Monitoring and evaluating the contribution of the rural development program to high nature value farmland dominated by traditional mosaic landscape in Slovakia

Abstract

This paper focuses on designing an approach to monitor the effects of the Rural Development Program (RDP) on High Nature Value Farmland type 2 – farmland dominated by traditional mosaics of cultivated land and small-scale features (HNV2) – and its application to farmland in Slovakia. Based on the identification of HNV2 on the national level and selection of monitoring sites, we carried out monitoring for two periods: 1st monitoring of RDP 2007–2013 and 2nd monitoring of RDP 2014–2020. We developed a set of indicators for monitoring of HNV2, which were mapped in the field: management intensity, categories of land cover and type of management, share of semi-natural elements, management activities. The most significant changes were observed in the proportion of semi-natural vegetation and management intensity. We defined five categories of changes in management intensity: either positive – 1) improved, or 2) persistent regular management – or negative – 3) continued abandonment, 4) decrease in management intensity, or 5) intensification causing decrease of landscape diversity. The evaluation of land cover changes on the basis of landscape indices shows higher landscape diversity on sites without subsidies. This shows that subsidies are linked to farmland with less diverse landscape structure. Statistical analyses showed semi-natural vegetation to be dominant on both subsidised and unsubsidised sites. The total area of HNV2, which is one of the basic indicators evaluated under the RDP, is decreasing: partly due to updates and refinements of the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), and exclusion of HNV2 sites from LPIS due to a presence of woody elements, but also partly due to abandonment. The results of our study showed a slightly positive contribution of RDP to maintenance and sustainable management of HNV2.