This is part of a long-running trade-off between rising levels of food production and a deteriorating environment, revealed in recent research I conducted with colleagues from China and the UK. Yields of crops and fish have risen over the past 60 years at several locations we studied in Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai Provinces in eastern China. But these are accompanied by parallel long-term trends in poorer air and water quality, and reduced soil stability.

 

You may ask if this is a bad thing or not. After all, increasing agricultural productivity has been one of the factors responsible for lifting millions of rural Chinese out of poverty. Does it really matter that the natural environment has taken a bit of a hit?

Well yes. For agriculture and aquaculture to be sustainable from one generation to the next, the natural processes that stabilize soils, purify water or store carbon have to be maintained in stable states. These natural processes represent benefits for society, known as ecosystem services.