Bio-resource evaluation within agri-environmental assessment tools in different European countries

In order to achieve environmentally sound agriculture as well as a remuneration of ecological achievements on the farm level, practicable instruments for accurate measurement have to be developed. Whereas there are suitable indicators to assess agricultural impacts on abiotic resources, there is a lack of indicators for the assessment of biotic resources on the farm level. Proposals for and attempts at as well as first-hand experience in assessment methods of agricultural impacts on biotic resources exist in various European countries. A few of these methods require intensive measurements with a lot of indicators, but a sufficient assessment and evaluation of the biotic as well as the aesthetic resources (landscape structure/image) on the farm level has not yet been carried out. Biotic resource indicators of seven assessment methods (Ecopoints Lower Austria, Solagro, Halberg, Nature Balance Scheme, KUL, Frieben, Biodiversity Yardstick) from five European countries are compared with each other. Some of the methods register biotic resources only marginally by indirect measurements (indicators), respectively, or action-oriented indicators such as time of cutting/mowing, frequency of cutting/mowing, age of grassland, percentage of unsprayed area. Other methods are very complex, so that their implementation on a wide scale does not seem possible. There is a need to further develop and improve practicable and efficient tools in order to assess the agricultural impact on bio-resources on farm level and consequently in order to promote an environmentally sound agriculture. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.