Biodiversity enhancement on farmland through high-diversity landscape features
Dr Saorla Kavanagh, Biodiversity Research Officer from the Environment, Soils and Land Use Department, joined 19 other experts from around Europe last year to participate in the EU CAP Network Focus Group for enhancing the biodiversity on farmland through high-diversity landscape features.
The main aim of the focus group was to determine how farmers can maintain, enhance and create high-diversity landscape features (HDLF) that positively impact farmland biodiversity. The specific tasks of the group were to:
- Identify challenges and opportunities for farmers in introducing HDLF to increase the diversity and area of habitats and/or better connectivity between habitats.
- Ascertain and highlight good practices, successful approaches, and methodologies for implementing and maintaining HDLF at both farm scale and landscape scale.
- Identify examples of how HDLF are socially and economically valued.
- Identify needs for capacity building in the implementation of HDLF.
- Suggest innovative HDLF and suitable maintenance/management models.
- Identify further research needs and possible gaps in technical knowledge.
A result of these meetings was the publication of a Recommendations and Outcomes Report. The report identifies the characteristics and benefits of HDLF, relevant good practices, and relevant studies identified by the 20 focus group experts.
Members of the EU CAP Network Focus Group for enhancing the biodiversity on farmland through high-diversity landscape features
It also includes success factors and barriers to the adoption of these practices. The report also identifies opportunities and challenges for developing HDLF on farmland and provides recommendations for research projects and ideas for operational groups. These recommendations will feed into future EU funding calls and EIP-AGRI Operational Groups.
Access the report here.
Another result of these meetings was the publication of five mini-papers. Saorla was the lead author on Mini Paper 3: Managing high-diversity landscape features for pollinators. The five mini papers are available below:
- Mini Paper 1: The role of knowledge and promotion
- Mini Paper 2: Implementing high-diversity landscape features on farms: small changes but large gains
- Mini Paper 3: Managing high-diversity landscape features for pollinators
- Mini Paper 4: The social and cultural benefits of high-diversity landscape features
- Mini Paper 5: Benefits of hdlfs for on-farm adaptation to climate change
Further information can be found on the EU CAP Network website.