An indicator framework to help maximise potential benefits for ecosystem services and biodiversity from ecological focus areas

Abstract

?? 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Ecological focus areas are one of three greening measures that were introduced into the European Common Agricultural Policy by the reform in 2014, with the aim of enhancing the ecological function of agricultural landscapes. However, there are concerns that they will provide little or no additional ecological benefit (enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem services) as those that are declared may already exist and/or any new areas will be implemented on the basis of farm management burdens rather than ecological criteria, such as those which are the easiest or least costly to implement. To implement ecological focus areas to achieve greater benefits requires taking account of numerous spatial and management parameters, scientific understanding of ecosystem services, and the needs and behaviour individual and communities of species. Such an approach is not readily practical or feasible for many farm and land managers. This paper describes the development of an indicator framework which aims to distil this complex scientific information to aid decision making with regard to the implementation of ecological focus areas to enhance and increase benefits for ecosystem services and biodiversity. It involved collating scientific evidence from over 350 papers, reports and guides and then structuring this evidence to form the indicator framework. 230 impacts were identified for 20 land uses and landscape features, and these are characterised using 138 parameters and attributes, containing 708 descriptive classes. The framework aims to help land managers identify the potential benefits and burdens of different options for the specific spatial and management context of their farm, and thus select those with greatest benefits and least burden for their circumstances. Ecological focus areas are part of the first evolution of greening measures, so there is scope to improve them to make their implementation more ecological and more focused. Tools, such as the indicator framework presented herein, have the potential to support this process by educating and raising awareness of potential impacts, facilitating the transfer of scientific knowledge, and resulting in a more ecological aware industry

A new analytical framework of farming system and agriculture model diversities. A review

“…For example, research could develop tools to design the spatial distribution and management of non-crop habitats at farm and landscape levels (e.g. Tzilivakis et al 2016). More generally, how new information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used to render scientific knowledge accessible and operational or to collect experience feedback from farmers have to be explored (Dowd et al 2014;Duru et al 2015a).…”

Ecological intensification to mitigate impacts of conventional intensive land use on pollinators and pollination

“…; Tzilivakis et al . ; Table ). There is a great opportunity now to use the Ecological Focus Areas policy to promote targeted measures effective at enhancing specific ecosystems services such as pollination (Dicks et al .…”

“…'Compulsory greening measures' under the direct payments pillar of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy from 2014-2020 represent an alternative approach where payments are not designed to cover lost income, but environmental actions are required as a condition of subsidy payments. These payments incorporate several potential elements of ecological intensification across Europe, such as field margins, buffer strips and fallow land, through an obligation to keep 5% of arable lands as 'Ecological Focus Areas' (Pe'er et al 2016;Tzilivakis et al 2016; Table 1). There is a great opportunity now to use the Ecological Focus Areas policy to promote targeted measures effective at enhancing specific ecosystems services such as pollination (Dicks et al 2014a, Pe'er et al 2016Tzilivakis et al 2016; Table 1).…”

Approaches to Identify the Value of Seminatural Habitats for Conservation Biological Control

“…Finally, the quantitative data generated in QuESSA was incorporated into an existing prototype software package (the Ecological Focus Areas Calculator) [45]. This software allows the user to assess the performance of land use and landscape features on a range of ecosystem services including biological control [46].…”