TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland
T2 - New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation
AU - Rotchés-Ribalta, Roser
AU - Ruas, Sara
AU - Ahmed, Karzan D.
AU - Gormally, Michael
AU - Moran, James
AU - Stout, Jane
AU - White, Blánaid
AU - Ó hUallacháin, Daire
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
PY - 2021/2
Y1 - 2021/2
N2 - Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.
AB - Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.
KW - Agricultural policy
KW - Greening infrastructure
KW - Habitat quality
KW - Share of semi-natural habitats
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085870808&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6
DO - 10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 32472434
AN - SCOPUS:85085870808
SN - 0044-7447
VL - 50
SP - 346
EP - 359
JO - Ambio
JF - Ambio
IS - 2
ER -