Flourishing Landscapes: Counteracting global biodiversity loss through cooperative flower strips

Jule Huber has just started off with her PhD as part of the SEIAS group. On this occasion, she introduces herself and her research within the participatory landscape experiment KOOPERATIV.

Jule Huber

Published in

People • Nature • Landscapes

7 min readMar 21, 2022

Hello Jule, good to have you with us and welcome to the team. Would you shortly introduce yourself?

Thank you. I am an early-stage researcher and doctoral candidate and joined the section of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems in February 2022. My research generally focuses on participatory approaches to govern conservation measures, on the sustainability of social-ecological systems, and on the cooperative implementation of agri-environmental schemes.

With my PhD research, I am contributing to the KOOPERATIV project, where I am responsible for the work package that focuses on issues of governance. Before joining this research group, I studied the M.Sc. Sustainability Science at Leuphana University Lüneburg, as well as a Bachelor in Management in Heilbronn.

What research projects have you already been involved in during your studies at Leuphana?

Within my Master, I focused on issues of sustainability governance, biodiversity conservation, and environmental justice. As a student assistant, I was part of multiple research projects in these fields. One project examined the governance of environmental sustainability in tele-coupled systems of global inter-regional connectedness. Another one investigated the implementation of systematic environmental justice in protected areas.

Furthermore, I contributed to a project exploring the effectiveness of protected areas in which local actors were involved in decision-making. Based on this last project, I developed my master thesis, in which I investigated how participation in protected area decision-making is related to desired social and ecological outcomes. To this end, I applied a systematic literature review approach to synthesize existing scientific knowledge on the topic.

I found that participation correlates with success in many ways, and determined certain pathways through which participation contributes to desired social and ecological outcomes.

What was your motivation for choosing a PhD as the next step?

Apart from my interest in the diverse areas of sustainability sciences mentioned before, I enjoy research and scientific work as such. This is why I decided that it was a good idea to stay in science and to pursue a scientific career. A logical first step is to work as a research assistant and combine this with a PhD. The KOOPERATIV project perfectly incorporates two of my main research interests: participatory governance and conservation. So I am happy to now be part of the project.

Could you tell us more about KOOPERATIV?

Global biodiversity loss jeopardizes the functioning of ecosystem services on which agriculture depends, such as pollination and pest control.

Thus, it is crucial to transform agricultural landscapes in a way that production is reconciled with biodiversity and ecosystem conservation.

Flower strip in the district of Northeim. Photo: Kathrin Czechofsky

Agri-environmental schemes such as perennial flower strips are one instrument to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. So far in Germany, agri-environmental measures are implemented only by individual farmers and thus isolated from each other. As many species, however, require larger scales to develop and thrive than those provided by such isolated measures, cooperation among farmers is needed to collectively realize environmental schemes on a landscape scale.

Focusing on perennial flower strips, KOOPERATIV examines the structures, modes of action, and ecological as well as economic effects of the cooperative implementation of an agri-environmental scheme at a district-level.

By doing so, it aims to help institutionalizing the success factors of such cooperative projects over the long term. The project which we accompany in the district of Northeim is strongly participative and involves farmers, conservationists, and municipal representatives.

And what is your contribution to the project?

The project is structured into five work packages (WPs): (1) the management of project activities, networks, and communication; (2) identification of conditions that promote or hinder cooperation, (3) examination of effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services; (4) examination of the economic effects; and (5) a synthesis of results.

Agricultural landscape in Northeim, Germany. Source: Wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The second WP, which addresses the functioning and organization of cooperation, is what I am responsible for. More specifically, I will determine the conditions that enable, promote, and strengthen cooperation.

Applying a range of participatory methods, I will integrate individual perspectives of stakeholders as well as examining group processes.

My research is divided into three subtasks: The first task involves conducting a quantitative survey with farmers in Lower Saxony, aiming to determine the factors that motivate them to participate in cooperative and spatially coordinated agri-environmental measures, as well as the barriers that hinder their participation.

In a second step, I am focusing on examining farmers’, conservationists’ and municipal representatives’ individual perspectives and experiences with opportunities and challenges of the cooperative measures in the study area of Northeim. To do so, I will use the photovoice method and carry out semi-structured interviews to identify the development of perceptions over time. Once a year, participants will take photos of flower strips and other motives provided by the agricultural landscapes of Northeim, which will be discussed afterwards.

City of Northeim in midst Agricultural Fields, Lower Saxony, Germany. Wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Lastly, I will analyze cooperation and information dissemination in local round tables in the region of Northeim. Round tables integrate members of all three actor groups mentioned above, and function as mediums of communication and decision-making. I will explore the round tables’ impact on project implementation, analyze attitudes, debates, and conflicts represented in the round tables, and examine the processes of cooperation. Applying participatory mapping as a method, I aim to establish maps that record relevant aspects of the participants’ environment. By that, I hope to illustrate links between actors, landscapes, values, and conflicts revolving around conservation. Just as for the photovoice surveys, there will be several participatory mapping sequences over time.

Now is your second month in the project. What are you currently doing?

I am currently working on the second task — the photovoice surveys -, developing an interview manual and preparing a sampling strategy. I hope to be able to conduct the first photovoice and interview round in May or June this year.

Thanks a lot, Jule! One last question: How would you describe the contribution of your research to sustainable development?

A growing population requires sustainable food systems. KOOPERATIV explores one way to transform high-intensity agricultural landscapes in order to contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation.

Would you like to know more about the project? Visit the KOOPERATIV website, or have a look at our past blog posts:

For Jule Huber’s contact details, check her website at Georg-August University Göttingen.

Flower Strip in Holtensen, District of Northeim, Lower Saxony, Germany. Wikimedia commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

“Kooperativ” is in the Federal Programme for Biological Diversity by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with resources from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.

This report reflects the view and opinion of the grantee of the Federal Programme on Biological Diversity and does not necessarily agree with the view of the funding agency.