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The scientific community is deeply concerned about the ongoing discussions on the EU’s Green Deal. Of particular concern are the current criticisms targeting the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) and Nature Restoration Law (NRL). We urge policy makers to continue the legislative procedure for the SUR and the NRL, and invite opponents of the Green Deal for a consultation with scientists. The call was led by 17 scientists and signed by 3,339 scientists across EU Member States and 17 additional countries.

We propose to consider semi-natural habitats—hotspots for biodiversity—being caught in a socio-ecological extinction vortex, similar to the phenomenon described for species threatened with extinction. These habitats are essentially socioecological systems, in which socioeconomic drivers are interlinked with ecological processes. We identify four highly interlinked and mutually reinforcing socio-economic processes, pertaining to the importance of semi-natural habitats for (i) agricultural production, (ii) policy, research and development; (iii) vocational education in the fields of agricultural sciences and (iv) public’s experiences with semi-natural habitats. Evidence from six countries in the boreal region demonstrates that recent slowing down or even reversal of two processes are insufficient to stop the extinction vortex phenomenon. We suggest research directions to ascertain the phenomenon, monitor its development and develop proactive actions to weaken the vortex. It is highly plausible that interventions directed at most, if not all, of the key vortex processes are needed to reverse the overall deteriorating trends of a socio-ecological system.

Non-bee insects have been identified as important crop pollinators globally. However, strategies to protect pollinators and enhance crop pollination usually focus on supporting bees. This study examined the effects of landscape structure, location within field, and floral resources on pollinators’ visits on mass-flowering caraway (Carum carvi L.) in boreal farmland, and the effects of the visits on caraway yield. Pollinator visits on caraway flowers were monitored and caraway yield measured in 30 fields at landscapes ranging from field-dominated to forest-dominated landscapes. Hoverflies were the most abundant flower-visitors of caraway, followed by honeybees. Hoverflies and other flies made more flower visits on caraway than all bee species combined. Pollinator groups differed in their responses to landscape and local factors. Flies were most abundant near field edges and in landscapes with high forest cover. Non-syrphid flies and solitary bees responded positively to the cover of flowering herbs in the adjacent field margins. Flower visits by honeybees, instead, were positively related to the flowering crop cover in the study fields. Caraway seed yield increased with increasing number of flower visits by honeybees, hoverflies and all pollinators together. Pollinator exclusion reduced caraway fruit set (i.e. the number of fruits per flower) by 13% and seed yield by 40%. Our study is the first to report the high importance of flies to crop pollination in boreal farmland, where caraway is an important export crop. The results highlight the need of taking flies and their habitat requirements into account when developing strategies to enhance crop pollination. Highlights • Hoverflies were the most frequent flower-visitors on caraway, followed by honeybees. • Flies made more flower visits than all bee species combined. • Flies were abundant near field edges and in landscapes with high forest cover. • Honeybees responded positively to the flowering crop cover. • Flower visits by both honeybees and hoverflies increased caraway yield.

Results-oriented payment approaches are a means to deliver ecological results in agri-environment schemes. The results-based approach requires that farmers understand the meaning of the expected ecological results, and the approach and goals should be culturally acceptable. We interviewed 20 farmers in Finland about a hypothetical results-based payment scheme for biodiversity conservation that builds on an existing grassland fallow scheme. We explored i) how the ‘managing for nature values’ approach fits with ‘good farming’ ideal, ii) whether farmers would be able to operationalize ecological results, for which they would be rewarded, and iii) whether the results-based payment approach enhances or dilutes the current ‘good farmer’ ideal held by the farmers. We used ‘good farming’, cultural scripts, and the visibility of nature to farmers to explore these questions. The ‘tidy farm’ cultural script dominated, but farmers also described their farms as having space for non-production elements. Visibility of nature to farmers varied, field visits with farmer and researchers together resulted in increased enthusiasm for farmers seeing biodiversity as an outcome that they can produce. The grassland fallow fits farmers’ conceptualisations of ‘good farming’, and the results-based payment approach is culturally acceptable. Farmers’ activities show nature values have a place in their conceptualisation of ‘good farming’. We identified four categories of farmers based on their integration of ecological results into farming. These are nature values: 1) central to farmer thinking, 2) well-integrated, 3) viewed positively, but with limited actions and, 4) mainly absent.

