Impacts of land-use change on biodiversity: An assessment of agricultural biodiversity in the European Union

The purpose of this report is to assess how much biomass could technically be available for energy production without increasing pressures on the environment. The agriculture, forestry and waste sectors are considered and it is suggested that significant amounts of biomass can technically be available to support ambitious renewable energy targets, even if strict environmental constraints are applied. 190 million tonnes of oil equivalent are considered possible in 2010, rising to 295 million tonnes by 2030. This represents around 15-16% of projected primary energy requirements of the 25 EU-member countries in 2030. The main factors driving the increase in bioenergy potential are productivity increases and the assumed liberalisation of the agricultural sector, which results in additional area available for dedicated bioenergy farming. It is considered that environmental guidelines will need to become an integral part of planning processes at local, national and European level to achieve environmental compatibility. In the short term the largest potential for bioenergy comes form the waste sector, with greater long-term potential from bioenergy crops. There may also be co-benefits between biomass production and nature conservation.

How much bioenergy can Europe produce without harming the environment

The aim of this paper is to identify the habitat types listed in the Habitats Directive Annex I that require low-intensity agricultural management for their existence. We assessed the link between the Annex I habitat types and agricultural practices in order to identify habitat types that depend on the continuation of agricultural practices or whose existence is prolonged or spatially enlarged via blocking or reducing the secondary succession by agricultural activities. 63 habitat types that depend on or which can profit from agricultural activities—mainly grazing and mowing—were identified. They are classified into 2 groups: (1) habitats fully dependent on the continuation of agricultural management; (2) habitats partly dependent on the continuation of agricultural management. This paper also briefly discusses habitat types for which either doubts remain on their dependence on agricultural management, or the relation to extensive farming practices exists only in part of their area of distribution in Europe or under certain site conditions, respectively. Assessments of the conservation status of habitats of European Importance by 25 EU Member States in 2007 showed that habitats identified by us as depending on agricultural practices had a worse status than non-agricultural habitats.

Which habitats of European importance depend on agricultural practices

Mapping and monitoring High Nature Value farmlands: challenges in European landscapes.

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.

/pdf/reconciling-nature-conservation-and-traditional-farming-12co05ab7k.pdf

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

Corine based inventory of HNV farming systems (HNV= High Nature Value) within the European Union Countries

/pdf/developing-a-high-nature-value-farming-area-indicator-final-r5bugcwifn.pdf

Developing a high nature value farming area indicator : Final report

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Developing a high nature value farming area indicator : Final report