Persefone.jl: Modelling Biodiversity in Dynamic Agricultural Landscapes

Daniel Vedder , Marco C. Matthies, Gabriel Díaz Iturry, Guy Pe'er

Agricultural landscapes are highly dynamic, constantly changing in space and time due to the effects of farm management and environmental factors. To forecast the effects of changes in agricultural systems on biodiversity, we need to understand these landscape dynamics and how they impact different species. Here, we present Persefone.jl, an open-source process-based model of agricultural landscapes and animal species. The model simulates farm management, crop growth, and wildlife animal species using daily time steps in multiple Central European farming regions. We describe the model’s structure and carry out initial simulation experiments, showing that the it replicates multiple qualitative and quantitative empirical patterns. We then discuss the model’s design principles and possible applications in basic and applied research, including as a tool for policy evaluations. Finally, we give an outlook on prospective further developments of the software.