Ecological intensification has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate the impacts of conventional intensive land use on pollinators and insect pollination. However, research has concentrated on the effects of land management on pollinator abundance and diversity, while studies directly measuring pollination services are still lacking for many crops and regions. This study examines the effects of landscape heterogeneity, pesticide use intensity and flowering time on insect pollination of turnip rape Brassica rapa ssp. oleifera, a major oil crop at high latitudes. The field experiment included monitoring pollinator visits on turnip rape flowers and measuring yield in 34 spring-sown turnip rape fields in Southern Finland. The fields were situated in two landscape types that differed in the cover of arable land and represented independent gradients of pesticide use intensity and flowering time. Based on flower visits and number of seeds per silique, turnip rape was best pollinated in fields with late flowering time. The result suggests a temporal mismatch between crop flowering and the availability of pollination service in early sown fields. The increase in flower visits during summer was steeper among fields with low than high pesticide use, possibly due to a faster colony growth of important bee pollinators. Pollinator community in turnip rape fields was more diverse in heterogeneous landscapes with less arable land than in homogeneous field-dominated landscapes, suggesting higher stability of pollination services in diverse landscapes. Total yield per plant was positively related to pesticide use intensity. The relationship between insect pollination and total yield was weakened by high compensation capacity of turnip rape, the plants producing more flowers under poor pollination.Synthesis and applications. Crop pollination can be enhanced by shifting sowing time to better match crop flowering to the peak availability of the most important pollinators. Reduced pesticide use may also enhance pollination services but can lead to the total yield reduction due to pests. This highlights the need for pollinator-friendly pest control methods to maintain turnip rape yields while conserving pollination services. Foreign Language AbstractTiivistelma Maatalouden ekologista tehostamista on esitetty strategiaksi, jonka avulla intensiivisen maankayton kielteisia vaikutuksia polyttajiin ja hyonteispolytykseen voidaan hillita. Tutkimukset maankayton vaikutuksista viljelykasvien hyonteispolytykseen kuitenkin puuttuvat yha monilta viljelykasveilta ja alueilta. Tama tutkimus tarkasteli maiseman monimuotoisuuden, torjunta-aineiden kayton ja kukinta-ajan vaikutusta rypsin hyonteispolytykseen. Peltokokeessa seurattiin polyttajien vierailuja rypsin kukilla ja mitattiin satoa 34 kevatrypsipellolla Uudellamaalla. Pellot sijaitsivat kahdessa maisematyypissa, joista toinen oli peltovaltainen ja toinen monimuotoisempi ja vahemman peltoa sisaltava. Lisaksi pellot erosivat toisistaan torjunta-aineiden kayton ja kukinta-ajan suhteen. Polyttajien kukkavierailut ja siementen maara per litu olivat korkeimmillaan myohaan kukkineilla rypsipelloilla, mika kertoo hyvasta polytyksesta. Tuloksen perusteella aikaisin kylvetyt rypsipellot saattavat kukkia liian aikaisin polyttajien saatavuuden nakokulmasta. Voimakkaimmin polyttajien maara lisaantyi kesan aikana niiden peltojen joukossa, joilla ei kaytetty torjunta-aineita. Mahdollinen selitys on, etta tarhamehilaisten ja kimalaisten yhdyskunnat kasvoivat nopeimmin naiden peltojen laheisyydessa. Polyttajien monimuotoisuus oli suurempi monimuotoisessa kuin peltovaltaisessa maisemassa, mika parantaa polytyspalvelun vakautta muuttuvissa olosuhteissa. Kokonaissato per kasvi nousi torjunta-aineiden kayton lisaantyessa. Hyonteispolytyksen ja sadon valista yhteytta heikensi rypsin hyva kompensaatiokyky, jonka ansiosta heikosti polyttyneet kasvit tuottivat enemman kukkia.Yhteenveto ja sovellukset. Viljelykasvin polytysta voi parantaa saatamalla kylvoaikaa siten, etta kasvin kukinta ajoittuu tarkeimpien polyttajien runsaushuippuun. Torjunta-aineiden kayton vahentaminen voi parantaa polytysta mutta laskea samaan aikaan satoa tuholaisten ja rikkakasvien lisaantymisen takia. Polyttajaystavallisten kasvinsuojelukeinojen kehittaminen on tarkeaa korkeiden rypsisatojen ja polytyspalveluiden sailymisen kannalta. Crop pollination can be enhanced by shifting sowing time to better match crop flowering to the peak availability of the most important pollinators. Reduced pesticide use may also enhance pollination services but can lead to the total yield reduction due to pests. This highlights the need for pollinator-friendly pest control methods to maintain turnip rape yields while conserving pollination services. peerReviewed

Context The current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union includes three greening measures, which are partly intended to benefit farmland biodiversity. However, the relative biodiversity effects of the greening measures, including joint effects of landscape context, are not well understood. Objectives We studied the effects of increasing crop diversity, proportions of production grasslands and fallows, corresponding to CAP greening measures, on open farmland bird diversity, whilst controlling for the effects of distance to forests, field edge density and proportion of built-up areas. Methods We surveyed open farmland birds using territory mapping in Southern Finland. We modelled effects of greening measures and landscape structure on farmland birds (7642 territories) using generalised linear mixed models. Results Increasing proportions of grasslands increased farmland bird species richness and diversity in open farmland, whereas increasing proportions of fallows increased bird diversity. Increasing crop diversity benefited individual species, but not species richness or diversity. Increasing field edge densities consistently increased the species richness of all farmland species, in-field nesters and non-crop nesters, as well as total farmland bird diversity. The relative effect of edge density was much stronger compared to the three greening measures. Conclusions Our results show that promoting fallows and grasslands, in particular grazed grasslands and various types of semi-natural grasslands, has the highest potential to benefit farmland bird diversity. Maintaining or increasing field edge densities, currently not supported, seems to be of even more benefit. In open farmland, with little or no field edges, fallows and grasslands are particularly beneficial.

Sanna Marinin hallitus on sitoutunut luonnon monimuotoisuuden tilan parantamiseen ja luontokadon pysäyttämiseen. Lupaus on äärimmäisen tärkeä. Luonnon ekosysteemien heikennys uhkaa elintärkeiden eko-systeemipalveluiden tuotantoa sekä ihmisten terveyttä, hyvinvointia ja turvallisuutta. Maailman talousfoorumi on nostanut luontokadon viiden vakavimman ihmiskuntaa uhkaavan riskin joukkoon. Myös Suomen luontotyyppien ja lajiston uhanalaisuustilanne on hälyttävä. Hallituksen kehysriihessä päätetään hallitusohjelman toteuttamisesta ja lunastetaan vuoden 2019 eduskuntavaalien lupaukset luonto- ja ilmastotoimista. Myös EU:n uusi biodiversiteettistrategia velvoittaa Suomea panostamaan luonnonsuojeluun entistä enemmän.

