agriculture - Reverse, European Project to Preserve Biodiversity

A. IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE ON BIODIVERSITY
With farmers managing almost half of the EU’s land area, the agricultural sector is one of the main sources of
pressure on Europe’s environment. Over the past five decades, the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) - which accounts for around half of the EU’s budget - has encouraged the sector to become more and more
intensive, as has the growing globalization of the world’s economy. As a result, the agricultural sector is responsible
for a significant proportion of the pollution of surface waters and seas by nutrients, for the loss of biodiversity, and
for pesticide residues in groundwater.
Agricultural intensification and land abandonment are two of the main pressures on biodiversity linked to
agro-ecosystems in Europe. These developments are driven by a combination of factors including technological
innovation, agriculture subsidies and international market developments, as well as climate change, demographic
trends and lifestyle changes. The concentration and specialisation of agricultural production have had major
consequences for biodiversity, as it has become apparent with the strong decline of farmland birds during the last
quarter of the 20 th century but which has stabilised since the mid-1990s. Farmland butterflies have also declined
since 1990 at least, and the decline has not stopped since (EEA, 2010).
Agricultural intensification means decreased crop diversity, simplified cropping methods, fertiliser and pesticide
use, and homogenised landscapes. Introducing biofuel crops may intensify fertiliser and pesticide use, exacerbating
biodiversity loss. Industrial chemicals, metals and pharmaceutical products likewise end up in the soil or in water.
Although nitrate and phosphorus pollution of rivers and lakes has declined, excess atmospheric nitrogen deposition
is still an issue across the EU (EEA, 2010).
Pan-European studies looking at the effects of agricultural practices and landscape characteristics on biodiversity
have confirmed the significant impact of agriculture at different scales. At plot level, fertilisation, tillage and pesticides
are disturbances with a negative overall effect. At landscape level, negative effects are linked to the disappearance
of such man-made elements as hedges and field margins. Eco-tones at the edge of agricultural areas might change
as a result of alterations to hydrology and land use with the disappearance of woodland, semi-natural grassland and
ponds. The same applies to the homogenisation of crops and the synchronisation of practices, such as harvesting
and mowing dates. In addition, intensive agriculture in homogenous landscapes, leading to monocultures, promotes
the development of populations of crop pests (INRA, 2008 in EEA, 2010).
The abandonment of farmland has significant environmental consequences and is often associated with social and
economic problems in rural areas. In areas that were previously intensively managed, abandonment has brought
environmental benefits, particularly a reduction in chemical pollution. However, cessation of farming in extensively
managed areas may entail significant biodiversity loss. The decline or loss of specialist species and the deterioration
of habitats has been documented with farmland abandonment in semi-natural grasslands with high botanical value
or conservation interest for birds and other animal groups (Moreira et al., 2005 in EEA 2010).
The SOER 2010 soil assessment revealed that intensively cultivated soils have been shown to have low levels of
biomass, which is essential for maintaining key soil functions. A large proportion of intensively cultivated soils in
Europe has already reached the lower threshold of 2% soil organic carbon suggested for essential soil functions
(Loveland and Webb, 2003; Arrouays et al., 2001; 2006). The problem is particularly prominent in Southern Europe,
but also in parts of France, Sweden and the United Kingdom (EEA 2010).
Reforms of the CAP in the 1990’s, and measures taken by the sector itself, have brought about some improvements,
but more is needed to balance agricultural production, rural development, and the environment (5) . A comprehensive
agriculture strategy must take all of these different levels into account through suitable instruments, covering the
three main fields of biodiversity:
- the genetic variety of domesticated plants and animals (gene pool), which appears after centuries of equilibrium
between human activities and natural ecosystems;
- “wild” biodiversity (wild flora and fauna related to farmland);
- the life-support systems (including soil microbiota, pollinators, predators, all organisms that support the
fertility and productivity of agro-ecosystems).
1. The benefits of biodiversity for agriculture (6)
The conservation of biological diversity is a decisive factor in agricultural activities: at the heart of the various
biological processes utilized by agriculture, biodiversity allows farmers to produce food and non-food products, as
well as services. Biodiversity is the basis of the life-support systems, which have particularly important benefits,
allowing agriculture to produce food.
(5) European Environment Agency (EEA), http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/agriculture, as in 30/6/2011
(6) Biodiversity action plan for agriculture of 2001, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
(COM2001/0162-3 rd volume)
EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE AND BIODIVERSITY CHARTER
AGRICULTURE AND BIODIVERSITY: IMPACTS AND INTERRELATIONS 13