Research into optimizing the creation of flower strips to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, with a particular focus on protecting meadow birds in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt places a strong emphasis on promoting biodiversity in agricultural landscapes as part of its agri-environmental and climate measures (AUKM) by creating perennial flower strips/areas with certified, regional wild plant origins. Particularly in structurally poor agricultural landscapes, perennial flower strips fulfill a variety of functions as stepping stones or connecting corridors in the biotope network and serve as feeding, breeding, refuge, and wintering habitats for numerous animal groups, such as birds, butterflies and wild bees, amphibians, small mammals, ground beetles and spiders, insects and mollusks. They increase the recreational value of the cultural landscape and enrich the landscape. In addition to cultural ecosystem services, they promote important regulatory and provisioning services such as biological pest control, pollination, and soil fertility

Despite these positive experiences with wild plant flower strips, farmers have been slow to adopt the AUKM “Perennial Flower Strips” program. The poor acceptance is due, among other things, to considerable skepticism regarding the success of the flower strip mixtures under practical conditions. In addition, fears have been expressed about weed infestation of the stands and subsequent sanctions by the control authorities. However, the maintenance requirements for successful establishment may conflict with meadow bird protection (protection of ground-nesting bird species). The possible impact on meadow breeders is the subject of contradictory debate among ornithologists. There is therefore an urgent need for research into the effects of flower strips on meadow breeders and the optimization of maintenance from the point of view of bird protection. In addition, doubts have been raised about the ecological effectiveness of such measures in the agricultural landscape, as there have been few scientific studies to date on the effect of wild plant flower strips on species at higher trophic levels and on the connectivity effect of these flower strips. Ecologists question the small area covered by flower strips

Project priorities

As part of the project, the multi-year flower strips created by farmers in Saxony-Anhalt under the new funding program (EPLR 2014-2020) will be scientifically evaluated in order to eliminate the knowledge gaps described above. In particular, the effects on biodiversity in agricultural landscapes will be systematically investigated. Furthermore, systematic surveys will be conducted among farmers to analyze their acceptance of the program, identify obstacles to implementation, and develop solutions to increase motivation to participate in the program for the establishment of perennial wildflower strips. Based on the project results, future measures to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes will be optimized.

Project region

Saxony-Anhalt

Further project details

• Project phase 1: Selection of test areas and survey of farmers

  In the first phase of the project, the foundations will be laid for a systematic evaluation of the effects on biodiversity in perennial flower strips compared to reference areas. First, an analysis of the landscape ecology of the perennial flower strips will be carried out. Along the gradient from cleared to structurally rich landscapes, 20 isolated and 20 aggregated flower strips will then be selected using stratified random sampling. Twenty representative arable areas without flower strips will be selected as reference areas to enable a comparison with/without for the animal species under investigation and thus quantify the effect of perennial flower strips on the occurrence of bird species.

  A representative survey on the acceptance of the AUKM “perennial wild plant flower strips” is being conducted among farmers in Saxony-Anhalt. In the second phase of the project, the interviews will serve as a basis for developing optimization proposals for future measures to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

  Sample area selection: Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

  Survey of farmers: Stiftung Kulturlandschaft Saxony-Anhalt

• Project phase 2: Floristic and faunistic surveys

  In the second phase of the project, the following surveys will be conducted and evaluated on the 40 selected flower strips and on 20 arable fields without flower strips (reference areas):

  Floristic mapping of flower strips and reference areas

  • Establishment rate and proportion of seeded plant species in the total cover (flower strips) and spontaneously occurring plant species and their proportions on the reference strips
  • Proportion of nectar and pollen plants and proportion of problematic non-target species

  Faunistic surveys of flower strips and reference areas (field birds)

  • Recording of field bird species (breeding birds, use as feeding habitat) and potential breeding habitats on flower strips and reference sites (=with/without comparison)
  • Assessment of the total potential of the animal group studied in the landscape area
  • Determination of the proportion and distance of existing habitat types in the vicinity of the study areas
  • Comparison of the occurrence of field birds depending on existing landscape structures and species potential in the landscape

   

• Materials on the topic of “More biodiversity in the agricultural landscape”

  • Measures to promote biodiversity in agriculture(as of June 2018)

  • Poster on “Effects of perennial wildflower strips on floristic and avifaunal diversity in the agricultural landscape of Saxony-Anhalt” (as of June 2018)