Svein Olav Krøgli
Research Scientist
(+47) 469 20 837
svein.olav.krogli@nibio.no
Place
Ås O43
Visiting address
Oluf Thesens vei 43, 1433 Ås
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The study focuses on ecosystem services, historical aspects, and natural diversity. Specifically, it assesses possible proxies for investigating a set of cultural ecosystem services from the Norwegian agricultural landscape. Agricultural areas on the Norwegian land cover map surrounded by a 100 m wide buffer zone were analyzed for recorded historical buildings, cultural heritage sites, red-listed vascular plant species (defined as being at varying degrees at risk of extinction), and red-listed nature types (defined as endangered or vulnerable). The results indicate significant contributions from agricultural landscapes with respect to historical buildings, cultural heritage sites, and red-listed plant species. Regarding red-listed nature types, the contributions were diverse. The ecosystem proxies investigated showed increasing distribution trends with increasing proportions of agricultural landscapes in the spatial units, with a sharp increase with smaller area sizes. However, for cultural heritage sites the trend was different when the proportion of the agricultural landscape was below 25%; it showed a very slow increase. In conclusion, the study highlights the agricultural landscape’s diverse contributions to the investigated ecosystem services in Norway, prompting the need for further research on additional ecosystem services to ensure the continued delivery of environmental and social well-being.
Authors
Christian Pedersen Svein Olav Krøgli Shivesh Karan Svein Dale Grete Stokstad Diress Tsegaye AlemuAbstract
Over recent decades, farmland and meadow-breeding bird populations in Europe have markedly declined, attributed to factors like agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Parts of the Norwegian Monitoring Programme for Agricultural Landscapes explore the correlation between land use and bird species, aiming to understand how spatial heterogeneity and land use diversity affect the richness, abundance, and distribution of farmland birds. Between 2000 and 2023, we saw declining populations and reduced distributions of several farmland bird species within the monitoring squares. Additionally, we found that both spatial heterogeneity of land use and high land type diversity positively influenced farmland birds. This gives important insight on how to design biodiverse agricultural landscapes. We also examined the impact of agricultural intensity on 25 farmland bird species, using livestock density and pasture size as indicators. Larger pastures generally benefited a wide range of farmland bird species. Different bird species responded variably to livestock numbers, but high livestock density led to a decrease in overall farmland bird abundance. Many countries subsidize sustainable farming to protect biodiversity. We studied Norwegian agri-environmental schemes' impact on farmland and meadow-breeding birds. We found that bird observations rose when these measures were in place but often declined once the support ended. Furthermore, the schemes were geographically limited and relatively few farmers participated. While short-term benefits were evident, long-term effects remain uncertain, highlighting the need for improved conservation strategies. Emphasizing the importance of spatially heterogeneous agricultural landscapes with high land type diversity and natural areas, the study indicates the type of agricultural landscapes we should be aiming for to maintain and restore biodiversity.