Biodiversity services by means of the CAP

To prevent meadows, pastures and arable land from becoming overgrown by bushes or forests, they must be managed and maintained at our latitudes. This task has been carried out for centuries by farmers, who do not only produce food, but also contribute to biodiversity and the preservation of varied cultivated landscapes. However, biodiversity also constitutes an important basis for safeguarding agricultural production. The majority of agricultural crops is dependent on pollination by insects and diverse, species-rich agricultural landscapes are more resistant to external influences such as extreme weather events or pest infestations.

For this reason, the implementation of agricultural practices that promote biodiversity is one of the central concerns of the Austrian agricultural policy. Under the CAP 2023-27, forms of management that promote biodiversity will be subsidised by compensating for lower yields and higher farm management costs. The ÖPUL Agri-environmental Programme plays a key role in this, being of special importance with around 80 % of farms and land involved. Species-rich agricultural areas are promoted in the ÖPUL programme, among other things, by means of the promotion of farm-based nature conservation or the management of mountain meadows, Alpine pastures and species-rich meadows. In addition, landscape elements, such as orchard trees, bushes, flowering areas and bee pastures, are preserved or planted and maintained to promote biodiversity.

In 2023, a total of 210,000 hectares of biodiversity areas, fallow land and nature conservation areas were created in the Austrian agricultural landscape, which corresponds to an increase of around 60,000 hectares compared to the previous period. This means that in 2023, almost 10 % of Austria's utilised agricultural area (excluding mountain pastures) have been made available for biodiversity, and a further increase is expected in 2024. However, as species-rich cultivated landscapes also have an important recreational function and a high aesthetic value, the society as a whole benefits from these biodiversity services. The most important biodiversity-promoting elements of the ÖPUL programme are presented below.

ÖPUL biodiversity areas

In ÖPUL 2023-27, the proportion of mandatory biodiversity areas in grassland and arable land has been increased from 5 % (until 2022) to 7 % of arable and mown grassland areas. In addition, organic farms will also have to create corresponding biodiversity areas from 2023 onwards. In 2023, there was therefore a significant increase in ÖPUL biodiversity areas throughout Austria to a total of around 140,000 hectares (including recognised nature conservation areas).

The requirements for biodiversity areas have been developed jointly with experts for agriculture and experts for nature conservation. They are demanding, but have been designed in such a way that there is sufficient flexibility in their management. For example, biodiversity areas in grassland can be managed in 4 different ways. Arable biodiversity areas must be sown with at least 7 insect-flowering mixtures from 3 plant families. Compared to the previous period, it is also possible to mow or chop arable biodiversity areas only every second year. This is particularly due to the fact that it has been shown that it can be important for the development of the stocks to have sufficient flexibility for maintenance measures. There is also the option of sowing new biodiversity areas on arable land and grassland with very species-rich, regional seed mixtures (at least 30 species from 7 plant families) to create particularly colourful and diverse stands. Because the biodiversity effect of flowering areas also depends heavily on their spatial distribution, ÖPUL 2023-27 includes the obligation to create biodiversity areas totalling to at least 15 areas on fields larger than 5 hectares.

Three new factsheets (Link in German only) show the benefits of biodiversity areas on arable land and grassland for nature and agriculture and how to best establish and tend ÖPUL biodiversity areas. In addition, farmers provide insights into how they integrate biodiversity areas into their farm concepts and what advantages and challenges they see.

Factsheet: Biodiversity areas on grassland (Link in German only)

Factsheet: Biodiversity areas on the field in dry regions (Link in German only)

Factsheet: Biodiversity areas on the field in humid regions (Link in German only)

ÖPUL nature conservation areas - nature conservation measure

The promotion of farm-based nature conservation in the ÖPUL programme plays an important role in the conservation and development of ecologically valuable agricultural land. Here, the nature conservation authorities of the Federal Provinces work together with farmers to develop individualised farm and area management concepts for particularly valuable habitats.

Typical nature conservation areas are, for example, colourful hay meadows and rough pastures, pastureland or mountain meadows, as well as the increasingly rare orchards or arable fallow land.

For the 2023-27 programme period, the individual requirements have been revised, particularly with a view to improving their result-orientation and making the premiums more attractive. In order to strengthen regional approaches and mutual learning, the "regional nature conservation plan" has also been expanded and supplemented by awareness-raising and monitoring projects. In addition, a habitat extra payment has been introduced for the management of Natura 2000 habitat types and the pilot project "Nature conservation on mountain pastures" was launched. The latter is an optional supplement to the Alpine pasture premium for measures such as nature conservation-oriented pasture management, biotope tending management or adapted fertiliser management.

In 2023, almost 85,000 hectares of nature conservation areas were subsidised on a total of around 19,500 farms. It is pleasing that the subsidised areas could be increased by around 10,000 ha compared to 2022. With the involvement of more than 22,000 domestic farms, which have applied for a total of almost 100,000 hectares of nature conservation areas in 2024, the ÖPUL nature conservation measure enjoys a high level of acceptance.

