Species biodiversity, which is understood as “all species of plants, animals and micro-organisms existing and interacting within an ecosystem (Vandermeer and Perfecto, 1999), is essential to the healthy functioning of earth’s ecosystems. Biodiversity is associated with many ecological services, such as prevention of soil erosion, regulation of hydrological processes, recycling of nutrients, minimization of undesired or invasive organisms, detoxification, and much more (Altieri, 1999). Research on biodiversity has tended to focus on natural areas. However, in the contiguous United States, croplands comprise 22% of our land base and therefore have a major impact on our lands and ecosystems (Aguilar et al., 2015). A growing body of research seeks to explore the impact of these croplands on biodiversity.

While the importance of biodiversity in crop production is demonstrated, no data currently provides a nationwide picture of the situation for US Native lands. This dashboard aims at remedying this inequality in data access, along with providing tribes and land stewards useful information to inform sovereign and resilient crop planning. This dashboard will give you a baseline of the crop diversity of your agricultural systems, at the individual tribe, region or nationwide level. It aims at providing a well-rounded set of cutting-edge tools to support tribal land planning. Download the raw data to conduct further statistical analyses if need be. Also, check our complimentary dashboards: for instance, the Cropland Data Layer to study the crop species grown on your land, or the Soil Organic Carbon Dashboard, which looks at the increase in SOC that could be gained from agroecological production methods, which necessarily leads to more crop diversity.

Some interesting findings from our dashboard call for further analysis. The Aguilar et al. (2015) study showed a clear dropping trend in crop diversity from 1978 to 2012, with some counties forming clusters of low or high diversity over the years, creating a visible discrepancy in the resilience of local food systems in the US. However, trends in Indian Country seem to show a different narrative. From 2012 to 2022, there is a slight increase in crop diversity on US Native Lands, with the Simpson’s Index of Diversity raised from 0.46 to 0.59 overall. Regional patterns also show greater diversity in the Great Plains Region and lower diversity in the Western Region. These findings raise questions about the evolution of Native agriculture on tribal lands versus the rest of the US. The data seems to show that contrary to national trends, agriculture on Native lands is increasingly diverse. Is this another argument for the leading role that Native agriculture can play in helping the country meet the ecological transition? This narrative corroborates other findings conducted by NLAP, such as the fact that reservations have more gender-inclusive, less invasive, and more ecologically sound practices enforced by Native farmers and ranchers than their US counterparts.