Advancing biodiversity research in the agroecosystem Project BioMonitor4CAP in focus
Main Article Content
Abstract
The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 recognizes farmers’ dual role in safeguarding and impacting biodiversity. Within this policy context, the Horizon Europe project BioMonitor4CAP addresses monitoring of agroecosystem biodiversity and stakeholder-informed policy design to contribute perspectives and guidance in advance of the next Common Agricultural Policy period. The project integrates above- and below-ground indicators—pollinator insects, farmland birds, soil microbiota, and landscape structure—by pairing traditional methods with state-of-the-art tools across a network of European research sites. In Carinthia, six sites spanning low-elevation and high-elevation areas are used for testing traditional and state-of-the-art workflows targeting farmland birds, pollinator insects, soil communities, vegetation plots, and landscape structure. Sampling timing is based on a growing degree-day (GDD) approach. Carinthia University of Applied Sciences leads regional implementation, device feasibility testing, GDD scheduling, and remote sensing case studies, contributing to systematic reviews, indicator frameworks, and data infrastructure. A socio-economic component of the project engages farmers, advisors, and policymakers through focus groups, co-creation workshops, and a discrete choice experiment on subsidy trade-offs, complemented by mapping a Europe-wide network of ~600 agrobiodiversity observatories. Early findings highlight operational feasibility, ethical considerations, and context dependence of methods; regulatory and site constraints necessitated adaptive designs. BioMonitor4CAP is synthesizing evidence to deliver results-based monitoring guidance and policy options that reconcile practicality of monitoring approaches with conservation effectiveness. The project underscores that no single measure fits all farms, but co-designed, evidence-based approaches can align agricultural production, biodiversity outcomes, and circular economy goals for Europe.
Keywords
Agroecosystem, Biodiversity monitoring, Common Agricultural Policy, Socio-economics, Indicator species
Article Details
References
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