredients reduce costs of school meals, ensure fresher produce & better nutrition of school kids in Meghalaya / India. @theguardian.com. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Fish mint, Himalayan chives and berry pickle: how wild ingredients are transforming school lunches in India

In the remote state of Meghalaya, foraged foods are helping to diversify state-provided menus – and tackle chronic malnutrition

www.theguardian.com

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Aug 19

How can we better deal with wildfires like those currently devastating many Mediterranean landscapes? 3 messages from the @easac.bsky.social report:
1️⃣Prioritise climate & landuse action
2️⃣Consider fire risk in treeplanting projects
3️⃣‘Live with fire’: public health & education
easac.eu/publications...

Changing Wildfires - Policy Options for a Fire-literate and Fire-adapted Europe

“Europe will increasingly have to learn to live with fire and adapt society to a new challenging reality,” warns Prof. Thomas Elmqvist, EASAC Environment Director. “More than twice as many urban areas...

easac.eu

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Aug 4

#Hutewälder: Naturschutz durch #Waldweide ist im Kommen. Unsere Interviews mit Tierhalter*innen zeigen, was benötigt wird zur Stärkung der Hutewaldwirtschaft:
🌳Bessere Wirtschaftlichkeit
🌳Modellprojekte & Praxisleitfäden
🌳Vernetzung
🌳Einbindung der Tierhalter*innen
➡️ doi.org/10.1399/NuL....

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 30

With extreme rainfalls pouring down in N Germany today, an interesting read about Copenhagen's transformation to a "sponge city" through a combination of nature-based & engineering solutions. Good to see flood adaptation framed as both technical & social infrastructure. e360.yale.edu/features/cop...

‘Sponge City’: How Copenhagen Is Adapting to a Wetter Future

Climate change is bringing ever more precipitation and rising seas to low-lying Denmark. In response to troubling predictions, Copenhagen is enacting an ambitious plan to build hundreds of nature-base...

e360.yale.edu

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 28

#IntegratedLandscapeApproaches are powerful in dealing with complex social-ecological challenges, but often lack attention to #LandscapeJustice. In this synthesis, we identify dimension of landscape injustices, provide a methods overview & reflect on our own experiences.
doi.org/10.5751/ES-1...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 27

Ziquejie rice terraces in Hunnan province (China) - a globally important agricultural heritage system, recognized by FAO. Forest-covered mountains provide the water for this centuries-old irrigation system based on natural gravity - Chinese version of Japan's #Satoyama landscapes.

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 26

Co-production of rich agrobiodiversity by people & nature in the Shexian dry stone terrace landscape (Hebei, China). Key components of this agricultural heritage system are: Farmers, Chinese red pepper, donkeys/mules, traditional crops & a lot of stones. Paper: doi.org/10.1080/2639...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 24

🚜 New study: Why do farmers join collaborative agri-environmental schemes?

🧑‍🌾 Farmer interviews show:
🌼 Nature values & admin ease matter most
💶 Financial incentives help—but support, flexibility & peer exchange are key

Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.jr...
Project: www.uni-goettingen.de/en/628701.html

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 15

China is a leader in conserving agricultural heritage systems. My visit with T. Guo led us to tea gardens in Yunnan province. What looks like an untended plantation is actually a smallholder-managed & incredibly diverse agroecosystem of tea intercropped with buckwheat, flax, maize, sweet potato etc.

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 14

A warm welcome to our most recent social-ecological interactions group member, Pia Jensen! In this Medium blog post, Pia highlights the potential of traditional forest management (coppice forests) to meet current biodiversity and climate challenges in the forest sector. medium.com/people-natur...

Historical land uses, Community Forests and Local Perspectives

Coppice forests are a disappearing cultural landscape in Europe and Germany, but the importance of these historical forms of forest use is…

medium.com

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 8

🌿 New study: What kind of #peatland future do we want—and how do we get there? We co-created mental models with 42 land users to explore how land use affects ecosystem services & well-being. Best future? A mosaic: peatland conservation, extensive grazing & eco-tourism.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.je...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 7

#HighNatureValue farming covers ~30% of EU farmland—but it is under threat from abandonment & intensification. Our Pan-European review of 178 studies reveals key patterns in biodiversity, ecosystem services, policy drivers & innovations. Read in "People and Nature":
🔗 doi.org/10.1002/pan3...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 4

Interested in #Agroforestry, #EcosystemServices & rural-urban dynamics? Apply for a 4-years (65%) PhD position on “Effects of tree-based agriculture on ecosystem services supply, distribution & access in a rurban environment”. Fieldwork takes place in Morocco. euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/358166.

