0000000001328666
AUTHOR
Angela Lomba
Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats
© 2021 The Authors.
GrassPlot v. 2.00 : first update on the database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
Abstract: GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). Following a previous Long Database Report (Dengler et al. 2018, Phyto- coenologia 48, 331–347), we provide here the first update on content and functionality of GrassPlot. The current version (GrassPlot v. 2.00) contains a total of 190,673 plots of different grain sizes across 28,171 independent plots, with 4,654 nested-plot series including at least four grain sizes. The database has improved its content as well as its functionality, including addition and harmonization of header data (land use,…
Impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on biodiversity and ecosystem services
As part of a ‘fitness check’ evaluation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), completed in autumn 2017, we conducted an in depth literature review to evaluate both direct and indirect effects of the CAP on biodiversity (BD) and ecosystem services (ESS). Beyond instruments that are designated towards the protection of BD and ESS, such as agri-environment(-climate) schemes (AECM), greening, and cross compliance (CC), we considered and evaluated non-designated instruments such as Direct Payments, that likely have indirect effects on BD and ESS by affecting land-use changes, farm structure and management. Although literature suggests that AECM can be locally effective (1), their effectivenes…
Unravelling the importance of High Nature Value farmlands for biodiversity conservation and provision of ecosystem services in the Mediterranean regions
Through centuries, the intertwined relation between farmers and nature shaped a rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage, reflected as a wide range of agricultural landscapes, where low-intensity farming practices are known to support high levels of biodiversity and the wide provision of ecosystem services. The concept of High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf) was devised in the 90’s as a tool to characterize and direct financial support to such agricultural landscapes. The nature value of HNVf stems from a high proportion of natural/semi-natural vegetation e.g. pastures and meadows, the presence of small-scale elements in the agricultural landscapes, (e.g. field margins, hedgerows), or t…
Assessing the dynamics of High Nature Value farmlands in space and time
Despite agriculture being a dominant form of land management and a major driver of global change, the pivotal role of low-intensity farming systems for the conservation of agrobiodiversity and the wider provision of ecosystem services has been highlighted (1). High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf) are social-ecological systems in which the maintenance of traditional, low-intensity farming systems support the occurrence of species and habitats, often with high conservation value. HNVf are especially vulnerable to socioeconomic changes, due to rural depopulation and lack of economic viability, resulting in the cessation of traditional farming practices in favour of land abandonment or intensific…