Suomi on toistaiseksi selvinnyt koronaviruksen (COVID-19) aiheuttamasta kriisistä taloudellisesti verrokkimaita paremmin, mutta työllisyystilanne on silti heikentynyt ympäri maata ja talouden ennustetaan supistuvan noin 4,7 prosenttia vuonna 20201. Negatiivisten talousvaikutusten minimoimiseksi hallitus on suuntaamassa EU:n elpymisvälineestä varoja käytettäväksi toimiin, jotka samanaikaisesti auttavat ratkaisemaan aikamme kahta merkittävää kriisiä: ilmastonmuutosta ja luontokatoa. Kyse on aidosti vakavista kriiseistä. Esimerkiksi Maailman talousfoorumi on listannut luonnon ekosysteemien romahduksen ja ilmastonmuutoksen torjunnan epäonnistumisen sekä vaikutuksiltaan että todennäköisyydeltään viiden vakavimman ihmiskuntaa uhkaavan riskin joukkoon. Elämämme on täysin riippuvainen ekosysteemien ja lajien olemassaolosta ja niiden toiminnasta. Suomen Luontopaneeli katsoo, että elvytystoimien pitää kokonaisuudessaan auttaa yhteiskuntaamme selviämään koronan aiheuttamasta talouden supistumisesta niin, että elvytystoimet samalla aikaansaavat siirtymän kohti hiilineutraaliutta ja luonnon kokonaisheikentymättömyyttä. Tässä kannanotossa Luontopaneeli arvioi ympäristöministeriön kestävän elvytyksen työryhmän ja Suomen ilmastopaneelin esittämien sekä muutamien muiden elvytystoimien luontovaikutuksia ja antaa suosituksia elvytystoimien mahdollisten haitallisten luontovaikutusten välttämiseksi. Kuvaan 1 (sivulla 3) on koottu Luontopaneelin näkemys eri toimenpiteiden luonnon monimuotoisuus- ja elvytysvaikutuksista. Lähtökohta ja tavoite on luonnon kokonaisheikentymättömyys (engl. “no net loss of the integrity of ecosystems”). Suomen maaekosysteemien, sisävesien ja meriluonnon tilan heikkeneminen tulee pysäyttää seuraavien vuosikymmenten kuluessa. Osa toimenpiteistä vaikuttaa luonnon monimuotoisuuteen suoraan, esimerkiksi maankäytön kautta, ja osa epäsuorasti ilmastonmuutoksen (ks. tietolaatikko s. 7 ), ilmansaasteiden (s. 10) tai rehevöittävien ravinteiden (s. 11) kautta. Moni taloutta elvyttävä ja hiilineutraaliutta edistävä toimi voi aiheuttaa luontohaittaa. Kyse ei ole vastakkainasettelusta vaan siitä, että aidosti hyvät toimet voivat olla elvyttävyys-, ilmasto- tai luontovaikutuksiltaan ristiriitaisia. Tällaiset toimet tulisi suunnitella niin, että ne ovat yhdenmukaisia luonnon kokonaisheikentymättömyystavoitteen kanssa. Väistämättömät haitat tulee hyvittää luonnolle ekologisilla kompensaatioilla (ks. s. 4). Tämän kannanoton tarkoitus on tunnistaa ristiriitoja ja löytää keinoja lieventää niitä. Jokaisen toimenpiteen vaikutukset on arvioitu ja niiden osalta on esitetty ehdotukset siitä, kuinka mahdollisia haitallisia luontovaikutuksia voidaan pienentää.

Uncultivated field margins are important refugia for pollinating insects in agricultural landscapes. However, the spill-over of pollination services from field margins to adjacent crops is poorly understood. This study (i) examined the effects of landscape heterogeneity on pollinator occurrence in permanent field margins and pollinator visitation to adjacent mass-flowering turnip rape (Brassica rapa ssp. oleifera) in boreal agricultural landscapes, and (ii) tested whether pollinator abundance and species richness in field margins predict abundance and species richness of crop visitors. Pollinators visiting the crop were more affected by landscape heterogeneity than pollinators in adjacent margins. Species richness, total abundance, and the abundance of syrphid flies visiting the crop increased with increasing landscape heterogeneity, whereas, in field margins, landscape heterogeneity had little effect on pollinators. In field-dominated homogeneous landscapes, wild pollinators rarely visited the crop even if they occurred in adjacent margins, whereas in heterogeneous landscapes, differences between the two habitats were smaller. Total pollinator abundance and species richness in field margins were poor predictors of pollinator visitation to adjacent crop. However, high abundances of honeybees and bumblebees in margins were related to high numbers of crop visitors from these taxa. Our results suggest that, while uncultivated field margins help pollinators persist in boreal agricultural landscapes, they do not always result in enhanced pollinator visitation to the adjacent crop. More studies quantifying pollination service delivery from semi-natural habitats to crops in different landscape settings will help develop management approaches to support crop pollination.

The European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has failed to achieve its aim of preserving European farmland biodiversity, despite massive investment in subsidies to incentivise environmentally-beneficial farming practices. This failure calls into question the design of the subsidy schemes, which are intended to either function as a safety net and make farming profitable or compensate farmers for costs and loss of income while undertaking environmental management. In this study, we assess whether the design of environmental payments in the CAP reflects current knowledge about farmers’ decision-making as found in the research literature. We do so on the basis of a comprehensive literature review on farmers’ uptake of agri-environmental management practices over the past 10 years and interviews specifically focused on Ecological Focus Areas with policy-makers, advisors and farmers in seven European countries. We find that economic and structural factors are the most commonly-identified determinants of farmers’ adoption of environmental management practices in the literature and in interviews. However, the literature suggests that these are complemented by – and partially dependent on – a broad range of social, attitudinal and other contextual factors that are not recognised in interview responses or, potentially, in policy design. The relatively simplistic conceptualisation of farmer behaviour that underlies some aspects of policy design may hamper the effectiveness of environmental payments in the CAP by over-emphasising economic considerations, potentially corroding farmer attitudes to policy and environmental objectives. We conclude that an urgent redesign of agricultural subsidies is needed to better align them with the economic, social and environmental factors affecting farmer decision-making in a complex production climate, and therefore to maximise potential environmental benefits. The authors thank Doris Marquardt for her assistance with this study, and Juliana D?rnhart and Julia Wright for their contributions to study design and implementation. We also thank Linda Bl?ttler and Jan Dan?kfor for assistance with the interviews in the Czech Republic. We are grateful to Flore Jeanmart, Marie Vandewalle, Lynn Dicks and the EKLIPSE Project team for their assistance with the report on which this study builds, and to Bartosz Bartkowski and one anonymous reviewer for detailed and constructive reviews that substantially improved the manuscript.

The amount of High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) is a commonly used environmental indicator for assessing the performance of the Common Agricultural Policy, to support sustainable agriculture and monitor changes in agricultural land use in Europe. HNVf comprises agricultural areas of semi-natural state, low-intensity farming and fine-scale landscape mosaics of different habitat types. For a successful implementation, the identification of HNVf should correctly reflect the variation in biodiversity values between different agricultural landscapes. We examined how well the Finnish HNVf indicator and the sub-indicators constituting it – recalculated for the purposes of this study for five study regions – reflect the variation in bird and butterfly species richness and diversity patterns at different spatial scales. We found that butterfly diversity index was positively associated with the HNVf indicator at the finest scale of 0.5 km × 0.5 km squares. Among the HNVf sub-indicators, extensive cultivation of grasslands was most strongly related to the farmland bird diversity and the density of edge to the butterfly diversity. Thus, the HNVf concept reflects well the distribution of butterflies in the Finnish agricultural landscapes but insufficiently the diversity patterns of farmland birds. Importantly, semi-natural vegetation and long-term pastures – the backbone of the concept – presently occur in small and highly fragmented patches in agricultural landscapes in Finland. The Pan-European concept of HNVf has restricted application to farmland birds of this boreal country and the national HNVf concept may need to be revised.