ÖPUL nature conservation areas - results-oriented management

In order to focus even more strongly on the actual objectives and the technical reasons for management measures, the "result-orientated management" (Link in German only), a new ÖPUL nature conservation measure, was introduced. In this context, the farmers' personal responsibility and expertise are emphasised by means of a strong awareness-raising component. Ecological area targets are set instead of management requirements.

The farmers thus decide by themselves on the basis of their practical experience which tending measures they implement on their land in order to meet the agreed objectives. The objectives are, for example, the "preservation or improvement of a species-rich meadow community" or the "development of a species-rich arable flowering area". Indicators are then selected for each area that have a strong causal relationship with the land management and can be used to determine whether the area target has been achieved or not (for example presence of indicator species or special structures). In 2023, this results-oriented approach was implemented across Austria by almost 300 farms on a total of around 3,200 hectares.

On the one hand, participating farms are more flexible with regard to environmental influences such as weather conditions and, on the other hand, gain a better understanding of the relationships between utilisation and the occurrence of animal and plant species. However, it has also been shown that result-orientated approaches lead to a stronger identification of the participating farmers with the agreed nature conservation goals and thus contribute to the long-term conservation of ecologically valuable (meadow) areas.

Result-orientation – Extra payment for species-rich grassland

Since 2023, a low-threshold, results-oriented approach for the management of species-rich grassland areas has been offered for the first time as part of the ÖPUL measure "Humus conservation and soil protection on grassland areas at risk of being ploughed up". For example, a voluntary extra payment can be applied for annually for species-rich grassland and once-mown meadows (incl. litter meadows) with a slope gradient <18 %, provided that 5 indicator species for species-rich fertile meadow communities (according to the ÖPUL indicator species list) occur in sufficient cover on the area. The presence of the indicator species and the inspections carried out on the fields applied for must be documented before 30 June. The types of land use for the fields "once-mown meadow" and "litter meadow" are automatically recognised as species-rich grassland. With the ÖPUL amendment from 2025 onwards, this supplement is to be made more attractive and can also be applied to steeper grassland areas.

Landscape elements in the context of conditionality (GAEC 8) and ÖPUL

Punctiform or extensive components of the cultivated landscape that can be clearly distinguished from their surroundings, are used uniformly, have a uniform structure and fulfil the same ecological function are called landscape elements. They are often located between or within agricultural areas, have a high ecological value and fulfil a variety of ecological functions. Thus, they protect agricultural soils from wind and water erosion, have a positive effect on the microclimate and increase the diversity of species and individuals in the Austrian cultivated landscape.

Extensive landscape elements

Extensive landscape elements, such as hedges, riparian woodland, ditches and riparian strips, boundary strips, and embankments, dry stone walls, field copses, groups of trees and bushes, as well as clearance cairns, Steinhage (dry stone walls made of boulders), ponds, pools and natural monuments must be preserved by all farms that receive direct payments as part of conditionality (GAEC 8) - they correspond to an area of over 8,000 hectares according to the multiple application 2023.

Punctiform landscape elements

Punctiform landscape elements are individual trees and bushes with a crown diameter of more than 2 metres, as well as rows and groups of trees and bushes with a maximum area of 100 square metres, which are located on or a maximum of 5 metres next to agricultural land. Within the framework of the BIO (organic) and UBB (environmentally sound and biodiversity-promoting management) measures, farmers receive payments for punctiform landscape elements. Orchard trees receive a higher premium (Euros 12/tree) than other punctiform landscape elements (Euros 8/tree). Due to the loss of their economic importance, populations have declined sharply in recent decades. It is therefore all the more pleasing that around 2 million punctiform landscape elements were applied for under ÖPUL for 2023, 1.12 million trees of which are orchard trees (see presentation of orchard trees applied for in multiple application MFA23).

Multi-benefit hedges

Multi-benefit hedges are hedges directly adjacent to arable land that consist mainly of shrubs and fruit trees and are planted by a competent provincial authority (often the agricultural district authority) within the framework of a concept. Multi-benefit hedges must have an average width of at least 5 metres or a maximum of 20 metres and the shrubs must be tended in such a way that they can grow and develop into a hedge after planting. The use of fertilisers and pesticides is prohibited on the entire area. In addition to their diverse ecological functions, such as protecting against erosion and increasing biodiversity, multi-benefit hedges often offer additional benefits and value-added opportunities. For example, fruit and nuts from fruit trees and bushes in the multi-benefit hedges can be processed into products or the wood can be utilised. Around 7 hectares of multi-benefit hedges were applied for in 2023.

Farms with arable land >10 hectares must leave at least 4 % of their arable land as non-productive land. In order to respond to ongoing uncertainties on the agricultural markets, exemptions were made possible at EU level in 2022 and 2023 with regard to the establishment of these GAEC 8 set-aside areas. Despite the derogation, more than 9,000 ha of set-aside areas were created throughout Austria in 2023 under GAEC 8 in addition to the ÖPUL areas listed above. The derogation for GAEC 8 set-aside areas has been continued in 2024 due to the volatile situation - albeit in an adapted form. From 2025 onwards, the mandatory establishment of set-aside areas will be replaced by voluntary establishment with compensation within the framework of a new eco-scheme in the ÖPUL by amending the EU legal basis.