Member State Activity – Germany

Methods

In Germany, a specific methodological approach to determine and evaluate the amount of HNV Farmland was adopted. Both federal government and the Laender agreed on field surveys for compiling the data for the indicator. The 900 sample plots each covering 1 km² are the same used by the monitoring scheme for common bird species (Federation of German Avifaunists – DDA). Further explanations

Distribution of sample plots for compilation of the HNV farmland indicator in Germany (Source: PAN, Munich)

Following the development of methodological guidelines, field trials and training of field ecologists the survey was carried out jointly by the German government and the Länder for the first time in 2009-2010 and coordinated by the BfN (Project report in German). It is planned to repeat the surveys on the basis of achieving a full coverage every 4 years.

All identified HNV farmland structures were assigned different values:

• HNV I: Exceptionally high nature value
• HNV II: Very high nature value
• HNV III: Moderately high nature value

Results

The resulting data was digitised, centrally collated, quality controlled and then used to extrapolate the HNV farmland indicator.

In 2009, 13,0% of total farmland in Germany were classified as HNV Farmland. With regard to its nature value, this distribution varies considerably. Only 2,1% were categorized as having an “exceptionally high nature value”, while 6,3% had a “moderately high nature value”.

Furthermore, the extent of HNV farmland is incorporated in the National biodiversity indicator set. For 2015, the aim is to achieve an area of 19% of the total UAA.

More detailed information is available from the BfN-website

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