Evaluating On-Farm Biodiversity: A Comparison of Assessment Methods

Vanessa Gabel, Robert Home, Sibylle Stöckli, Matthias Meier, Matthias Stolze and Ulrich Köpke
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Vanessa Gabel: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
Robert Home: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
Sibylle Stöckli: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
Matthias Meier: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
Matthias Stolze: Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick, Switzerland
Ulrich Köpke: Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Strategies to stop the loss of biodiversity in agriculture areas will be more successful if farmers have the means to understand changes in biodiversity on their farms and to assess the effectiveness of biodiversity promoting measures. There are several methods to assess on-farm biodiversity but it may be difficult to select the most appropriate method for a farmer’s individual circumstances. This study aims to evaluate the usability and usefulness of four biodiversity assessment methods that are available to farmers in Switzerland. All four methods were applied to five case study farms, which were ranked according to the results. None of the methods were able to provide an exact statement on the current biodiversity status of the farms, but each method could provide an indication, or approximation, of one or more aspects of biodiversity. However, the results also showed that it is possible to generate different statements on the state of biodiversity on the same farms by using different biodiversity assessment methods. All methods showed strengths and weaknesses so, when choosing a method, the purpose of the biodiversity assessment should be kept in the foreground and the limitations of the chosen methods should be considered when interpreting the outcomes.

Keywords: biodiversity assessment methods; agriculture; case study; on-farm evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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