Regenerative Agricultural Systems as a Strategy for Wildlife Recovery and Habitat Restoration

Abstract

Increased intensive agricultural production has led to heavy degradation of habitats, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and fragmentation, which are serious concerns for food security and environmental sustainability worldwide. Traditional agricultural practices (high inputs, single crops and large-scale land use) have degraded ecosystems and the ability of the farm landscape to provide wildlife habitat. To confront these challenges, regenerative agriculture has proven to be a nature-based solution that combines ecological restoration and sustainable food production. The study aims to develop an all-encompassing framework for regeneration in agriculture that will simultaneously improve habitat connectivity, biodiversity, water resource restoration, climate resilience, digital monitoring, community engagement and policy support, allowing for the rehabilitation of degraded areas for wildlife recovery and habitat restoration. The proposed framework also leverages cutting-edge digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Machine Learning (ML) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to facilitate real-time environmental monitoring and adaptive management. Additionally, a mathematical assessment model of performance is established based on Biodiversity Restoration Index (BRI), the Habitat Quality Index (HQI), Soil Regeneration Score (SRS), Carbon Sequestration Function, Wildlife Recovery Probability Model, Ecosystem Resilience Function, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making.Furthermore, a mathematical model is created to assess the performance of ecosystem restoration, taking into account five indexes: Biodiversity Restoration Index (BRI), Habitat Quality index (HQI), Soil Regeneration Score (SRS), Carbon Sequestration Function, and Wildlife Recovery Probability Model, the Ecosystem Resilience Function, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making. Experimental evaluation shows significant ecological benefits over conventional agriculture, including an improvement in soil health (91% vs. 68%), and an improvement in habitat quality (89% vs. 62%), water quality index (92 vs. 71), biodiversity index (0.87 vs. 0.58), and carbon sequestration (5.8 t/ha/year vs. 2.4 t/ha/year). The results show that the proposed regenerative agricultural framework is a successful approach to improving the resilience of an ecosystem, recovery of wildlife and sustainable agricultural production while offering a progressive way to transform farming systems into climate-resilient and biodiversity-friendly.