Indicators for biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: a pan‐European study

Summary In many European agricultural landscapes, species richness is declining considerably. Studies performed at a very large spatial scale are helpful in understanding the reasons for this decline and as a basis for guiding policy. In a unique, large‐scale study of 25 agricultural landscapes in seven European countries, we investigated relationships between species richness in several taxa, and the links between biodiversity and landscape structure and management. We estimated the total species richness of vascular plants, birds and five arthropod groups in each 16‐km 2 landscape, and recorded various measures of both landscape structure and intensity of agricultural land use. We studied correlations…

• EC
  European Commission
• SN
  Stichting Nederlands Oogheelkundig Onderzoek