Planned biodiversity (or controlled biodiversity) is defined as the biodiversity chosen by the farmer. It is made up of different cultivated species and plant varieties as well as different bred species and breeds of animals. It is one of the two components of agricultural biodiversity or “agrobiodiversity”, the other being associated biodiversity which is not chosen by the farmer.

There are several indicators used to measure this planned biodiversity, at different levels of the agrosystem. The easiest indicator is the number of animal species and breeds, or plant species and varieties, present on the farm. There is another indicator at the level of the crop rotation system which is the number of plots which hold a combined variety of plant species and varieties together. Planned biodiversity also has a temporality aspect within the agricultural system (number of crops in a crop rotation). Planned biodiversity is expected to be less important in intensive farming systems than in more sustainable farming systems.

Inspiration to design and manage systems going forward to agroecological transition, comes from how natural systems work. For such a purpose, planned biodiversity is one of the main levers to activate in time and space, to promote ecosystem services instead of chemicals and energy.