The European Biodiversity Strategy together with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) provide the legislative boundaries and incentives for a long-term preservation of biodiversity by facilitating actions and measures (e.g., ecoschemes) for a more sustainable agriculture. The abandonment and intensification of agricultural land-use, however, are recognized as key drivers of biodiversity loss. At the same time, biodiversity supports the provision of ecosystem function and services (e.g., pollination) that maintain and enhance the quality and quantity of food production in agroecosystems. There is broad evidence from ecological studies that the enhancement of farmland heterogeneity and reduction of land-use intensity at multiple spatial and temporal scales fosters biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. In order to assess the impact of upcoming agri-environmental measures related to the CAP and further strategies on farmers' decision, there is a need for a nationwide data basis on the state and development of land-use. So far, in Germany, where approximately 47% of the area is used for agricultural purpose, such a data basis is still lacking. Monitoring biodiversity in agricultural landscapes therefore requires a robust data basis in order to demonstrate the development of agricultural land-use and evaluate the relations of trends in land-use to trends in the distribution and diversity of different organism groups. With the free and global availability of the Copernicus data, especially the Sentinel-missions Sentinel 1 and -2, satellite remote sensing is able to record the land surface repeatedly and comprehensively and to generate information about land use and its changes. This includes information on the status quo, on short-term changes as well as on trends in land use. The Sentinel-data provide a basis for the collection of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) that are suitable for the assessment of the state and condition of ecosystems (Skidmore et al. 2016). However, for a long-term integration into policy implementation and evaluation processes, those variables have to be translated into measurable and reportable biodiversity indicators. The national monitoring of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes in Germany (MonViA) is intended to provide a scientific and representative data base for the evaluation of biological diversity in open agricultural landscapes under the influence of agricultural production, of land use, and agricultural structural change. A fundamental pillar of the monitoring is the availability of area-wide, repeatable measurements of land use, use intensity and habitat heterogeneity in the agricultural landscape from satellite data and other geodata time series like weather or phenological information (Schwieder et al. 2021, Blickensdörfer et al. 2021, Möller et al. 2019). Those measurements will contribute to the definition and Germany-wide computation of a set of national biodiversity indicators describing the state and development of the land-use through simple and intuitive pressure and state indicators. These indicators are foreseen to inform policy makers and the public about the changes in land use related to agri-environmental policy instruments. We here present the overall monitoring approach to describe area-wide agricultural land-use and changes based on Copernicus and third-party mission data in Germany as part of the MonViA project. We will further propose how land-use and changes can be reported within a national monitoring system through a set of satellite-based key biodiversity indicators. In the third part, we will introduce the technical implementation of the indicator concept for two selected indicators (grassland use intensity, crop rotation diversity) on the basis of area-wide state variables that are available for Germany. Finally, we will discuss possible linkages to European approaches.

Climate change and land-use intensification pose increasing threats to biodiversity, with climate change expected to eventually surpass other global environmental change drivers and become the greatest threat to biodiversity in the future. Understanding the combined ecological impacts of multiple global change drivers is crucial to predict future scenarios of biodiversity change. However, experimental evidence for the impacts of land-use intensification under current and future climate scenarios is lacking, even though this is imperative for understanding future trajectories of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. We experimentally tested for the simultaneous effects of land-use intensification and climate change on arthropod biodiversity in a field-scale grassland experiment known as the Global Change Experimental Facility (GCEF). Specifically, we tested whether future scenarios of climate change are likely to exacerbate impacts of land-use intensification on arthropod diversity and abundance across different trophic levels by sampling aboveground arthropod communities in low and high land-use intensity grasslands under current and future climatic conditions. We found that climate change reduced total abundances of arthropods and increased evenness of the whole community, while only having trophic level-specific effects on detritivore abundance and evenness. Land-use intensification reduced abundance of the whole community, predators and detritivores, but only eroded species richness of the whole community and herbivores, with the magnitude of declines in predator and detritivore abundance depending on the climate scenario. Additionally, both land-use intensification and climate altered species composition of the whole community and within the predator, herbivore, and detritivore trophic levels. We show that climate change and land use intensification cause simultaneous shifts in arthropod abundance, species richness, and species composition across trophic levels. Changes in arthropod communities as a result of climate change and land-use intensification will likely have profound consequences for ecosystem functioning under future environmental conditions.

