Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Agricultural policy; Greening infrastructure; Habitat quality; Share of semi-natural habitats.

Fig. 1

Location of the study areas (i.e. Sligo and Wexford) and of the farms with different intensity categories

Fig. 2

Proportion of semi-natural habitat area, length of linear habitats and habitat richness per farm among intensity categories, considering the classification of policy protection in Ireland (i.e. valued, optional and undervalued habitats). Dashed line indicates the %-limit (5%) for proportion of semi-natural habitats to qualify as eligible for subsidies

Fig. 3

Correlations (Spearman index) between habitat quality of semi-natural habitats according to their policy protection in Irish agricultural policy: a valued, b valued-optional and c undervalued; and descriptors of habitat composition and configuration at the farm level (i.e. proportion of semi-natural habitats, length of linear features, habitat richness and habitat diversity (Shannon diversity index)