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EDITOR'S CHOICE: How much would it cost to monitor farmland biodiversity in Europe?
Author(s) -
Geijzendorffer Ilse R.,
Targetti Stefano,
Schneider Manuel K.,
Brus Dick J.,
Jeanneret Philippe,
Jongman Robert H.G.,
Knotters Martin,
Viaggi Davide,
Angelova Siyka,
Arndorfer Michaela,
Bailey Debra,
Balázs Katalin,
Báldi András,
Bogers Marion M. B.,
Bunce Robert G. H.,
Choisis JeanPhilippe,
Dennis Peter,
Eiter Sebastian,
Fjellstad Wendy,
Friedel Jürgen K.,
Gomiero Tiziano,
Griffioen Arjan,
Kainz Max,
KovácsHostyánszki Anikó,
Lüscher Gisela,
Moreno Gerardo,
Nascimbene Juri,
Paoletti Maurizio G.,
Pointereau Philippe,
Sarthou JeanPierre,
Siebrecht Norman,
Staritsky Igor,
Stoyanova Siyka,
Wolfrum Sebastian,
Herzog Felix
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.503
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1365-2664
pISSN - 0021-8901
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2664.12552
Subject(s) - biodiversity , environmental resource management , common agricultural policy , agriculture , global biodiversity , budget constraint , european union , ecology , environmental science , business , economics , biology , economic policy , neoclassical economics
Summary To evaluate progress on political biodiversity objectives, biodiversity monitoring provides information on whether intended results are being achieved. Despite scientific proof that monitoring and evaluation increase the (cost) efficiency of policy measures, cost estimates for monitoring schemes are seldom available, hampering their inclusion in policy programme budgets. Empirical data collected from 12 case studies across Europe were used in a power analysis to estimate the number of farms that would need to be sampled per major farm type to detect changes in species richness over time for four taxa (vascular plants, earthworms, spiders and bees). A sampling design was developed to allocate spatially, across Europe, the farms that should be sampled. Cost estimates are provided for nine monitoring scenarios with differing robustness for detecting temporal changes in species numbers. These cost estimates are compared with the Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP ) budget (2014–2020) to determine the budget allocation required for the proposed farmland biodiversity monitoring. Results show that the bee indicator requires the highest number of farms to be sampled and the vascular plant indicator the lowest. The costs for the nine farmland biodiversity monitoring scenarios corresponded to 0·01%–0·74% of the total CAP budget and to 0·04%–2·48% of the CAP budget specifically allocated to environmental targets. Synthesis and applications . The results of the cost scenarios demonstrate that, based on the taxa and methods used in this study, a Europe‐wide farmland biodiversity monitoring scheme would require a modest share of the Common Agricultural Policy budget. The monitoring scenarios are flexible and can be adapted or complemented with alternate data collection options (e.g. at national scale or voluntary efforts), data mobilization, data integration or modelling efforts.