Agriculture & Environment Research Unit School of Life and Medical Sciences Guidance and tool to support farmers in taking aware decisions on Ecological Focus Areas Invitation to Tender: JRC/IPR/2014/H.4/0022/NC Final Report Agriculture and Environment Research Unit School of Life and Medical Sciences University of Hertfordshire United Kingdom 15 December 2015 GUIDANCE AND TOOL TO SUPPORT FARMERS IN TAKING AWARE DECISIONS ON ECOLOGICAL FOCUS AREAS: FINAL REPORT Report Preparation: Title: Guidance and tool to support farmers in taking aware decisions on Ecological Focus Areas Subtitle: Final report Reference: JRC/IPR/2014/H.4/0022/NC Report to: Joint Research Centre (JRC) Date: Draft submitted: 29 September 2015; revised 13 October; final revision 15 December 2015 Project co-ordinator: University of Hertfordshire, UK Organisation: Agriculture and Environment Research Unit School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, UK. Written by: Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D.J., Green, A. and Lewis, K.A. Release authorisation (Administration, Finance, Quality): Release authorisation (Scientific and technical): Please cite as: Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D.J., Green, A. and Lewis, K.A. (2015) Guidance and tool to support farmers in taking aware decisions on Ecological Focus Areas. Final report for Project JRC/IPR/2014/H.4/0022/NC. Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission 1 GUIDANCE AND TOOL TO SUPPORT FARMERS IN TAKING AWARE DECISIONS ON ECOLOGICAL FOCUS AREAS: FINAL REPORT Contents Executive summary............................................................................................................................................ 8 Executive summary (French) ........................................................................................................................... 10 1.0. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 13 1.1. Background ........................................................................................................................................... 13 1.2. Aims and objectives .............................................................................................................................. 14 1.3. Methodology, tasks and activities ........................................................................................................ 14 2.0. Literature review on the effects of EFA elements .................................................................................... 17 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2. Individual EFA elements ....................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1. Fallow land ..................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.2. Terraces ......................................................................................................................................... 19 2.2.3. Hedges or wooded strips ............................................................................................................... 20 2.2.4. Isolated trees ................................................................................................................................. 24 2.2.5. Trees in line ................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2.6. Trees in groups and field copses ................................................................................................... 28 2.2.7. Field margins ................................................................................................................................. 29 2.2.8. Ponds ............................................................................................................................................. 31 2.2.9. Ditches ........................................................................................................................................... 35 2.2.10. Traditional stone walls ................................................................................................................ 39 2.2.11. Other landscape features ............................................................................................................ 40 2.2.12. Buffer strips ................................................................................................................................. 42 2.2.13. Agroforestry ................................................................................................................................. 45 2.2.14. Strips along forest edges ............................................................................................................. 46 2.2.15. Short rotation coppice ................................................................................................................. 49 2.2.16. Afforested areas .......................................................................................................................... 53 2.2.17. Catch crops or green cover .......................................................................................................... 57 2.2.18. Nitrogen fixing crops ................................................................................................................... 60 2.3. Whole landscape perspective ............................................................................................................... 63 3.0. Impact assessment (establishment of criteria and guidelines) ................................................................ 65 3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 65 3.2. The impact assessment framework ...................................................................................................... 65 3.2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 65 3.2.2. EFA elements and farm features ................................................................................................... 65 3.2.3. Impact categories .......................................................................................................................... 67 3.2.4. Parameters and parameter classes ............................................................................................... 67 3.2.5. Scoring impacts .............................................................................................................................. 67 3.2.5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 67 3.2.5.2. Quantitative (meta-model) approach .................................................................................... 69 3.2.5.3. Qualitative (risk factor) approach ........................................................................................... 70 3.2.6. Aggregation techniques ................................................................................................................. 72 3.2.7. Additional ranking impact categories ............................................................................................ 73 3.3. Overview of feature-impacts (criteria and guidelines) ......................................................................... 74 3.3.1. Agroforestry ................................................................................................................................... 74 3.3.2. Ancient monuments ...................................................................................................................... 77 3.3.3. Ancient stones ............................................................................................................................... 78 3.3.4. Archaeological sites ....................................................................................................................... 79 3.3.5. Catch crops or green cover ............................................................................................................ 80 3.3.6. Ditches ........................................................................................................................................... 83 3.3.7. Fallow land ..................................................................................................................................... 87 2 GUIDANCE AND TOOL TO SUPPORT FARMERS IN TAKING AWARE DECISIONS ON ECOLOGICAL FOCUS AREAS: FINAL REPORT 3.3.8. Garrigue ......................................................................................................................................... 89 3.3.9. Hedges or wooded strips ............................................................................................................... 90 3.3.10. Isolated trees ............................................................................................................................... 93 3.3.11. Land strips (adjacent/parallel to water) ...................................................................................... 95 3.3.12. Land strips (other) ......................................................................................................................