Trees on farms are a critical tool in managing agriculture to support biodiverse landscapes and will play an important part in complementing protected areas as a means of reaching biodiversity targets. A lack of systematic data for the biodiversity in agricultural land means monitoring global targets is difficult. There is an unmet need for repeated, consistent and low cost indicators of agricultural biodiversity, applicable at wide scale and across different landscapes. Here we present the proof of concept for an indicator of the biodiversity value of agricultural landscapes through assessing properties of their trees. Using freely available satellite data products to estimate wooded area, structural diversity and spectral diversity of agricultural lands, landscapes are scored on the biodiversity value. The outputs of which can be mapped at national scales. Qualitative validation shows promising results in four case studies in a variety of agricultural contexts, with the scores reflecting what we expect from photointerpretation of sites across the case study areas. This tool has the potential to be a useful and much needed indicator, and with further development could be a critical metric for the post-2020 agenda for measuring and monitoring agricultural biodiversity.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5716/WP21038.PDFAltmetric score:
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Publication year
2021
Authors
Harrison, S.; Ryan, C.; Gassner, A.; Harrison, R.D.
Language
English
Keywords
biodiversity, land use change, agriculture, landscape conservation, monitoring
