The effects of land-use intensity and spatial configuration of the landscape on biodiversity on farms
Informations
- Funding country
Netherlands- Acronym
- -
- URL
- -
- Start date
- 10/1/2000
- End date
- 12/31/2002
- Budget
- -
Fundings
| Name | Role | Start | End | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other funding | Grant | 10/1/2000 | 12/31/2002 | - |
Abstract
Agricultural activity has a major impact on biodiversity .In the Netherlands important losses of biodiversity have occurred as a result of intensification of agricultural production and specialization, resulting in monocultures. Losses in biodiversity include insects, birds, mammals and other classes of species. Biodiversity may be protected by changing landscape structure and land use intensity ( e.g. the use of pesticides, fertilizers, crop rotations ). The study focuses on new methodologies and applications of environmental economic analysis of biodiversity protection in agricultural areas by analyzing cost-effective altematives for biodiversity protection with spatially explicit models. The scientific objectives are: .to develop and elaborate a methodology to assess the efficiency of policies for biodiversity protection and restoration in agricultural areas, and .to analyze the trade off between production and biodiversity protection, and/or positive economic spillover effects of biodiversity conservation. Emphasis will be on the economic effects of changes in the spatial configuration of agricultural production and land use intensity .A number of case studies will be identified in col1aboration with the other two sub-projects in areas that differ in their spatial characteristics (such as shape and size of fields) and on farms that differ in land-use intensity (e.g. fertilizer application, use of chemicals). In these areas a detailed analysis wil1 take place to determine the economic costs and effects of various scenarios for changes in spatial pattems and intensity of land use. These effects wil1 be confronted with the impacts on biodiversity as established by means of the sub-projects 1 and 3. In this way the projects provides the economic analysis required to asses the economic impacts of various scenarios for biodiversity protection. The modules that calculate of the economic impacts wil1 be implemented in the model LARCH (see sub-project 3) that wil1 be used for establishing the impacts on biodiversity.