State-of-the-art practices in farmland biodiversity monitoring for North America and Europe

Felix Herzog, Janet Franklin

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Policy makers and farmers need to know the status of farmland biodiversity in order to meet conservation goals and evaluate management options. Based on a review of 11 monitoring programs in Europe and North America and on related literature, we identify the design choices or attributes of a program that balance monitoring costs and usefulness for stakeholders. A useful program monitors habitats, vascular plants, and possibly faunal groups (ecosystem service providers, charismatic species) using a stratified random sample of the agricultural landscape, including marginal and intensive regions. The size of landscape samples varies with the grain of the agricultural landscape; for example, samples are smaller in Europe and larger in North America. Raw data are collected in a rolling survey, which distributes sampling over several years. Sufficient practical experience is now available to implement broad monitoring schemes on both continents. Technological developments in remote sensing, metagenomics, and social media may offer new opportunities for affordable farmland biodiversity monitoring and help to lower the overall costs of monitoring programs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)857-871
Number of pages15
JournalAmbio
Volume45
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2016

Keywords

  • Agricultural landscape
  • Ecosystem service
  • Essential biodiversity variables
  • Monitoring budget
  • Stakeholder need
  • Survey design

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Ecology

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