Grassland is a production factor for ruminant husbandry, but also a habitat for a wide range of plant and animal species and is valued for its aesthetic and cultural value. Nevertheless, ecologically important grassland areas are under threat in many parts of Europe. Nature conservation organisations and agricultural policy stakeholders are calling for conservation measures to halt or reverse this deterioration. Recent research results show that effective biodiversity conservation must take into account the landscape level, i.e. not only the quality of conservation measures but also their spatial extent and arrangement.
Objective
The main objective of the GreeNet project is to identify proven and cost-effective conservation measures and their spatial organisation. They should improve and protect the ecological quality of the landscape and increase the long-term resilience of European grasslands to biophysical degradation and adverse socio-economic developments.
GreeNet brings together agronomists, agricultural economists, biologists and landscape ecologists to analyse the interaction of conservation measures between fields, farms and the landscape in several European case studies. The results will feed into the scientific debate on resilient landscapes and support policy planners in developing effective strategies to protect biodiversity in European landscapes while maintaining the provision of diverse ecosystem services to local communities and society at large.
GreeNet develops, modifies and applies a range of scientific methods (e.g. modelling, indicator assessments) to identify biodiversity and ecosystem service targets and analyse appropriate conservation measures at both field and landscape levels. The integration of results from bioeconomic farm models, the application of a model to plan measures at the landscape level and the application of scenario modelling to analyse conservation measures at both the field and landscape levels is a key element of the project.
GreeNet develops, modifies and applies a range of scientific methods (e.g. models, indicator assessments) to identify biodiversity and ecosystem service targets and analyse appropriate conservation measures at both field and landscape levels. The integration of results from bioeconomic farm models, the application of a model for planning measures at landscape level and the application of scenarios for future global changes enable the derivation of optimal strategies for maintaining or improving the resilience of landscapes. GreeNet will analyse the agricultural perspective by incorporating surveys on conservation decisions at farm level. Finally, GreeNet will develop proven conservation incentive schemes and management strategies. This, together with analysing the transferability of the results to comparable grassland areas in Europe, will allow to inform administrators and policy makers about the need for protected landscapes and incentive options across Europe. Therefore, the involvement of stakeholders in several project steps is crucial.
Planned work 2025
Management of the international consortium, management of work package 1, evaluation of data on the discrete choice experiment of 2024; publication of results from literature analyses on conservation measures (WP2); co-supervision of the AT case study, including the creation and application of a farm model in the Seewinkel case study area, development of nature conservation measures in agri-environmental programmes, supervision of participatory processes; cooperation with project partners to develop a policy planning model at landscape level.
Timetable
roject start: 01.04.2023
Project end: 31.03.2026
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