Abstract
A reduction in biodiversity due to farming operations has been broadly reported. As a solution, policy makers in the European Union have introduced several programs in recent years to enhance biodiversity on farms but these have met with only limited success. One of the main reasons for this lack of success is that the experience, knowledge and attitudes of farmers are not taken into account when biodiversity conservation programs are formulated. Farmers’ opinions must be taken into consideration in the creation of future programs, which should also include an assessment by the farmers of the value of the nature of their farms. In this study, farmers were asked to express their opinion on the attractiveness of their farm in relation to pollinators, game, birds, amphibians, reptiles, rodents and non-crop (wild) plants. Data were then analysed using a novel method in which each farm was assigned to one of four categories. High nature-value farms contained more natural features in the landscape, such as individual trees or ponds. Socio-economic factors, such as gender, also influenced the farm assessments; female farmers were more critical compared to their male counterparts. The establishment of field margins or watercourse by the farmers significantly increased the possibility that the farm would be classified as attractive.
Highlights
Biodiversity loss has become a major global problem [1,2]
A reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was introduced in 2014 under the auspices of the European Union and contained a so-called greening program that obligates farmers to diversify in crop production, maintain permanent grassland and allocate 5% of agricultural land to ecological focus areas (EFA) [9]
Under the various conservation programs, the farm must become an attractive place for nature, in turn maintaining or even increasing the level of biodiversity
Summary
Biodiversity loss has become a major global problem [1,2]. Farming has a strong impact on this process and affects the environment more than any other land use type [3]. A reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was introduced in 2014 under the auspices of the European Union and contained a so-called greening program that obligates farmers to diversify in crop production, maintain permanent grassland and allocate 5% of agricultural land to ecological focus areas (EFA) [9]. Under the various conservation programs, the farm must become an attractive place for nature, in turn maintaining or even increasing the level of biodiversity. A large number of studies have indicated that the goals of greening, as with other conservative programs, have not been achieved and have had a minimal impact on farming practices [13]. Research has shown that efforts should be focused on a farmland biological conservation program, which considers biodiversity and the factors that determine the decisions of farmers [14]. Farmers do not like changes to their production methods [15]
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