Multispecies biodiversity actor networks - On-farm biodiversity relationships from farmers’ and farm advisors’ perspectives

Biodiversity loss is partly driven by agriculture and our food production. The European Union, drawing on prolific international research, states that the decline of farmland biodiversity needs to be halted and the adverse development trend reversed. However, farmers encounter conflicting pressures from climate change, uncertainties in agricultural policies, and societal expectations. They tend to be aware of their role in biodiversity conservation but wonder about the types of biodiversity present and which ones they should monitor and protect on their farms. Our research focuses on the perceptions of Finnish farmers and farm advisors regarding biodiversity and how they conceptualise multispecies biodiversity actors.

We draw on actor-network theory to better understand the positions of this diverse set of biodiversity actors on a farm and their multispecies relationships within the agroecosystem networks. The data consist of five semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 21) with Finnish farmers and farm advisors conducted in 2023. The facilitator asked participants about their views and experiences on themes of biodiversity, biodiversity challenges, and novel biodiversity monitoring technologies. The data were explored using a three-step qualitative thematic analysis in which the transcripts of the focus groups were first coded, then the codes were arranged into emergent categories, and finally, into aggregate-level themes that describe relationships within a multispecies biodiversity network.

The preliminary results suggest that participants identify both restrictive and supportive relationships in their multispecies biodiversity actor networks. Participants also drew attention to actors with whom they lack relationships. Restrictive relationships (e.g., economic, emotional, physical, power, and dependence) hinder farmers from carrying out work that contributes positively to biodiversity. In contrast, supportive relationships (e.g., biodiversity maintenance, knowledge transfer, encouragement) help farmers overcome biodiversity-related challenges and maintain biodiversity.

This study contributes to prior biodiversity perception studies by specifying farmers' and farm advisors' views on the complex interplay of actors encountered on a farm within the context of biodiversity and introduces the concept of a multispecies biodiversity actor network as an extension of classical actor-network theory. The anticipated results describe the actors of farmland biodiversity from the participants’ view and give a voice to the silent non-human biodiversity actors. These relationships should be considered in future agricultural and biodiversity policy designs, as well as in communicating the complex relationships between multispecies biodiversity actors and the daily work of farmers.