Training materials on biodiversity assessment

Regions will be asked to share indicators and projects on measuring biodiversity. A synthesis will be made to help the group to improve a harmonised approach that could be used more widely. In DAIRYMAN, a methodology was developed to quantify the impact of dairy farming on biodiversity, based on indirect indicators related to semi-natural habitats. These describe the mechanism and causal relationship of agricultural practices on taxonomic responses (species biodiversity on the dairy farm). Habitat area/semi natural land cover are generally straightforward to assess, and can be an informative indicator of farmland biodiversity. This methodology will be used to estimate biodiversity status on a sample of 40 EuroDairy pilot farms, and potentially adapted to different types of dairy farming system by incorporating elements of other existing methods.