Use of community trait-based metrics has been increasingly implemented for achieving an integrated view of biodiversity in conservation planning. We examined the extent, to which the use of community metrics based on species traits reflecting plausible sensitivity to change would contribute to our understanding of landscape characteristics of importance to the conservation of farmland birds in a poorly studied region of Northwest Russia. We collected species data on farmland from 230 transects covering a total 215 km for each year of 2008, 2010 and 2011 and analysed them using generalised linear mixed modelling. We derived community indices from species traits of habitat specialisation, trophic position, relative brain size and body mass. By relating these indices to the numbers of all species regarded farmland and Species of European Conservation Concern (SPEC), and by analysing them against the type of field and occurrence in typical non-cropped landscape elements, we showed consistent, albeit weak, congruence among the taxonomic and trait-based community descriptors. All community descriptors had their lowest estimates in arable fields. Community specialisation was the highest in open abandoned fields, which confirms the importance of such fields as refuges for regionally specialised species. Pastures were characterised by the highest community biomass, which indicates a particularly good resource base. Presence of ditches, of all non-cropped elements, had the strongest positive relationship with the community descriptors. The SPEC number strongly correlated with the overall species richness of farmland birds. A relatively weak congruence between taxonomic and trait-based community descriptors highlights their cornplementarity in understanding the underlying mechanisms of community changes. However, similarity in patterns among field types means that, under the current level of production in the region, accounting for the species richness of farmland birds seems to be sufficient to rapidly assess community sensitivity to agricultural change.

Fallow strips are promoted through agri-climate-environment schemes to enhance farmland biodiversity, but their effects on biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services remain poorly studied in different cropping systems. The effects of fallow strips on biological control of bird cherry-oat aphids in spring barley were examined in a field experiment in Finland in 2014–2016. Two types of sown perennial fallow strips – grass strip and wildflower strip – were compared. The relative efficiency of biological pest control was tested by monitoring the number of experimentally added aphids in the fallow strips and in the adjacent barley fields at different distances from the strips. Data were also collected on the densities of naturally occurring aphids and ground-dwelling natural enemies. The effects of the fallow strips differed between years. When aphid pressure was high, the proximity of the strips slowed the growth of aphid population. In the year of low aphid abundance, the fallow strips sustained more aphids than the adjacent barley fields, but did not constitute a risk for pest control. In the second and third years, especially wildflower strips supported high activity density of ground-dwelling predators. The activity densities were particularly high in the both fallow strip types in early summer, highlighting the role of the perennial strips as refuges for natural enemies. The results suggest that perennial fallow strips, and especially those sown with diverse wildflower mixtures, can promote pest control in spring cereals, thus contributing to ecological intensification in agriculture.

Results-oriented approaches are widely regarded as an effective means to improving cost-effectiveness of agri-climate-environment schemes. We designed a hypothetical payment-by-results scheme for biodiversity conservation on environmental grasslands in Finland. The scheme would pay farmers a premium if the site contains a set number of indicator species, which were selected based on vascular plant surveys of the target habitat type. We presented the hypothetical scheme to 20 farmers and six experts (researchers, officials and advisors) in agricultural policy for their opinions on the payment-by-result approach generally and the hypothetical scheme specifically. The indicator species list proved suitable for identifying sites with high total species richness of vascular plants and also appeared feasible in the eyes of the farmers. Farmers were mostly positive about the approach and, mainly, thought their peers and society at large would receive it positively. The main concerns were about implementation, especially verifying the biodiversity results. People working for the national control body were the most critical and could not see how the hypothetical scheme could fit into the current institutionalised programme. Experience in other countries may provide solutions for overcoming such obstacles. The results are highly relevant for a discourse on social experimentation and cost-efficient delivery of public goods for public money.

High cover of forest in the landscape matrix has been shown to weaken the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on grassland butterflies. No studies have however focused on examining species-specific responses of grassland butterflies to forest. The data from 3 years of butterfly monitoring in Southern Finland were used to test whether the amount of forest cover in the surrounding landscape affected the abundance of grassland butterfly species in semi-natural grasslands, field margins, and forest edges. More than half of the studied species benefitted from high cover of forest. Species with the strongest preference for forested landscapes were Lycaena virgaureae, Argynnis adippe, Argynnis aglaja, and Boloria selene, which probably find suitable resources in herbaceous habitats at forest edges and clearings. Several small-sized species were positively affected by surrounding forest cover in field margins but not in the other habitat types. Although field margins are suboptimal habitats for grassland butterflies, they provide important corridors for dispersal. High cover of forest in the landscape matrix may enhance butterfly dispersal along field margins by reducing windiness, which is likely to be most important for small-sized species with poor dispersal capacity. The most abundant grassland species showed little or no preference for forested landscapes. Our results suggest that high cover of forest enhances the persistence of most grassland butterflies, including declining species, in boreal agricultural landscapes. The responses to forest are however strongly dependent on species-specific properties and habitat types.

Increased use of annual payments to land managers for ecological outcomes indicates a growing interest in exploring the potential of this approach. In this viewpoint, we drew on the experiences of all schemes paying for biodiversity outcomes/results on agricultural land operating in the EU and EFTA countries with the aim of reviewing the decisive elements of the schemes' design and implementation as well as the challenges and opportunities of adopting a results-based approach. We analysed the characteristics of results-based schemes using evidence from peer-reviewed literature, technical reports, scheme practitioners and experts in agri-environment-climate policy. We developed a typology of the schemes and explored critical issues influencing the feasibility and performance of results-based schemes. The evidence to date shows that there are at least 11 advantages to the results-based approach not found in management-based schemes with similar objectives, dealing with environmental efficiency, farmers' participation and development of local biodiversity-based projects. Although results-based approaches have specific challenges at every stage of design and implementation, for many of these the existing schemes provide potential solutions. There is also some apprehension about trying a results-based approach in Mediterranean, central and eastern EU Member States. We conclude that there is clear potential to expand the approach in the European Union for the Rural Development programming period for 2021-2028. Nevertheless, evidence is needed about the approach's efficiency in delivering conservation outcomes in the long term, its additionality, impact on the knowledge and attitudes of land managers and society at large, development of ways of rewarding the achievement of actual results, as well as its potential for stimulating innovative grassroots solutions.

