Dietmar Simmering

Biodiversity at the landscape level: recent concepts and perspectives for multifunctional land use

The interest of scientists, policy makers, and the general public in the concept of ‘multifunctional’ landscapes has increased enormously in recent years. The fact that landscapes provide a large number of beneficial functions and services to human beings, which go far beyond agriand silvicultural production, is now widely accepted (Foley et al. 2005). Non-commodity outputs as well as a wide array of ecosystem functions are considered to be indispensable properties of landscapes, and decision-makers are challenged by the need to consider all relevant landscape functions in management decisions at all spatial scales and each administrative level (Pinto-Correia et al. 2006). The concept of landscape multifunctionality is obviously closely related with landscape sustainability, but emphasizes more strongly the land user’s and stakeholder’s perspective. In the European Union, the ‘multifunctionality of agriculture’ has become the key concept of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (Tait 2001). Multifunctionality is promoted by the EU in response to liberalisation pressures, and is seen as a way to address social and ecological concerns such as farm abandonment and biodiversity loss through agricultural subsidy policies (Potter and Burney 2002; Hollander 2004; Potter 2006). The benefits of agriculture to rural development, regulation functions and biodiversity are currently rewarded with an increasing share of EU-agricultural subsidies being transferred towards the production of ecosystem goods and services. The resulting regional agrienvironmental schemes of the member states pursue to secure the conservation and sustainable development of the old cultural landscapes (Vos and Meekes 1999; Deuffic and Candau 2006; Holloway et al. 2006; Potter 2006). However, while the concept of ‘multifunctionality’ receives also recognition outside the EU (USA: Hollander 2004; Bills and Gross 2005, Canada: Maxey 2006; Robinson 2006, Australia: Anderson 2000; Cocklin et al. 2006), it becomes increasingly evident that there is often a gap between the claim and reality of environmental (e.g., Kleijn et al. 2001), economic (e.g., Brunstad et al. 2005) or social effects (e.g., Gafsi et al. 2006) of agricultural policies. Thus, to create effective policies for the sustainable development of multifunctional landscapes, there is a demand of society and A. Otte (&) D. Simmering Division of Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use, and Nutrition (IFZ), Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, Giessen D-35392, Germany e-mail: annette.otte@agrar.uni-giessen.de

Estimation and prediction of plant species richness in a mosaic landscape

Traditional agricultural mosaic landscapes are likely to undergo dramatic changes through either intensification or abandonment of land use. Both developmental trends may negatively affect the vascular plant species richness of such landscapes. Therefore, sustainable land-use systems need to be developed to maintain and re-establish species richness at various spatial scales. To evaluate the sustainability of specific land-use systems, we need approaches for the effective assessment of the present species richness and models that can predict the effects on species richness as realistically as possible. In this context, we present a methodology to estimate and predict vascular plant species richness at the local and the regional scale. In our approach, the major determinants of vascular plant species richness within the study area are taken into consideration: These are according to Duellis mosaic concept the number of habitat types and of habitat patches within area units. Furthermore, it is based on the relative frequencies of species within habitat types. Our approach comprises six steps: (i) the determination of present habitat patterns within an observation area, (ii) the creation of a land-use scenario with simulated habitat patterns, (iii) the determination of species frequencies within habitat types of this area, (iv) a grouping of habitat-specific species, (v) the estimation of the probabilities for all species (or habitat specialists) to occur, either in stepwise, exponentially enlarged landscape tracts (local scale), or in the entire observation area (regional scale), and (vi) the validation of the estimated species numbers. The approach will be exemplified using data from the municipal district of Erda, Lahn-Dill Highlands, Germany. The current species numbers to be expected on the basis of probability calculations were compared with those recorded on the basis of extensive field work. This comparison shows that, on the basis of our simple calculations, the current local plant species richness can be predicted well, with a slight underestimation.

Floristic diversity at the habitat scale in agricultural landscapes of Central Europe: summary, conclusions and perspectives

Abstract Referring to the agricultural history in Central Europe determinants of floristic diversity at the habitat scale and the decline in diversity over the last few decades are described. In this context the preservation of floristic diversity is stressed to be one important goal of modern, multifunctional agricultural land use. To reach this goal indicators of diversity are useful tools to evaluate the effects management practices have on floristic diversity in agro-ecosystems. However, “key indicators” that allow an easy assessment and evaluation of diversity are still lacking. Potentially, indicators of biodiversity measures at the habitat scale can be developed from a large number of parameters. An attempt to classify parameters into three major types of indicators and requirements indicators have to meet are presented. Based on the contributions in this special issue and further references recent approaches to indicate floristic diversity at the habitat scale in agricultural landscapes of Central Europe are summarized and discussed. It is concluded that further research should focus on the validation of existing approaches and their integration into a comprehensive set of indicators and on the development of standardized modes of collection for data.