AIM: Agriculture is one of the greatest pressures on biodiversity. Regional studies have shown that the presence of natural habitat and landscape heterogeneity are beneficial for biodiversity in agriculture, but it remains unclear whether their importance varies geographically. Here, we use local biodiversity data to determine which local and landscape variables are most associated with biodiversity patterns and whether their association varies between tropical and non‐tropical regions. LOCATION: Global terrestrial area in forest biomes. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: More than 21,000 species of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants and other taxa. METHODS: We used generalized linear mixed‐effects models to analyse the relationships between either community total abundance or species richness (derived from the PREDICTS database) and a number of site‐level (predominant land use and land‐use intensity) and landscape‐level variables (distance to forest, the percentage of natural habitat in the surrounding landscape, landscape homogeneity, the number of land‐cover types in the landscape, and total fertilizer application). We compared the associations of these variables with biodiversity in tropical and non‐tropical regions. RESULTS: In most cases, changes in biodiversity associated with landscape‐level variables were greater than those associated with local land use and land‐use intensity. Increased natural habitat availability was associated with the most consistent increases in biodiversity. Landscape homogeneity was also important but showed different directions of biodiversity change between regions. Associations with fertilizer application or the number of land‐cover types were generally weaker, although still of greater magnitude than for the local land‐use measures. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight similarities and differences in the association of local‐ and landscape‐scale variables with local biodiversity in tropical and non‐tropical regions. Landscape natural habitat availability had a consistent positive association with biodiversity, highlighting the key role of landscape management in the maintenance of biodiversity in croplands. Landscape‐scale variables were almost always associated with greater changes in biodiversity than the local‐scale measures.

Intensive land-use changes and management can serve as indicators for major impacts on biodiversity, especially when those changes show the loss of natural habitat due to urban sprawl, cultivation, mining, logging, and trawling. Biodiversity is essential for sustainable development and human well-being. The need for biodiversity and land-use management to satisfy human needs while sustaining the earth`s life support systems entails that it is essential to intensify natural resource management for sustainable development and human well-being. Major threats to biodiversity decline are habitat destruction, currently ranked as the primary cause of biodiversity decline, degradation, and fragmentation. This study investigated the impact of land-use management management and biodiversity conservation within and adjacent to the Magalies mountain ridge in Mamelodi (Tshwane), South Africa. A questionnaire survey was administered to 40 respondents so as to understand their perception of the importance of biodiversity, biodiversity conservation, and how the study site was beneficial in terms of resource use and non-consumptive uses. Overall responses indicated that respondents were aware of the importance to their development and livelihoods of land use and biodiversity. Given to the importance of biodiversity, it is critical in general to practice sustainable land management and conserve and ensure sustainable use and management of the resources. Results of the questionnaire survey indicated that the site was viewed as valuable to the community in terms of resources (fruits, medicines, firewood, grass) and non-consumptive uses (cultural, religious, sporting, livestock grazing, hiking, educational, bird sanctuary). At the study site, a plot selected from a 100 m transect was divided into 16 quadrants of 10m x 10m. A total of 538 individual stems of 6 tree species were recorded. Species richness, species diversity, and species index were determined in this plot. Ochna pulchra was found to have the highest frequency (86.8), density (29.1) and abundance (31), while Jacaranda mimosifolia and Englerophytum magalismontanum had the lowest frequency (0.2), density (0.1) and abundance (1). The most dominant stem class distribution was between 10-15cm: which indicated that the sample plot had a young and vibrant population that was managed well. This study was significant because it showed that sustainable land use contributed to biodiversity conservation which offered multiple benefits to the communities.

Land-use intensification exacerbates landscape fragmentation, increasing the negative effects on biodiversity. In this context, the biodiversity value of Trees Outside Forests (TOF; scattered trees, tree lines and small woodlots) is often overlooked by landscape planning and conservation programs, which typically focus on protecting larger and more intact areas. More empirical studies on taxa inhabiting TOF are needed to support and promote their conservation in human-altered lands. However, we are not aware of any study focusing on multiple taxa living in small woodlots outside forests (SWOFs) in the Mediterranean basin. We investigated how diversity patterns of multiple taxa in SWOFs respond to a land-use intensification gradient, from natural areas to more disturbed ones (agricultural and urban areas), in a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot. We explored the influence of land-use types on species richness and composition of vascular plants and six ground-dwelling invertebrate groups (pseudoscorpions, spiders, darkling beetles, rove beetles, ground beetles, and ants). Species composition was more sensitive than species richness to land-use change, highlighting the need to consider a suitable measure for interpreting ecological processes. We observed a strong influence of land use embedding SWOFs on the mean composition and beta diversity of taxa: land-use intensification led to a general homogenization of diversity patterns, especially among agricultural and urban areas. In our study area, vascular plants responded more sensitively to land-use change than invertebrates. For most invertebrates: the higher the land-use intensity, the lower the species composition dissimilarity due to the dominance of good dispersers or disturbance-tolerant species. More vagile species and disturbance-tolerant species can move across open habitats and colonize new areas, reducing compositional differences and potentially boosting species pools. We demonstrated that SWOFs play a key role in supporting viable populations of invertebrates, also in human-altered lands, underlining the need to promote their conservation in this Mediterranean fragmented landscape to avoid homogenization from driving a generalized biodiversity loss.

