The reestablishment of agroforestry systems in Central Asia, combining crop production with protective tree shelterbelts, provides significant potential to improve farming systems. This includes increasing crop yields, additional income from timber, as well as reducing soil degradation and wind erosion. Thus, adopting shelterbelts as a form of pro-environmental behavior provides a number of socio-economic benefits, although some trade-offs need to be considered as well. This paper investigates factors that shape the perception of—and attitude towards—the establishment of tree shelterbelts by farmers in two case study regions in Kyrgyzstan. Applying a conceptual framework distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic factors, research methods included semi-structured interviews with farmers and local policy makers. The results show spatial differences in the perception of shelterbelts, both on the regional and on the village scale. In general, shelterbelts were negatively perceived by more than half of the farmers. The main concern raised by farmers was the shading of crops by shelterbelts, resulting in a decrease of yield. In addition, small field sizes and potential conflicts with neighbors were key concerns. Furthermore, rules set by local self-government bodies were inconsistent with the legislative framework, posing significant restrictions to the adoption of sustainable land use practices.

Agricultural intensification and the concomitant landscape homogenization is leading to a worldwide decline in farmland biodiversity. Non-crop habitats in agroecosystems may counteract the loss of arthropods such as spiders and thus contribute to sustainable agriculture. However, the effectiveness of field margins and set-aside wildflower-sown patches in maintaining spider diversity is not well understood. Here, we investigated the effects of three different non-crop habitats, namely field margins, set-aside wildflower-sown patches under power poles (‘power pole islands’), and grassland fallows on spider diversity as compared to wheat fields in an agricultural landscape in western Germany. Using pitfall trapping and suction sampling, we show that species richness and overall conservation value were higher in non-crop habitats than in wheat fields. Interestingly, field margins and power pole islands differed from long-term grassland fallows only in conservation value, which was significantly higher in grassland fallows. Species assemblages differed considerably between grassland fallows, field margins and power pole islands, and wheat fields, documenting the added value of using different conservation strategies. Implications for insect conservation Small-scale non-crop habitats adjacent to wheat fields were surprisingly effective in promoting spider diversity in an agricultural landscape, with field margins and power pole islands being equally effective. To maximize overall diversity in agricultural landscapes, we propose a combination of larger long-term fallows and smaller non-crop habitats such as field margins or set-aside wildflower-sown patches.