Using existing landscape data to assess the ecological potential of Miscanthus cultivation in a marginal landscape

Marginal landscapes often feature high biodiversity that is threatened by either intensification or land abandonment. This is particularly the case in mountainous regions with diverse environmental conditions and a mosaic of land use. Frequently, the use of marginal or set‐aside farmland for biofuel crops is proposed to meet the increasing demand for biofuels, but avoid conflicts with food production. Potential ecological effects of enhanced bioenergy production in diverse landscapes are, however, still controversial, and a proper assessment requires the consideration of local and regional specifics. We used a yield prediction model to determine the potential yield of Miscanthus on individual fields in a small municipality. Widely available spatial data, conclusions drawn from literature, and local landscape planning data were used to assess the potential ecological effects of Miscanthus cultivation. The specific landscape planning data for the study area provided detailed information on conservation values and land‐use‐related functional deficits. All information was used to classify each field by suitability for Miscanthus production, considering biodiversity, soil erosion, and landscape structure. A subsequent field‐level and landscape‐level evaluation of the potential Miscanthus yields in the suitability classes revealed that overall yield would not be reduced if ecological restrictions were considered and only ‘suitable’ or ‘recommended’ fields were selected for Miscanthus cultivation. Instead of defining one threshold value for an ‘optimal’ amount of Miscanthus in a landscape, we developed different scenarios for increasing amounts of Miscanthus. Our scenario maps and recommendations can be used in regional planning processes as the basis for discussions with stakeholders. The methods applied in our case study combine economic and ecological approaches, are based on existing data and methods, and allow effective evaluation of the sustainable landscape potential of an energy crop at a scale relevant for biodiversity conservation and landscape planning.

Analysing data of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) to detect patterns of agricultural land-use change at municipality level.

European landscapes have featured considerable changes towards intensification and marginalisation. These major trends are expected to continue in the future. Besides, the cultivation of bioenergy crops has become an important factor in agricultural land use. A thorough understanding of land-use processes for management purposes is needed. In this study, the spatial and temporal pattern of agricultural land use and land-use change was classified at the scale of municipalities from 2005 to 2010. The study region was the German federal state Hesse. By using data of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) of the European Union and with the help of k-means cluster analysis, five types of agricultural land-use patterns and dynamics (TLPDs) were detected. These TLPDs represent different sub-regions. Sub-regions with favourable physical conditions for cultivation are dominated by arable land. A progressive land-use change occurred by conversion of grassland to arable land. In sub-regions, where physical conditions are rather unfavourable, especially in mountainous areas, grassland is the predominant land use. But on the remaining arable land, there is a slight change in favour of maize. The knowledge of sub-regions with spatially and temporally different agricultural land use could be utilised to develop land management instruments like site-specific agri-environmental schemes.

Konzepte und Methoden: Planung, Umsetzung und Betrieb von menschlichen Ökosystemen

Zur Gestaltung menschlicher Okosysteme, also zu deren Planung, Bau und Betrieb, sind praktische Ansatze und Werkzeuge erforderlich, denen dieses Kapitel gewidmet ist. Vertieft werden zwei Ansatze: Das grundsatzliche Leitbild der „Stadtschaft“ als nachhaltiger Landschaftsraum und das Zellen-Modell. Ausfuhrlich werden dann fur die ganzheitliche Gestaltung von Siedlungsokosystemen wichtige Fachbereiche erlautert:

Gestaltung von Siedlungsökosystemen am Beispiel der Valley View University (VVU)

In diesem Kapitel dient die Valley View University (VVU) als der Modellfall, an dem der ganzheitliche Ansatz erprobt wurde und der im Einzelnen auch fur die speziellen Bereiche des okologischen Bauens, des Vegetationsmanagements, einer stadtnahen Landwirtschaft, des Wasser- und Stoffstrommanagements und des Informationsmanagements erlautert wird.

Werkzeuge für die ganzheitliche Gestaltung menschlicher Ökosysteme

Bei der zehnjahrigen Begleitung der okologischen Entwicklung der Valley View University (VVU) wurden Vorgehensweisen und Werkzeuge entwickelt und erprobt, die es erleichtern, auf systematische und methodische Weise Siedlungsokosysteme zu gestalten. Den Rahmen geben dabei Flussdiagrame und Verfahrensanweisungen, die den Ablauf, die Schritte, die Beteiligten, die notwendigen Eingaben und die Ergebnisse sowie sinnvolle Arbeitsmittel angeben. Solche Arbeitsmittel sind Checklisten, Formblatter, Okosystemliste, Fragebogen und Betriebsanleitungen, aber auch Methoden wie Kreis und Weltcafe, von denen fur die an der VVU wichtigen Themenbereiche Beispiele gegeben werden. Alle Werkzeuge haben sich bewahrt und konnen, angepasst an die jeweiligen Oko-Projekte, fur diese und von den jeweiligen Beteiligten als Arbeitshilfe genutzt werden.