Question-based Monitoring of Agricultural Biodiversity Tool
This tool address important biodiversity monitoring questions related to pollination and insects' ecosystem services and support the evaluation of new agri-environment policies.
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Output Description
The question-based monitoring tool complements the 'Agricultural Biodiversity Trend Monitoring' tool of MonViA by addressing important biodiversity monitoring questions requiring a more profound analysis based on an extended set of indicators. Agri-environment policies adjust to new scientific evidence, and often there is a need for in-depth monitoring to evaluate the impacts of the new approaches based on recent findings. This tool of MonViA is more flexible, depend less on long time series data and adapt its content and methods to the changing questions.
The questions of the monitoring tool address:
- the improvement of pollination and the ecosystem services of insects;
- the promotion of biodiversity through modified cultivation systems;
- the impact of agri-environmental measures on biodiversity;
integrated pest management.
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Insects provide essential ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, particularly pollination of crops and pest control. Therefore, the enhancement of agricultural landscapes for insects is of particular importance to agriculture. The module addresses questions such as: (i) how much insect-friendly area (e.g. flower strips, semi-natural grassland) is required for preserving insect populations and their ecosystem services and (ii) how should such areas be distributed in agricultural landscapes both spatially and temporally to achieve optimal effects?
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This module develops concepts and scenarios for optimising ecosystem services of insects at the landscape level. The module develops spatial simulation models of selected insect species to examine the effects of different land-use options and scenarios on insect populations and predicts their ecosystem services. Further, it will highlight critical thresholds of area, connectivity, and longevity of insect-friendly sites in the landscape and identify optimal trade-offs between ecosystem services' expenditure and yield (earnings).
Relevance for monitoring and evaluation of the CAP
This tool of MonViA will provide answers to specific monitoring and evaluation questions.
Evaluating agricultural impacts on pollination: This tool addresses the effects of agricultural activity on pollinators, one of the most crucial risk factors to contemporary nature conservation.
Evaluating impacts of agri-environment measures on nature conservation: Evaluation questions on the impacts of agri-environmental actions or adopting integrated pest management (a widely spread farm management practice) on biodiversity are addressed.
Guidelines for preserving biodiversity: This tool provides design guidelines for spatial allocation and the temporal distribution of insect-friendly areas within the cultivated land to achieve optimal insect population preservation.
This monitoring tool of MonViA, together with the two other tools (the agricultural biodiversity trend monitoring and the citizen science-based monitoring), will complement the national conservation monitoring schemes to offer an integrated monitoring framework. The data and methods of MonVia are a supplement to the corresponding ongoing federal conservation monitoring programme. Thus, there are no particular prerequisites to use the monitoring data when they become publicly available. MonVia’s approach to agricultural biodiversity monitoring may benefit the other Member States with a similar monitoring background and monitoring needs.
Relevance of the output per CAP Objectives
- Specific Objective 6 - Preserve landscape and biodiversity
- Specific Objective 9 - Protect food and health quality
Additional output information
Data collection systems used:
- Ad-hoc data collection
Type of output:
- New / improved data for M&E
- Monitoring system / tool
Associated evaluation approaches:
- Desk research
- Data analysis
- Impact evaluation ex post
Spatial scale:
- Regional (landscape level)
Project information
Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes
The purpose of MonVia is to complement the national conservation monitoring schemes in Germany and to address the following questions:
- How does biological diversity develop on open landscapes under the influence of agricultural production, land use and agricultural structural changes?
- How do changes in biological diversity impact the performance ability and stability of agricultural production systems?
- How do agricultural and environmental measures affect farmland biodiversity, and how can this knowledge support the design of measures in the future?
MonViA monitors the quality and diversity of habitats and the status of different functional groups of organisms (pollinators, pests, beneficial organisms and soil fauna) that are particularly important for the performance of agricultural production systems. Trend monitoring and question-based monitoring are in a complete one-to-one mapping in the sense that each monitoring activity is designed to respond to one question about the effectiveness of current and future agricultural measures. For example, long-term monitoring of land use and landscape structures addresses questions concerning agri-environmental measures' effectiveness in habitat diversity.
Project’s timeframe: 2019 – 2023
Contacts of project holder: Dr Petra Dieker, Thuenen Institute of Biodiversity (petra.dieker@thuenen.de)
Website: MonViA: https://www.agrarmonitoring-monvia.de/en/Open link in new window
MonViA overview: https://www.thuenen.de/en/cross-institutional-projects/monitoring-of-farmland-biodiversity-in-germany/Open link in new window
Territorial coverage: Germany