Fallows (i.e. fields temporarily taken out of production) provide important habitat for flower-visiting insects in intensively cultivated agricultural landscapes. Cost-efficiency of fallowing schemes could be enhanced through improved understanding of key characteristics of fallows and surrounding landscape that determine community composition and provide support for species of conservation concern. Impacts of fallow characteristics and landscape structure on the species composition of butterflies and bumblebees were studied in two types of perennial fallows in boreal farmland. To understand species’ responses to environmental factors from a conservation perspective, community composition was examined with respect to two species traits—niche breadth and dispersal capacity. Whereas overall species composition of butterflies and bumblebees was strongly affected by forest cover in the surrounding landscape, the studied species traits were most related to fallow type and the cover of perennial grasslands. Habitat breadth of butterflies was narrowest in long-term grassland fallows in landscapes with high grassland cover. Dispersal capacity of butterflies was also lowest in grassland-rich landscapes. Diet breadth of bumblebees was narrower in long-term grassland fallows than in short-term fallows. The results confirm that the diversity of butterflies and bumblebees can be enhanced by establishing and managing fallows both in open and forested landscapes. For conservation of habitat specialists and less mobile species, retention of long-term fallows in grassland-rich landscapes is apparently the best option. The results provide no justification for exempting forested regions or farms with high grassland cover from the ecological focus area requirement under the European Union’s current agricultural policy.

Long-term grassland fallow and short-term meadow fallow represent alternative fallowing strategies for biodiversity conservation on farmland. Conventional grassland mixtures are used to establish long-term grassland fallows, whereas short-term meadow fallows are sown with specific meadow seed mixtures and require regular re-establishment to maintain the abundance of sown species. This study examined the impact of fallow type and landscape structure on the species richness and abundance of four taxa: plants, bumblebees, butterflies and birds. Long-term grassland fallows and short-term meadow fallows were studied in four contrasting landscape types in Finland, differing in the cover of forest and perennial grasslands. The fallow type and landscape structure affected each species group differently, and the value of a particular fallow type was also modified by landscape setting. Bumblebees were most abundant in short-term meadow fallows, whereas butterflies benefited more from long-term grassland fallows. Species richness of plants and butterflies were higher in forested than in open landscapes. Long-term grassland fallows promoted species richness of butterflies as well as the abundance of foraging edge birds in forested landscapes, whereas short-term meadow fallows enhanced the abundance of foraging edge birds in open landscapes. In landscapes with high grassland cover, the breeding density of open farmland birds was higher in meadow fallows than in grassland fallows, while the reverse was true in landscapes with low perennial grassland cover. The fallowing strategy thus can be adapted to the landscape context depending on the specific objectives. For overall biodiversity enhancement, establishing and managing different kinds of fallows is important.

This paper examines the socially optimal drainage choice (surface/subsurface) for agricultural crop cultivation in a landscape with different land qualities (fertilities) when private profits and nutrient runoff damages are taken into account. We also study the measurable social costs to increase biodiversity by surface drainage when the locations of the surface-drained areas in a landscape affect the provided biodiversity. We develop a general theoretical model and apply it to empirical data from Finnish agriculture. We find that for low land qualities the measurable social returns are higher to surface drainage than to subsurface drainage, and that the profitability of subsurface drainage increases along with land quality. The measurable social costs to increase biodiversity by surface drainage under low land qualities are negative. For higher land qualities, these costs depend on the land quality and on the biodiversity impacts. Biodiversity conservation plans for agricultural landscapes should focus on supporting surface drainage systems in areas where the measurable social costs to increase biodiversity are negative or lowest.

A consensus has been established that functional traits rather than taxonomic diversity play a fundamental role in linking biodiversity with ecosystem processes and associated services. This study from Finland addressed an issue of relative values of fallow and field margin biotopes in conservation of plant functional diversity (based on six functional traits of relevance to ecosystem services, and diversity of multiple traits) in agricultural landscapes differing in their structural complexity. Relative covers of plant species were surveyed in sampling plots located in perennial fallow fields and three types of perennial margins (margins between crop fields, along forest edges and by river) in three types of landscape context (simple, intermediate and complex). Fallow fields significantly contributed to the total functional diversity only in simple landscapes. The river margins provided the greatest functional diversity, especially in reproduction and regeneration traits while crop margins were consistently characterized by the lowest functional diversity. Substantial functional diversity of fallow patches in simple landscapes was due to high abundance of functional species, while that of river margins stemmed from presence of unique species. The plant functional diversity progressively declined with agricultural landscapes becoming simplified. The study indicates non-cropped biotopes having complementary roles in ensuring multifunctionality of agro-landscapes and confirms importance of biotope mosaic for functional diversity.

Traditional rural biotopes (TRBs) are semi-natural farmland habitats of high nature value formed through traditional agricultural activities, such as grazing and fodder collection. The aims of this study were to 1) understand manager motivations for managing TRBs and their attitudes toward TRB conservation and 2) determine whether TRB managers differ in attitude, motivation for management, experiences or area under management depending on whether their managed TRBs are integrated or separate from their farming systems. Farmers and landowners (N = 27) managing TRBs in coastal Finland were interviewed. In addition to quantitative analysis, responses were mapped with DebateGraph for inductive analysis to discern patterns amongst the two groups and to explore a series of questions related to motivations. Although area under management and farming strategy varied amongst managers, they all had a positive view toward the existential value of TRBs. A small group of “TRB entrepreneurs”, whose farming strategy was based on grazing primarily rented TRBs was identified. Their farming income was dependent upon direct sale of meat and participation in agri-environmental scheme for TRB management. Desire for open landscape was the primary motivation for managing TRBs and strongly outweighed extrinsic values such as fodder production and AES. Higher TRB: farm ratio was associated with more positive attitude toward TRBs and TRB conservation. No difference was found in motivation for management between the two farmer groups. Although motivations were similar, improved and tailored extension services for TRB managers could promote their conservation management.

Farmland biodiversity dramatically declined in Europe during the 20th century. Agri-environment schemes (AES) were introduced in the late 1980s in European Union countries as a solution to combat biodiversity decline. We examined the effectiveness of AES in enhancing biodiversity in a new EU member country (Estonia) over the period of 2010–2012. We compared species numbers and abundance of bumblebees and birds, plus cover of flowers, between three farming systems in two regions of Estonia. Farm types included conventional and two under AES (organic and a less strict environmentally friendly management agreement). Environmentally friendly management practices in Estonia include diversified crop rotations, at least 15% of arable land (including rotational grasslands) under legumes, permanent grassland strips, protection of landscape elements, reduced applications of agrochemicals, etc. The two selected regions (North and South) differed in landscape structure, soil types and crop yields. Flower cover and bird species richness and abundance without the dominant species (skylark) were higher on organic farms. Bumblebee species richness was significantly higher under both types of AES than under conventional farming. Flower cover, abundance and species richness of bumblebees and birds were significantly higher in the more heterogeneous landscapes of Southern Estonia. Environmentally friendly management may be a viable alternative to organic farming for a widely accepted, simple but large-scale greening of agricultural landscapes.

