AG-BIOTA

Monitoring, Functional Significance and Management for the Maintenance and Economic Utilisation of Biodiversity in the Intensively Farmed Landscape - Synthesis Report for the ERTDI-funded project: 2001-CD-B1-M1

Summary: STRIVE Report 21 - G. Purvis et al.

Agriculture accounts for about 62% of Ireland’s land area. Due to the intensification of agricultural methods, there has been a drastic change in the farmed landscape since the second half of the last century, and a widely perceived decline in Irish biodiversity similar to that experienced across much of Western Europe. This integrated study, informally known as the ‘Ag-Biota’ Project, was funded as a 5-year ‘capability development’ project starting in 2001, to develop capacity and expertise in biodiversity research within the context of agriculture. The Project had four specified objectives:

1. To develop research capacity and methodologies for biodiversity monitoring within agroecosystems
2. To identify and investigate key aspects of agricultural practice that influence biodiversity
3. To develop a better understanding of the benefits and utilisation of natural populations within agricultural production systems
4. To address fundamental ecological questions regarding the functional value of biological diversity.

Also available for download:

• Print-Quality Version (i.e. high resolution PDF) of  STRIVE Report 21

• End of Project Report  (e.g. Final Report). EPA STRIVE Reports are formatted and proofread by the EPA. End-of-Project Reports are prepared and finalised by the authors:

  • G. Purvis et al.: Biodiversity - Monitoring, Functional Significance and Management for the Maintenance and Economic Utilisation of Biodiversity in the Intensively Farmed Landscape

• Summary of Findings - AG-BIOTA – Monitoring, Functional Significance and Management for the Maintenance and Economic Utilisation of Biodiversity in the Intensively Farmed Landscape