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 3

We're super-happy that our research unit "Sustainable Rurbanity" is funded by @dfg.de. Combining social-ecological systems with assemblage thinking, we explore the complex relations between rural & urban spaces, focusing on Ghana, India & Morocco. @unikassel.bsky.social @uni-goettingen.de.

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jul 2

Can livestock be part of the solution in Europe’s agricultural landscapes? 🐄🌍
We present a #BioculturalDiversity framework that reframes low-input animal farming as key to biodiversity, climate resilience & heritage. Case studies: 🇩🇪 peatlands, 🇪🇺 Med wildfires, 🇦🇹 hay milk.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.an...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Jun 23

How are values, knowledge & context shaping environmental stewardship & visions for meaningful human-nature relationships in protected areas? Led by Miguel Angel Cebrián. A result of the @biodiversa.eu-funded ENVISION project, now out in @peopleandnature.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1002/pan3....

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Laura Kmoch @laurakmoch.bsky.social · Jun 10

🌿 Call for Proposals: Special Feature in People and Nature 🌿

"Halfway through the UN Decade: Taking stock of social-ecological restoration"

We're looking for bold, critical, and constructive contributions that forge new pathways and guide the next years of the UN Decade.

🔗 Details: t1p.de/6woms

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Mar 12

#Agroforestry is en vogue, but its adoption is facing legal & other hurdles. Here, we use a social-ecological traps perspective to explain how complex legislation interacting with local processes disincentivizes farmers' agroforestry uptake. With M. Klimke & C. Zengerling. doi.org/10.1007/s116...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Apr 18

„Hedges are one of the best bits of wildlife on a farm. And hedges rely on farmers: without the blood, sweat and tears that goes into rejuvenating a hedge, they would slowly turn into a line of trees.“ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Like the Ritz for wildlife: the joy of recreating Britain’s ancient hedges

Up and down the country, volunteers are coming together to plant more of these nature-rich reserves

www.theguardian.com

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Stockholm Resilience Centre @sthlmresilience.bsky.social · Apr 14

A leaked document reveals a PR campaign fuelled attacks on the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, which called for cutting red meat by 50% for health and climate. Scientists faced intense backlash. “I’ve never been attacked in so many ways,” said our Director Line Gordon. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Mar 27

#Agroforestry is often discussed in terms of its benefits for biodiversity & diversified production. However, it can also support sustainable diets. @khant-htet.bsky.social showcases her study on the nexus of agroforestry & dietary diversity in #PeopleNatureLandscapesBlog. medium.com/people-natur...

The pathways towards dietary diversity of Myanmar’s dry zone

Agroforestry is widely practiced in Southeast Asia, offering a range of benefits. In her first PhD article, Khant Sandar Htet highlights…

medium.com

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Mar 25

How to motivate farmers to participate in cooperative agrienvironmental schemes?
- Offer adequate financial compensation
- Communicate environmental advances
- Invest in building social relationships
- Create cooperative governance structures
J. Huber et al. #bpbv. doi.org/10.1002/eas2...

Farmer motivation to participate in cooperative agri‐environmental and climate measures

Agri-environmental and climate measures (AECM) have been designed to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services but have thus far been unable to reverse the strong declines of farmland species. To e...

doi.org

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Tobias Plieninger @plieningerlab.bsky.social · Mar 24

#Agroforstwirtschaft erfreut sich wachsender Beliebtheit, aber ihre Umsetzung in der Landwirtschaft stößt auf rechtliche & andere Hürden. Eine sozial-ökologische Perspektive zum Zusammenspiel einer komplexen Gesetzgebung mit anderen Barrieren. Mit M. Klimke & C. Zengerling. doi.org/10.1007/s116...

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