species. For aquatic species, such
as water beetles and bugs, ponds
(even artificial ones) provide important habitat and can increase
the insects’ range in farming landscapes. All these habitats complement each other and the natural
areas, and this makes an important
contribution to landscape-scale
biodiversity.
Maintaining a diverse farmland
mosaic is an important shift away
from the tendency for wall-to-wall
monoculture which has occurred in
many parts of the world, and
which can severely degrade the
biodiversity value (as well as cultural and aesthetic value) of farmland.
The point is that by maintaining
the full complement of biodiversity
it makes the agricultural system
much more resilient and sustainable in the face of a changing
world.
consist of a variety of plant species,
including flowering plants, which
can provide food and shelter within the vineyard. This not only increases the habitat valu e of vineyards for insects, but also makes
the vineyard blocks easier to disperse through and thereby increases functional connectivity in the
landscape. Such connectivity is vital
for maintaining biodiversity and
sustainable farming well into the
future.
Habitat diversity throughout the
landscape
There is a strong emerging trend in
agro-ecology globally which shows
that overall landscape complexity is
key to conserving farmland biodiversity. This means that landscapes
and farms that have a variety of
different habitats provide a broader range of resources and habitat
conditions year-round. In this way
it can meet the needs and improve
the odds of survival for more species. Our work in the CFR has
shown that uncultivated areas such
as pastures, abandoned vineyards
and fallow fields can support many
species of pollinators, wasps, spiders, ladybirds and lacewings. This
includes Western Cape and South
African endemic species and rare
Conclusion
There is great potential for biodiversity conservation in the Cape
Winelands, and it is encouraging
that many wine farms are already
participating in conservation initiatives, such as the Biodiversity and
Wine Initiative. Greater awareness
of the rich and unique biodiversity
in these landscapes, and a better
understanding of how to conserve
it, will help us to maintain farmland that is productive and resilient, but that also contributes to
conserving our valuable natural
capital.