We conducted an inventory of birds in an agricultural landscape of 45 000 ha in the Northwest Russia, compared breeding densities of farmland species among existing fields types, and followed the seasonal pattern of field use by birds over a period of three months of May–July. We collected the data on transects in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. We analysed seasonal and spatial patterns of field use by generalised additive mixed models and multivariate procedures. The results confirm the importance of the region's agrolandscape for migrating birds. We observed distinct species communities among field types, especially in arable fields during spring migration and in abandoned fields and pastures in late summer. Pastures, multispecies grasslands as well as abandoned fields exhibited a particularly high habitat value for farmland birds. Arable fields had low habitat values for breeding birds. Our study reinforces the importance of a mosaic of land uses within the agrolandscape not only due to the species-specific habitat selection by breeding birds but also intra-seasonal variation in field utilisation for both breeding and non-breeding purposes. The results indicate that extensive use of grasslands, retention of some of the abandoned fields as open fallows, and certain increase of production on cereal fields could be a nature-friendly alternative for increasing agricultural production in the region.

A novel agri-environment scheme for Environmental Fallows (EFs) was introduced in Finland to replace a former obligatory set-aside under the Common Agricultural Policy. It currently keeps fallow at nearly 7% of the agricultural land area and therefore may make a unique contribution to the enhancement of farmland biodiversity on the national scale. Farmers can chose from four types of EF fields (game, grassland, landscape, and meadow) or their combination as long as their total annual area falls within 5–15% of the field area. We studied the biodiversity value of EF fields in three regions across Finland ( n = 229) based on survey data of vegetation in four fallow types. We compared EF plant communities to those of other non-cropped biotopes (margins and semi-natural grasslands) ( n = 99). The meadow type sown with low competitive grasses and meadow species has proven to be the most species-rich EF type, approaching the diversity level of semi-natural meadows. Vegetation of the grassland type varied considerably ranging from swards similar to those of production grasslands to ones typical for semi-natural meadows. The vegetation composition of the game and landscape types of EF differed most from the other non-cropped biotopes, and other EFs. Plant species richness in the perennial fallows correlated positively with the parcel size (through increased within-field diversity) and age, and variation in the sward height. It was negatively related to the sward’s height and density, and the reported fertility level before EF establishment. Plant species richness in EFs was not related to the forest cover in the surrounding landscape. The scheme to a greater extent than the former set-aside contributed to both the amount and diversity of non-cropped vegetation on the landscape level. The long-term efficiency of the current scheme is likely to be compromised by its untargeted and unbinding nature.

Until now the main instrument to counteract the loss of biodiversity and landscape quality in the European countryside has been agri-environment schemes (AES), which offer short-term payments for performing prescribed environmental management behaviors. In our opinion this approach is, in its current set-up, not a sustainable way of enhancing biodiversity and landscape quality. Here we will argue that conservation in agricultural areas is also a social challenge. To change farmers’ behaviors toward more sustainable conservation of farmland biodiversity, instruments should aim to influence individual farmer's motivation and behavior. We should aim to place farmland biodiversity “in the hands and minds of farmers.”

A novel agri-environment scheme for Environmental Fallow (EF) was introduced in Finland to replace a former obligatory CAP set-aside. Though potentially highly valuable, the ability of the current scheme for delivering the stated objectives of water protection, biodiversity, and soil state is yet to be confirmed. The presentation evaluates the role of the scheme for protection of surface waters and biodiversity based on data from the farmer interviews, field data on vegetation, and land-use register for the regions of Uusimaa, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa and Pirkanmaa. In 2010, over 7% of the agricultural utilized area was enrolled under the scheme with four types of fields: long-term grasslands, and fields sown with meadow plants, game crops or landscape flowers. The scheme has been highly popular among farmers but requires agronomic development of the options to reduce establishment failure, and optimise management for the best environmental output with the least agronomic problems. The potential of the scheme to protect surface waters is marginal since only 10% of EFs is situated near the water courses. The option of fallowing by establishing grassland, or by enrolling existing low productive grassland, was the most popular type of EF. The most biologically valuable meadow type remains rare, and the desired vegetation composition is non stable. The vegetation composition of the EF is more diverse than that under the former set-aside and also differs from that of other non-cropped biotopes such as margins and semi-natural grasslands. Plant species diversity correlated negatively with the reported fertility level of the parcels and therefore establishing grassland and meadow fallows on the least productive parcels is ecologically justified. However, possible targeting of the options according to the landscape setting should be investigated. At the current level, the scheme has succeeded to reverse the fallowing area to its state during the EU set-aside period. However, potential long-term efficiency of the current scheme is likely to be compromised by its untargeted and unbinding nature, and existing agronomic challenges in “sowing for nature”. Without a minimum required area, the scheme totally depends on the current and forecasted profit margin.

The set-aside obligation under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) brought widespread benefits for wild farmland species. Shortly after it was abolished in 2008, the national political process in Finland replaced it with a targeted agri-environment scheme for environmental fallow. Though potentially highly valuable, the value of the current scheme for securing biodiversity is yet to be confirmed. This study evaluates the importance of set-asides established under CAP to all birds of open farmland based on national monitoring data from 2001 to 2006. The set-aside fields supported 25–40% more species and held 60–105% more pairs of birds typical of open farmland in comparison with cereal fields within a similar landscape setting. The estimated effect of set-aside presence in farmland on the studied bird species is large enough to trigger considerable changes in bird populations on the national scale. The relevance of the results to the novel agri-environment scheme is discussed.

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) by legumes is an important source of N to agriculture, particularly under organic farming conditions. The objectives of this study were to document amounts of and ...

There was a clear indication that the more intensively farmed areas across the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania provided habitat for fewer bird species and individuals. The abundance of farmland specialist birds was significantly lower by 20% in the more intensive areas as compared to less intensive ones. The difference could partly be explained by the more heterogeneous landscape and field areas in the latter. An analysis of the data from homogeneous arable fields indicated that agricultural intensification was reflected in a tangible decrease in farmland bird abundance, especially in species in need of edge structures. Considerable improvements are needed in conservation safeguards for the region facing intensification of production.

