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Putting the entirety of Europe into one basket of "farmland practices" is really not a correct way to approach this. There are countries that have lots of tiny

Putting the entirety of Europe into one basket of "farmland practices" is really not a correct way to approach this. There are countries that have lots of tiny farmers, there are countries that have small number of huge farms. Practices between the two are hugely different. Also in the east where cost of living is much lower many farmers don't do farming (like my neighbours) but they "keep land culture" for which they are paid by the EU. This means essentially mowing the hay twice a year and doing nothing else. One of my farmer neighbours plants his fields every year, for his bees to make hone from a particular plant he wants honey from. He doesn't even collect the results, he just mows it back into the earth. Then there is the amount of woodland area. Compare my country Poland that has over 30% of its area as woodlands and growing with Netherlands(not picking on Netherlands, it is better in other ways). You can't. And their map really shows it. So making a statement like "overall decline of bird species due to farming practices across Europe" is just untrue. I'd love to see some sort of comparison of which farming practices specifically cause which bird populations to decline. Perhaps then we can adapt these tgat work better.

ImAnAmateur 3y ago
Three of the 51 authors are from Poland. There are breakdowns by country and also comparisons of forest cover, urbanization, and temperature. There's a button that lets you look at the pictures if you want an easy country overview.
veddox 3y ago
Your first point is partly correct, but your conclusion isn't. The authors split up their results by country to show exactly the differences you mention. However, you have to keep in mind that the EU Common Agricultural Policy applies to all these countries, and actively promotes large-scale intensive agriculture. Bird collapses after a country joins the EU have been shown, for example in the Czech Republic [1]. So yes, while the magnitude may vary, the negative trend is a Europe-wide phenomenon. There's also been a lot of research done on what aspects of farming cause declines [2]. It's partly species-specific, but the three major causes are: loss of semi-natural habitat area (e.g. hedges, fallows), disturbance mortality (e.g. from harvesting), and pesticides (often mediated through the loss of insects as food source). [1] https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12585 https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12585 [2] e.g. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000480 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000480, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14400 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14400, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13531 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13531, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.06.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.06.004
- ExoticPearTree 3y ago
  The real danger I think is in the decrease of insect population. Anecdotally, 15-20 years ago, a longer trip throughout the country (2-400km) the windshield would be littered with dead insects, now very very few insects hit the windshield. Is there a study about the effects of decreased pollination?
  - veddox 3y ago
    > The real danger I think is in the decrease of insect population. That is certainly one of the most important issues. However, habitat loss is even more critical (not only but also because it also decreases insect numbers). > Is there a study about the effects of decreased pollination? Pollination and other ecosystem services have been heavily studied in the last decade. Putting precise numbers on it is tricky though, because there are so many context-specific factors that play a role. However, this is one important global study that shows a clear effect of pollination on yield: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0121 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0121
  - cookingmyserver 3y ago
    I used to think the same thing until I started riding a motorcycle. I quickly came to the realization that the primary reason I was seeing less insects on my windshield was because of improved aerodynamics. I am sure that there has also been a major decline in insect population as well though contributing to it.
- hellgas00 3y ago
  Can you elaborate if possible on the comment made about the EU Common Agricultural Policy's effects of promoting large scale intensive agriculture. Specifically what policy attributes support it.
  - veddox 3y ago
    Principally the direct payments. Farmers in the EU get a certain amount of money for every hectare of land they farm. This accounts for 40% of all CAP payments, and disproportionately benefits large farms, as they not only get much more money but also benefit from economies of scale. Adding to that, compulsory environmental regulations are quite lax, while voluntary environmental measures are often poorly recompensed, and are thus economically not viable. See here for some further reading: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10080 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10080 (There's lots more, but this should be a good starting point.)

ImAnAmateur 3y ago

Three of the 51 authors are from Poland. There are breakdowns by country and also comparisons of forest cover, urbanization, and temperature. There's a button that lets you look at the pictures if you want an easy country overview.

veddox 3y ago

Your first point is partly correct, but your conclusion isn't. The authors split up their results by country to show exactly the differences you mention. However, you have to keep in mind that the EU Common Agricultural Policy applies to all these countries, and actively promotes large-scale intensive agriculture. Bird collapses after a country joins the EU have been shown, for example in the Czech Republic [1]. So yes, while the magnitude may vary, the negative trend is a Europe-wide phenomenon. There's also been a lot of research done on what aspects of farming cause declines [2]. It's partly species-specific, but the three major causes are: loss of semi-natural habitat area (e.g. hedges, fallows), disturbance mortality (e.g. from harvesting), and pesticides (often mediated through the loss of insects as food source). [1] https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12585 https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12585 [2] e.g. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000480 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000480, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14400 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14400, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13531 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13531, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.06.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.06.004

ExoticPearTree 3y ago
The real danger I think is in the decrease of insect population. Anecdotally, 15-20 years ago, a longer trip throughout the country (2-400km) the windshield would be littered with dead insects, now very very few insects hit the windshield. Is there a study about the effects of decreased pollination?
- veddox 3y ago
  > The real danger I think is in the decrease of insect population. That is certainly one of the most important issues. However, habitat loss is even more critical (not only but also because it also decreases insect numbers). > Is there a study about the effects of decreased pollination? Pollination and other ecosystem services have been heavily studied in the last decade. Putting precise numbers on it is tricky though, because there are so many context-specific factors that play a role. However, this is one important global study that shows a clear effect of pollination on yield: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0121 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax0121
- cookingmyserver 3y ago
  I used to think the same thing until I started riding a motorcycle. I quickly came to the realization that the primary reason I was seeing less insects on my windshield was because of improved aerodynamics. I am sure that there has also been a major decline in insect population as well though contributing to it.
hellgas00 3y ago
Can you elaborate if possible on the comment made about the EU Common Agricultural Policy's effects of promoting large scale intensive agriculture. Specifically what policy attributes support it.
- veddox 3y ago
  Principally the direct payments. Farmers in the EU get a certain amount of money for every hectare of land they farm. This accounts for 40% of all CAP payments, and disproportionately benefits large farms, as they not only get much more money but also benefit from economies of scale. Adding to that, compulsory environmental regulations are quite lax, while voluntary environmental measures are often poorly recompensed, and are thus economically not viable. See here for some further reading: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10080 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10080 (There's lots more, but this should be a good starting point.)