Human activities significantly shape biodiversity, particularly in agricultural landscapes. While the intention is often productivity, the resulting simplification of natural systems often leads to biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. This paper addresses the challenge of consistently increasing functional biodiversity—systems maintaining productivity while relying on ecological interactions and processes. The research question is: How can the ESHR concept improve consistent and thorough increases in functional biodiversity outcomes from human-natural environment interactions? The existing variability in definitions of biodiversity and its inconsistent representation across agricultural landscapes necessitates a more comprehensive and contextually adaptable approach. The ESHR concept aims to provide such an approach by explicitly integrating ecological and human factors.

The article reviews existing concepts related to biodiversity in agricultural systems, including socio-ecological niches, sustainable intensification, ecological intensification, and ecosystem services. It also examines broader concepts like biodiversity and landscape ecology. The review highlights the limitations of these concepts in consistently incorporating both ecological and human factors to achieve functional biodiversity outcomes. The existing literature lacks a unifying framework that adequately addresses the human dimension of biodiversity conservation in agricultural settings, motivating the development of the ESHR concept.

The ESHR concept is developed and presented using an integrated narrative literature review. This approach combines information from grounded ethnography (fieldwork in Cuba and Costa Rica in 2014) with additional literature review and reflection. The grounded ethnography involved an ongoing process of data collection, reflection, and triangulation. Six key observations from fieldwork (ecological conditions for biodiversity, spatial scales of ecological conditions, shade and groundcover, societal issues, crop quality and market value, and human capability) formed the basis for concept development. The literature review supported the development of the ESHR by examining how biodiversity is understood and represented in scholarly literature, particularly in the context of coffee farming. The article also includes comparisons with existing concepts to demonstrate the novelty and contribution of the ESHR.

The ESHR concept defines functional biodiversity as the objective, emphasizing the maintenance of productivity and long-term biodiversity outcomes. It distinguishes between intangible and tangible human realities. Intangible realities include interests, perceptions, and preferences, while tangible realities encompass capability, access to resources, etc. Ecological sensitivity is defined as a proactive approach to managing human interactions with the environment, unlike the reactive nature of resilience theory. The concept uses the example of coffee farming landscapes to illustrate the interplay between ecological considerations (system and landscape composition, plant and crop heterogeneity, shade and ground cover) and human realities (farmer control vs. external factors, market interactions, access to resources, and capability). The article presents case studies of coffee farms with varying degrees of functional complexity and analyzes their characteristics using the ESHR framework. Comparisons with existing concepts reveal that the ESHR offers improved specificity in addressing both ecological and human aspects, leading to enhanced opportunities for consistent functional biodiversity outcomes.

The ESHR concept offers a novel approach by explicitly incorporating both ecological sensitivity and human realities to promote functional biodiversity in agricultural systems. Unlike existing concepts that often focus primarily on ecological or societal aspects, the ESHR balances these two dimensions. The concept's strength lies in its specificity in addressing both ecological considerations (system and landscape-level interactions, spillover effects, plant and crop selections) and human realities (intangible and tangible aspects, stakeholder interactions). The ESHR also emphasizes the importance of functional biodiversity as an outcome rather than simply biodiversity as a concept. By integrating these aspects, the ESHR provides a more holistic and comprehensive framework for achieving long-term biodiversity outcomes. The discussion highlights the novelty of the ESHR compared to existing concepts, stressing its enhanced specificity, balanced consideration of ecological and social factors, and proactive approach to environmental management.

The Ecological Sensitivity within Human Realities (ESHR) concept offers a novel and comprehensive framework for improving functional biodiversity outcomes in agricultural landscapes. By explicitly integrating ecological considerations with an understanding of diverse human realities, ESHR provides a more holistic and adaptable approach compared to existing methodologies. Future research should focus on empirically testing the ESHR in various contexts, investigating its effectiveness in increasing interest and uptake of functionally biodiverse farming practices, and exploring the detailed mechanisms through which functional biodiversity provides direct and indirect value to people. Further development could incorporate robust quantitative methodologies to evaluate the economic and ecological impacts of ESHR-guided interventions.

The study primarily focuses on the conceptual development and explanation of the ESHR concept. Empirical testing and validation of the concept are needed in future research. The case studies used in the paper are limited to coffee farming landscapes in Cuba and Costa Rica, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings to other agricultural contexts. While the concept integrates human realities, more research is necessary to refine the methods used to assess and quantify these realities in different contexts.