We reviewed studies on the biological state of agricultural drainage ditches in the temperate and boreal zones of the Northern Hemisphere. We looked at the relative importance of ditches for farmland biota as compared to that of other habitats, and assessed the degree to which biological communities of ditches contribute to the provisioning of ecosystem services. We evaluated impacts pertaining to replacement of open drains by subsurface drainage, removal of main ditches, rehabilitation of old drainage systems, and maintenance of ditches. Most ditches support species also common elsewhere. Whenever comprehensive surveys were conducted, ditches were shown to provide valuable wet vegetated non-cropped habitats to both aquatic and terrestrial taxa, supply food resources lacking in otherwise dry and intensively managed cropland, and perform connectivity functions within a wider landscape. Regionally ditches were shown to harbour rare species or species not found presently in other farmland habitats. Some functions of drainage ditches, such as regulating water flow and nutrient retention, are likely to depend on the composition and structure of biological communities of ditches, though the issue remains poorly explored. The biggest threat to the quality of ditch networks as ecosystems is presented by a severe runoff from the fields, management in disregard of a habitat value of ditches, and removal of ditches.

Data on birds occurring in farmland in the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were related to the spatial organisation of farmed habitats in three different agricultural landscape types. Species richness, abundance, and diversity of farmland bird communities, as well as abundance of the most frequently observed species were positively related to the number of residual non-cropped elements within farmland, the local mixture of annual crop and grass fields, and the variety of field types. The positive association of the species richness and abundance of the farmland bird community with richness in residual habitats and crops was most prominent in open landscapes. The results suggest that, by simplifying farmland structure and making it more homogenous, EU agricultural policies will have a detrimental effect on farmland bird populations in Eastern Europe. Ways of better targeting of the agri-environment schemes are suggested.

A large proportion of European biodiversity today depends on habitat provided by low‐intensity farming practices, yet this resource is declining as European agriculture intensifies. Within the European Union, particularly the central and eastern new member states have retained relatively large areas of species‐rich farmland, but despite increased investment in nature conservation here in recent years, farmland biodiversity trends appear to be worsening. Although the high biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland has long been reported, the amount of research in the international literature focused on farmland biodiversity in this region remains comparatively tiny, and measures within the EU Common Agricultural Policy are relatively poorly adapted to support it. In this opinion study, we argue that, 10 years after the accession of the first eastern EU new member states, the continued under‐representation of the low‐intensity farmland in Central and Eastern Europe in the international literature and EU policy is impeding the development of sound, evidence‐based conservation interventions. The biodiversity benefits for Europe of existing low‐intensity farmland, particularly in the central and eastern states, should be harnessed before they are lost. Instead of waiting for species‐rich farmland to further decline, targeted research and monitoring to create locally appropriate conservation strategies for these habitats is needed now., Volkswagen Foundation

Lepsämänjoki LTSER (long term social ecological research platform) kuuluu kahdeksan muun erilaisia ekosysteemityyppejä edustavan verkoston kanssa vuonna 2007 perustettuun Suomen LTSER- konsortioon (FinLTSER: http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=257172&lan=FI). FinLTSER puolestaan on samana vuonna hyväksytty kv. ILTER -verkostoon jäseneksi (http://www.ilternet.edu/). LTSER toiminnan perusajatus on luoda ja ylläpitää ekosysteemitutkimuksen infrastruktuureja, joissa pitkäaikainen ja seuranta-aineistoihin perustuva tutkimus kohdistuu ns. ydinalueelle. Tällainen ydinalue on maantieteellisesti määritelty ekosysteemialue, jossa verkoston tutkimusryhmät tuottavat pitkäaikaista, julkista ja hyvin dokumentoitua seurantaja tutkimustietoa sosioekologisista ekosysteemin tilaan ja muutokseen sekä muutosta ohjaaviin voimiin liittyvistä muuttujista. LTSER- verkoston tulisi mahdollistaa monitieteinen ja tieteidenvälinen sosioekologinen tutkimus, ja sen tulisi tuottaa laadukasta tutkimusdataa kv. tutkimusyhteisön käyttöön. Lepsämänjoki LTSER on keskeisten maatalousekosysteemien tilasta ja muutoksesta kiinnostuneiden tutkimuslaitosten ja –ryhmien verkosto. Se on avoin yhteenliittymä, joka pyrkii kehittämään julkista ja yleishyödyllistä yhteistyötä ja infrastruktuuria maatalousympäristön monitieteiseen tutkimukseen. Verkoston ydinalue on Lepsämänjoen maataloudellinen valuma-alue, joka suurimmaksi osaksi kuuluu Uusimaalaisen Nurmijärven kunnan alueeseen noin 30 km Helsingistä luoteeseen (60° 23' 60° 28' N, 24° 31' 24° 43' E). Se on topografialtaan laakea 213 km² suuruinen alue, jossa harjoitetaan Etelä-Suomen savikoille ominaista peltoviljelyvaltaista maataloutta. Alueen pohjoisosassa on useita vihannesviljelyyn keskittyneitä tiloja. Alue on kaupungin läheistä maaseutua, jolle muualla työskentelevien haja-asutus leviää, ja jonka eteläosassa sijaitseva Klaukkalan taajama on kasvussa. Lepsämänjoen valuma-alueelta on parhaimmillaan jo vuosikymmenten ajalta biofysikaalisiin ympäristömuuttujiin liittyviä tutkimusaineistoja: jokiveden laatu, maatalouden ravinne- ja kiintoaineskuormitus, maataloudellinen maankäyttö, maatalouden ravinnetaseet, maalajit ja topografia, alue-ekologinen monimuotoisuus, putkilokasvien, perhosten ja peltolintujen lajimonimuotoisuus. Verkoston eri tutkimusryhmät ovat toisistaan riippumatta koonneet em. aineistoja eri seurannoissa ja tutkimus- ja kehityshankkeissa. Lepsämänjoki LTSER-verkoston tavoite on LTSER-konseptin mukaisesti verkostoitumisen avulla kehittää tutkimuksen infrastruktuuria, parantaa seuranta-aineistojen saatavuutta ja laatua sekä edistää ekologisen, ympäristöja yhteiskunnallisen tutkimuksen integraatiota. Tiedustelut voi osoittaa verkoston koordinaattorille (juha.helenius@helsinki.fi).