The temporal and spatial dynamics of biodiversity and its future trends are of great significance for maintaining biodiversity pattern and ensuring regional ecological security in the Nanliu River Basin of Beibu Gulf. At present, most studies are concerned with the assessment of biodiversity in historical period, but few studies focused on the prediction of biodiversity under several scenarios in future years, and the history and future spatial simulation of habitat quality has not been carried out. Therefore, the establishment of biodiversity simulation studies under different scenarios in the future plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of regional social economy. This study takes Nanliu River Basin, which only flows into the sea in the Beibu Gulf, as the research object. Based on land use data and social and economic data interpreted from remote sensing data in 2000, 2010 and 2020, Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small Region Extent (CLUE-S) model was used to simulate and predict land use patterns for ecological protection scenarios, natural growth scenarios and food security scenarios in 2030. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service and Tradeoff (InVEST) model was used to evaluate the biodiversity of different scenarios in the past and future and discuss the habitat quality and degradation degree of biodiversity in the watershed. Results were presented as follows. In 2000–2020, an increasing trend of construction land, shrub land and water area was found in the Nanliu River basin of Beibu Gulf. The largest increase was observed in construction land, and the largest decrease was noted in cultivated land and woodland. The best habitat quality will be under the ecological protection scenario in 2030. The biodiversity in the upstream and downstream of the three scenarios showed varying degrees of improvement, and the midstream exhibited a degradation trend. The research results of this paper can make up for the vacancy of biodiversity habitat evaluation system in Nanliu River Basin at home and abroad, and have important theoretical and practical significance for promoting ecological protection and ecological planning of watershed.

Urban landscapes are places with high interaction between humans and nature, and the benefit of maintaining their biodiversity to enhance human wellbeing is becoming clear. There is, therefore, an urgent need for understanding what influences biodiversity in cities to inform and influence urban landscape planning. We used a multi-taxa approach (plants, butterflies, and beetles) to assess the influence of the fragmented landscape of a European city, Pardubice (Czech Republic), on the biodiversity of urban grasslands. We randomly selected 40 urban grasslands and were interested in the influences of site and land-use characteristics on biodiversity. The influence of the land-use around the grasslands was analyzed along a gradient of spatial scales (i.e., the cover of land-use types within circular buffer zones of 250, 500, and 750 m around the study grasslands). We found that species richness of the three study taxa was positively influenced by the size of the grassland (measured as grassland perimeter). Butterflies were also negatively affected by increasing management intensity. Plants and beetles were influenced by the land-use type, with plant species richness positively affected by the extent of urban greenings (i.e., green areas such as urban parks, gardens, and sport grounds), and beetle species richness negatively affected by the extent of built-up areas in the grassland surroundings. Biodiversity responses to urbanization partly differed among the studied taxa, indicating different demands of specific groups, but the demands were not conflicting and instead, often complemented each other. Consideration of the three key factors influencing biodiversity identified here (grassland extent, land-use in the surroundings, and management intensity) would provide the optimal options for maintaining city biodiversity. Protecting current urban grasslands from development and restricting construction in their surroundings, restoring city wilderness areas using urban spatial planning, and setting up butterfly-friendly management regimes (e.g., mowing in mosaic) could all be future options to help enhance biodiversity in cities.

Over the last 30 years, olive farming has experienced a fast and large-scale intensification process across its Mediterranean range, that is reshaping Mediterranean farmland landscapes with associated impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study aims to analyze irrigated olive grove spatial expansion patterns across a 27–year period in a region of Southern Portugal, by exploring its drivers, describing the involved land-use dynamics, and to evaluating its potential biodiversity impacts. Land cover spatio-temporal dynamics were characterized by comparing recent land cover maps 2017 with those before the intensification upsurge (1990), using a grid of sampling points across the area. To investigate the drivers of intensification, these points were characterized using 10 variables reflecting policy context, previous land use (in 1990), biophysical features, and farm structure, which were used to model land cover transitions resulting in intensive olive farming. Finally, we used a counterfactual approach to assess the impacts of the olive intensification process on biodiversity in relation to alternative land cover change pathways, using farmland birds as an indicator group. We confirmed a large-scale expansion of irrigated olive groves in the region between 1990 and 2017, from being practically absent to covering ca. 6% of the study area. This expansion was made mostly at the expenses of open rainfed annual crops (63%) and, to a lesser degree, traditional rainfed olive groves (21%). Change was driven mainly by the combined effect of the availability of public irrigation water and large farms, although other factors related to legal constraints to land-use change, biophysical context and previous land management were also involved. During the study period, land cover transitions conducting to intensive olive farming were the most harmful for biodiversity, when compared to alternative land cover change pathways. By providing a quantitative insight into the underlying mechanisms and environmental consequences of the olive farming intensification process currently affecting biodiversity-rich Mediterranean farmland landscapes, our study contributes with valuable information that can be used by policy makers to better plan and manage the on-going expansion of intensive olive farming.

Alterations in body size can have profound impacts on an organism's life history and ecology with long‐lasting effects that span multiple biological scales. Animal body size is influenced by environmental drivers, including climate change and land use change, the two largest current threats to biodiversity. Climate warming has led to smaller body sizes of many species due to impacts on growth (i.e., Bergmann's rule and temperature‐size rule). Conversely, urbanization, which serves as a model for investigating the effects of land use changes, has largely been demonstrated to cause size increases, but few studies have examined the combined influences of climate and land use changes on organism size. We present here the background theory on how each of these factors is expected to influence body size, summarize existing evidence of how size has recently been impacted by climate and land use changes, and make several recommendations to guide future research uniting these areas of focus. Given the rapid pace of climate change and urbanization, understanding the combined effects of climate and land use changes on body size is imperative for biodiversity preservation.