Conserving farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services (Contribution to European project ‘Farmland’)

Report contains data that can be used under Open Government Licence. Main report (pdf) contains data as does 4 of the appendices - pdf with data in tables. The aim of this project is to examine how farmland heterogeneity – the way that different crops and non-cropped habitat are distributed within the landscape – impacts on biodiversity. Defra has international and domestic commitments to manage and restore biodiversity. Farmland biodiversity also contributes to agricultural production via ecosystem services such as crop pollination and biological control of crop pests, as well as having intrinsic cultural value. Responses to loss of farmland biodiversity typically involve taking land out of production (field margins or hedgerow planting for example). However, with increasing concern regarding food security, and a focus on sustainable intensification of farming, there are limits to how much land can be taken out of production. An alternative approach is to increase biodiversity value and ecosystem service provision on farmland, by increasing the diversity of crop types and management within the farmed landscape without compromising production. The project is co-funded by the Sustainable Agriculture evidence programme and extends a large scale European research project ‘FARMLAND’ into the UK, which will significantly increase the sample size at no cost to Defra and bring in additional expertise and analytical capability.