INBO translated this intention into a Voorstel voor een Meetnet Biodiversiteit Agrarisch Gebied (MBAG).
MBAG builds optimally on the existing monitoring already being carried out by various actors. It is composed of modules carried out independently and by different actors.
MBAG is facilitated by four horizontal modules.
- The Statistical support module designs measurement networks and their coherence, evaluates and aligns field protocols, and supports analysis and reporting, across modules.
- The Data management module organises data entry, data flows and data storage, including across modules.
- The Co-creation module communicates about the monitoring network and its results with farmers, listens to farmers and seeks cooperation. It also explores opportunities to monitor together with farmers or according to farmers' interests. This is done, among others, in the project Biodiversity monitoring agro-ecological fields South-Hageland and in the project Cereal worthy.
- The Coordination module oversees the whole and monitors coherence with policy processes and international developments. There is a sounding board group in which the Nature and Forest Agency, the Agriculture and Sea Fisheries Agency, the Flemish Land Agency, the Flemish Environment Agency, the Environment Department and the Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Research participate. Nature organisations and agricultural organisations, as well as other scientific institutions, are also involved.
MBAG-Birds and mammals
In 2022, a Pilot Project called Strengthening bird and hare monitoring in the agricultural area started, which strengthens the existing monitoring of birds in the agricultural area based on the methodology Meetnet Agrarische Soorten (MAS) developed in the Netherlands. This allows us to obtain better and more detailed trend data, and to understand the effectiveness of measures taken and planned. To a limited extent, the methodology also allows monitoring of some species of mammals living in the agricultural landscape. For hare in particular, the counts can provide useful data and we may also get an indication for fox and roe deer. In this monitoring, volunteers take at least 10% of the counting points. The pilot project was carried out in 2022 in the Eastern Leemstreek and in the Moeren. Through the Farmland bird monitoring MAS project, it will be extended to the Western Leemstreek and the Zandleemstreek in 2023 and to all agricultural areas in Flanders in 2024. This will prepare us for the required monitoring in the EU Nature Recovery Act and the reporting of the Farmland Bird Index.
Related projects
The population of the partridge has declined sharply in recent decades, giving this species special attention. Through the projects The population dynamics of the grey partridge in Flanders and Modelling the population dynamic parameters for partridge, INBO is conducting research to support targeted and optimal deployment of measures, as well as evaluation of their effectiveness. There is also an ongoing project on the Thermal imaging camera as a tool for counting partridges (EVINBO).
The decline of ground-breeding field and meadow birds is not only a consequence of agricultural intensification. Predation may also potentially contribute to the decline. We investigate this in the project on The effects of predation on ground-nestings farmland and meadow birds and how to mitigate possible negative effects.
MBAG Pollinators
Another focus group is pollinators, an essential species group for the production of many agricultural crops. Through the SPRING (Strengthening Pollinator Recovery through INdicators and monitorinG) project, INBO is participating in the development of European pollinator monitoring. Through the MBAG - MONIPOLLI (Monitoring pollnators and other insects) project, INBO is working on Flemish pollinator monitoring. With this, we are preparing to carry out the monitoring and reporting of pollinators required in the EU Nature Restoration Act. The Grassland Butterfly Index will have separate reporting in this respect. This monitoring also supports the Belgian National Strategy on Pollinators and the Flemish Wild Pollinators Action Plan.
The project will also collaborate on the Biodiversity Genomics Europe Pollinator Sampling 2024.
MBAG-Soil Biodiversity
Soil biodiversity is also very important for agricultural production, for climate adaptation and for global biodiversity (basis of the food web). Together with ILVO, INBO is involved in soil quality projects such as EJP-Soil programme and Monitoring soil carbon stocks in Flanders (Cmon). Through the Development of a standard methodology for determining soil biodiversity in Flanders project, INBO and ILVO are committed to monitoring soil biodiversity through eDNA metabarcoding. Using genetic material in soils, we collect knowledge about the organisms present there, from bacteria to earthworms. In doing so, we are betting on innovative technology and exploring a component of biodiversity we still know little about. Within the project, we are further fine-tuning the methodology, exploring the status per land use type (croplands and grasslands, in different degrees of use intensity) and looking for relevant indicators. By linking to the Cmon monitoring network, the functional relationship between soil organisms and carbon stocks is being investigated.
MBAG-Aquatic macroinvertebrates
The Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) measures nitrate and phosphate concentrations in surface water in the agricultural area, to assess the impact of agriculture and the effects of the Fertilisation Action Plans. Besides monitoring abiotics, VMM also carries out biotic monitoring, mainly as a function of reporting for the Water Framework Directive. As part of the MBAG, this biotic monitoring will be strengthened and VMM will also monitor macroinvertebrates in a selection of surface water monitoring sites in the agricultural area.
MBAG-Biological Valuation Map
The Biological Valuation Map represents a milestone for nature policy in Flanders. In the agricultural area, however, this map is outdated. Through the MBAG-BWK project, the BWK is being partially updated in the agricultural area through an adapted methodology, as a basis for area-wide mapping through smart image recognition. This update pays special attention to the core areas of the species protection programmes for field birds, meadow birds, greylag harrier and hamster. Attention is also paid to field flora. Based on the updated BWK, area analyses are made to support measures and the other monitoring networks. Here, too, we are focusing on innovation, by developing digital detection systems to allow rapid and area-wide monitoring of landscape changes. With this, we are preparing to carry out the monitoring and reporting of the "share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features" required in the EU Nature Restoration Act. This development will also support the Flemish Woodside Plan.
Related projects
INBO participates, through the Geo.Informed project, in the development of more geo-data layers for environmental policy based on remote sensing and deep learning. Cases relevant to agriculture and nature are:
- mapping wildlife damage to crops
- mapping stagnant water in agricultural area
- Mapping catch crops and monitoring their sowing and harvesting dates
MBAG Measurement Networks Natural Environment
The MBAG - MNE preparation (= Monitoring Programme for the Natural Environment) project monitors the state of the natural environment in nature reserves, which is influenced by agriculture, among other things. The initial focus is on the environmental compartments groundwater, surface water and soil near Natura 2000 habitat sites. The project aims to find out why the conservation status of some habitat types is unfavourable and/or insufficiently moving in the desired direction. This supports the planning, substantiation, evaluation and adjustment of Flemish nature and agricultural policy.
Related projects
The pressure our agricultural and food system exerts on biodiversity is not limited to Flanders. In the report De impact van Vlaanderen op de biodiversiteit in de wereld: op zoek naar indicatoren, we develop a reliable, coherent and recurrently monitorable set of indicators that policymakers can use to build biodiversity-oriented production, consumption and trade policies.