Birds are commonly used as an example of the strongly declining farmland biodiversity in Europe. The populations of many species have been shown to suffer from intensification of management, reduction of landscape heterogeneity, and habitat loss and fragmentation. These conditions particularly dominate farmland in the economically well developed countries of Western Europe. Currently, the farmland environment in Central-Eastern Europe is generally more extensive than in Western Europe and a larger proportion of people still live in rural areas; thus generating different conditions for birds living in agricultural areas. Furthermore, the quasi-subsistence farming in much of Central-Eastern Europe has resulted in agricultural landscapes that are generally more complex than those in Western Europe. To protect declining bird populations living in farmland, detailed knowledge on both species and communities is necessary. However, due to scientific tradition and availability of funding, the majority of studies have been carried out in Western Europe. In consequence this provokes a question: are findings obtained in western conditions useful to identify the fate of farmland bird biodiversity in Central-Eastern Europe? Therefore, the major goal of this paper is to highlight some local and regional differences in biodiversity patterns within EU farmland by comparing intensive agricultural landscapes with more extensive ones. More specifically, we aim to outline differences in agricultural landscapes and land use history in the two regions, use farmland birds to provide examples of the differences in species dynamics and species-habitat interactions between the two regions, and discuss possible social and ecological drivers of the differences in the context of biodiversity conservation. Factors governing spatio-temporal dynamics of farmland bird populations may differ in intensive and extensive landscapes as illustrated here using the Grey Partridge Perdix perdix and the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio as examples. The unevenness of farmland bird studies distribution across Europe was also presented. We call for more emphasis on pluralism in furthering both pan-European research on farmland bird ecology and conservation strategies. We also highlight some features specific to Central-Eastern Europe that merit consideration for the more efficient conservation of farmland birds and farmland biodiversity across Europe.

The impacts of agricultural land use are far-reaching and extend to areas outside production. This paper provides an overview of the ecological status of agricultural systems across the European Union in the light of recent policy changes. It builds on the previous review of 2001 devoted to the impacts of agricultural intensification in Western Europe. The focus countries are the UK, The Netherlands, Boreal and Baltic countries, Portugal, Hungary and Romania, representing a geographical spread across Europe, but additional reference is made to other countries. Despite many adjustments to agricultural policy, intensification of production in some regions and concurrent abandonment in others remain the major threat to the ecology of agro-ecosystems impairing the state of soil, water and air and reducing biological diversity in agricultural landscapes. The impacts also extend to surrounding terrestrial and aquatic systems through water and aerial contamination and development of agricultural infrastructures (e.g. dams and irrigation channels). Improvements are also documented regionally, such as successful support of farmland species, and improved condition of watercourses and landscapes. This was attributed to agricultural policy targeted at the environment, improved environmental legislation, and new market opportunities. Research into ecosystem services associated with agriculture may provide further pressure to develop policy that is targeted at their continuous provisioning, fostering motivation of land managers to continue to protect and enhance them.

Influences of ley age, soil properties, and geographical location on the herbage production of red clover-grass leys were determined under practical conditions on 27 organic farms located in the southern and in the northwestern coastal regions of Finland. Averaged over one-, two-, and three-year-old leys the accumulated first and second cuts produced 7.12 t dry matter herbage ha-1 year-1, with a clover proportion of 34.8%. Herbage production declined with increasing ley age. The average proportion of clover increased from 26.4% in the first to 43.7% in the second cut but decreased with ley age. Within- and between-field variations of clover proportions markedly decreased from the first to the second cut and strongly increased with ley age, while changes in the variations of herbage production were less pronounced. Within-field variations of clover proportions in the first and in the second cuts were higher at lower proportions of clover. Herbage production was positively related with clover proportion. Soil properties had a major impact on clover proportion and herbage production, largely explaining also regional differences in ley growth. Amelioration of fields and, not at least, of less fertile sites within the same field seems to be a crucial requirement for higher and more even clover proportions and herbage yields.

Intensification of agricultural land-use was shown to be the key reason behind declines in wildlife species associated with farmland. I looked at scenarios of agricultural development across the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the ways they are seen to affect farmed environments as a habitat of farmland bird species. Community richness and abundance of many farmland bird species were positively related to the number of non-cropped elements within farmland, the local mixture of annual crop and grass fields, and the variety of field types. The above positive associations were strongest in open landscapes. There was a clear indication that the more intensively farmed areas across the region provided habitat for fewer bird species and individuals. The difference could partly be explained by the more heterogeneous landscape and field areas in the latter. Within homogenous arable fields intensification of field management was reflected in a tangible decrease in farmland bird abundance, especially in species in need of edge structures. Based on the interviews in Estonia and Finland I explored farmers’ interest in and knowledge of farmland wildlife, their understanding of the concept of biodiversity, and awareness of the potential causes behind declines of farmland birds. Many farmers viewed biodiversity from a narrow perspective often excluding species directly related to farming. In Finland farmers expressed concern about the decline in common farmland species, but Estonian farmers did not, which might be related to the fact that these species are still very common. In both countries farmers rated intensification of agriculture as the major driving force behind farmland bird declines. The expressed interest in wildlife positively correlated with willingness to undertake wildlife-friendly measures. Only farmers with agri-environment contracts targeted specifically at biodiversity enhancement were more knowledgeable about practical on-farm activities favouring wildlife, and were more willing to employ them that the rest. The results suggest that, by contributing to simplification of the farmland structure, homogenisation of crops, and increase in intensity of field use EU agricultural policies will have a detrimental effect on farmland bird populations in Eastern Europe. Farmers are on the whole positive to the idea of supporting wildlife in the fields, and are concerned about its decline, but they require payments to offset their income loss and extra work. Biodiversity conservation should be better integrated into the agri-environment programmes if it to serve as awareness tool for farmers. I argue that with a foreseen tripling of cereal yields across the region, the EU Council’s Göteborg target of slowing biodiversity decline by 2010 may not be realistic unless considerable improvements are made into the EU agricultural policy for the region.

The general structure of farmland bird communities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was explored based on the large-scale survey in 2002. Input of major farmed habitats to the species richness and abundance of all bird species and groups of farmland specialist and declining species, as well as the abundance of individual farmland species across the region were assessed. The contribution of these to the communities. characteristics and the abundance of a number of farmland species varied across the region. Fewer species were associated with crop fields, especially where farmland was dominated by arable production. There abandoned fields featured as a positive predictor. More species were related to the presence of natural grasslands in the North and seeded grassland in the South of the region. The variation reflected the geographical position and differences in the fragmentation level of farmland, soil types and vegetation development pattern. The results are discussed in relation to agri-environment plann...