A modelling approach for the assessment of the effects of Common Agricultural Policy measures on farmland biodiversity in the EU27

Overmars, Koen P.; Helming, John; Zeijts, H. van; Jansson, Torbjörn; Terluin, I.J.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.04.008

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The sampling was constrained by species habitat preferences, so that only finegrain cells for which the extent of the preferred habitat for each species is above the 50th percentile can be selected. The downscaling of coarse occurrence data based on species habitat preferences has also been done in other studies (McPherson et al, 2006;Rondinini et al, 2011;Sardà-Palomera and Vieites, 2011;Overmars et al, 2013). Habitat preferences for each species were taken from BirdLife International (2014), where suitable breeding habitats are listed using the IUCN habitat classification scheme (IUCN, 2012).…”

Section: Bird Species Data and Refined Species Occurrencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A habitat quality indicator for common birds in Europe based on species distribution models

Vallecillo

Polce

Lavalle

2016

Ecological Indicators

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a b s t r a c tThe EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy requires the gathering of information on biodiversity to aid in monitoring progress towards its main targets. Common species are good proxies for the diversity and integrity of ecosystems, since they are key elements of the biomass, structure, functioning of ecosystems, and therefore of the supply of ecosystem services. In this sense, we aimed to develop a spatially-explicit indicator of habitat quality (HQI) at European level based on the species included in the European Common Bird Index, also grouped into their major habitat types (farmland and forest). Using species occurrences from the European Breeding Birds Atlas (at 50 km × 50 km) and the maximum entropy algorithm, we derived species distribution maps using refined occurrence data based on species ecology. This allowed us to cope with the limitations arising from modelling common and widespread species, obtaining habitat suitability maps for each species at finer spatial resolution (10 km × 10 km grid), which provided higher model accuracy. Analysis of the spatial patterns of local and relative species richness (defined as the ratio between species richness in a given location and the average richness in the regional context) for the common birds analysed demonstrated that the development of a HQI based on species richness needs to account for the regional species pool in order to make objective comparisons between regions. In this way, we proved that relative species richness compensated for the bias caused by the inherent heterogeneous patterns of the species distributions that was yielding larger local species richness in areas where most of the target species have the core of their distribution range. The method presented in this study provides a robust and innovative indicator of habitat quality which can be used to make comparisons between regions at the European scale, and therefore potentially applied to measure progress towards the EU Biodiversity Strategy targets. Finally, since species distribution models are based on breeding birds, the HQI can be also interpreted as a measure of the capacity of ecosystems to provide and maintain nursery/reproductive habitats for terrestrial species, a key maintenance and regulation ecosystem service.

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Section: Bird Species Data and Refined Species Occurrencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A habitat quality indicator for common birds in Europe based on species distribution models

Vallecillo

Polce

Lavalle

2016

Ecological Indicators

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“…As a result of this shift, the importance of the traditional (informal) institutions in the multifunctional management of the grasslands was weakened by the formal (i.e., state-based) institutions (Hartel et al, 2016). The prevalence of formal institutional governance coupled with the monofunctional grassland management resulted in a sharp decline of hay meadows and pastures with high socio-cultural and natural values across Europe, especially in the economically developed countries (Overmars et al, 2013; Pe’er et al, 2014). Despite the declining trends in the European continent, traditionally managed grasslands are still present in countries where traditional management practices persist mainly as a legacy of the geopolitical instability (Plieninger et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance networks around grasslands with contrasting management history

Manolache

Niţă

Hartel

et al. 2020

Preprint

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2Romanian grasslands have high nature value, being between the best biodiversity hotspots at the 1 3 global level. Current agri-environment measures of the European Union Common Agricultural 1 4 Policy (CAP) contradicts the Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 objective by hindering coordinated 1 5 grassland governance and collaboration among the involved actors. At the European level, few 1 6 attempts have been made in creating conceptual strategies for implementing conservation 1 7 measures in a multi-actor and multi-scale governance setting. Our paper focuses on a 1 8 comparative network analysis of grassland landscape governance of three Romanian regions 1 9 (Iron Gates Natural Park -SW; Sighisoara -Tarnava Mare -center; and Dobrogea -SE), 2 0representatives for grassland management in mountain and lowland settings. In Sighisoara, 2 1 2 grasslands governance has been centralized but biodiversity-friendly, while in Iron Gates, 2 2 grasslands were traditionally managed through a decentralized, community-level system, and this 2 3 type of governance continues to date. Whereas for Dobrogea's grasslands, the governance was 2 4 performed in an intensive, centralized state-run management regime during the communist time 2 5and by large landowners after the transition period ended. Our findings illustrate the structure of 2 6 the three governance networks and dissimilar patterns of collaboration, indicating distinct 2 7 particularities to be considered when exploring barriers to and options for successful governance 2 8 in traditionally managed grasslands in the context of CAP measures-driven management.

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“…Agricultural landscapes currently account for half of Europe's territory (Overmars et al. ), with ca. 50% of all species relying on agricultural habitats at least to some extent (Kristensen ; Moreira et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditional, low-intensity agricultural practices, adapted to local climatic, geographic, and environmental conditions, led to a rich, diverse cultural and natural heritage, reflected in a wide range of rural landscapes, most of which were preserved until the advent of industrialized agriculture (Bignal & McCracken 2000;Paracchini et al 2010;Oppermann et al 2012). Agricultural landscapes currently account for half of Europe's territory (Overmars et al 2013), with ca. 50% of all species relying on agricultural habitats at least to some extent (Kristensen 2003;Moreira et al 2005;Halada et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling nature conservation and traditional farming practices: a spatially explicit framework to assess the extent of High Nature Value farmlands in the European countryside

Lomba

Alves²,

Jongman

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Agriculture constitutes a dominant land cover worldwide, and rural landscapes under extensive farming practices acknowledged due to high biodiversity levels. The High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) concept has been highlighted in the EU environmental and rural policies due to their inherent potential to help characterize and direct financial support to European landscapes where high nature and/or conservation value is dependent on the continuation of specific low-intensity farming systems. Assessing the extent of HNV farmland by necessity relies on the availability of both ecological and farming systems' data, and difficulties associated with making such assessments have been widely described across Europe. A spatially explicit framework of data collection, building out from local administrative units, has recently been suggested as a means of addressing such difficulties. This manuscript tests the relevance of the proposed approach, describes the spatially explicit framework in a case study area in northern Portugal, and discusses the potential of the approach to help better inform the implementation of conservation and rural development policies. Synthesis and applications: The potential of a novel approach (combining land use/cover, farming and environmental data) to provide more accurate and efficient mapping and monitoring of HNV farmlands is tested at the local level in northern Portugal. The approach is considered to constitute a step forward toward a more precise targeting of landscapes for agri-environment schemes, as it allowed a more accurate discrimination of areas within the case study landscape that have a higher value for nature conservation.

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A modelling approach for the assessment of the effects of Common Agricultural Policy measures on farmland biodiversity in the EU27

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

A habitat quality indicator for common birds in Europe based on species distribution models

A habitat quality indicator for common birds in Europe based on species distribution models

Governance networks around grasslands with contrasting management history

Reconciling nature conservation and traditional farming practices: a spatially explicit framework to assess the extent of High Nature Value farmlands in the European countryside

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