The future of animal rewilding in agricultural landscapes

Ecosystem services obtained by returning wild animals to agricultural landscapes can outweigh the disservices (e.g., livestock predation) of those same animals. We foresee three key management trends that will facilitate a balancing of economic and environmental gains in animal rewilding: (1) capturing wild provisioning services, (2) coordinating broad spatial heterogeneity in land use, and (3) employing coexistence conservation tactics. A resurgence of appreciation for wild animal products would provide opportunities for landholders to obtain new or supplementary income. Further gains could be facilitated by creating heterogeneous landscapes with various land sharing strategies that shift ecosystems away from intensive human use towards higher quality wild animal habitat. Finally, increased implementation of tactics that may drive or enable the adaptation of livestock, crops, their predators, as well as human perceptions and management strategies, could facilitate the coexistence of wild animals and agriculture that will help to produce net positive outcomes.