population dynamics data on the species concerned indicate that it is maintaining itself on a long-term basis as a viable component of its natural habitats,
• the natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor is likely to be reduced for the foreseeable future, and
• there is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain its populations on a long-term basis.
The conservation status of a habitat in the Habitats Directive (Article 1(e)) will be taken as ‘favourable’ when:
• its natural range and areas it covers within that range are stable or increasing,
• the specific structure and functions which are necessary for its long-term maintenance exist and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable future, and
• the conservation status of its typical species is favourable as defined in (i).
Four parameters have been identified for evaluating the conservation status, which, combined, provide the overall assessment. The parameters are:
• species: range, population, habitat for the species, future prospects, and
• habitat types: range, area, structure and functions, future prospects.
These four parameters are combined to assess conservation status for individual species and habitats using the following four categories: ‘favourable’ (FV), ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ (U1), ‘unfavourable-bad’ (U2) and ‘unknown’ (XX). Trends are equally assessed on the basis of a combination of the individual trends of the four parameters listed above, classified as: increasing, decreasing, stable and unknown.
Of particular interest for this chapter is the fact that in addition to the respective conservation status, trends and presence per biogeographical and MS provided in tabular format, distribution maps for species and habitats should be provided as geospatial information with a 10 km cell resolution. This allows using the geospatial layers for EU-wide assessments of the status of agroecosystems (Masante et al., 2015). Interestingly, pressures and/or threats are recorded as well, including a ranking of its impact on the conservation status of species for each pressure/threat (Table 3).
Table 3 Pressure categories in the list of pressures and threats (from the explanatory notes and guidelines for the period 2013–2018, http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/help/habitats_art17)
| Pressure code | Pressure category | Note |
| A | Agriculture | Includes pressures and threats caused by agricultural practice. |
| B | Forestry | Includes pressures and threats caused by forestry activities, including thinning, wood harvesting, pest control in trees. |
| C | Extraction of resources (minerals, peat, non-renewable energy resources) | Includes pressures related to extraction of materials, such as mining or quarrying, pollution or waste disposal. |
| D | Energy production processes and related infrastructure development | Includes pressures related to production of energy, for example, the construction and operation of power plants, water-use for energy production, waste from energy production, activities and infrastructure related to renewable energy. |
| E | Development and operation of transportation and service corridors | Includes pressures related to transportation of materials or energy, such as construction of infrastructure, pollution and disturbances or increased mortality due to traffic. |
| F | Development, construction and use of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational infrastructure and areas | Includes pressures related to development, construction and use of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational infrastructure, for example, infrastructural changes on existing built areas, expansion of built areas, land use and hydrological changes for urban or industrial development, disturbances or pollution due to residential, commercial, industrial or recreational infrastructure. Includes also pressures related to sport, tourism and leisure activities and infrastructure. |
| G | Extraction and cultivation of biological living resources (other than agriculture and forestry) | Includes pressures linked to uses of biological resources other than agriculture and forestry. |
| H | Military action, public safety measures, and other human intrusions | Includes pressures related to public safety and other human intrusions. |
| I | Invasive and problematic species | Includes pressures related to problematic inter-specific relationships with non-native species which cannot be associated with other pressure categories. Includes also problematic relationships with native species, which came out of balance due to human activities. |
| J | Mixed source pollution | Includes pollution which cannot be associated with other pressure categories. |
| K | Human-induced changes in hydraulic conditions | Includes hydrological and physical modifications of water bodies, which cannot be associated with other pressures categories. |
| L | Natural processes (excluding catastrophes and processes induced by human activity or climate change) | Includes natural processes, such as natural succession, competition, trophic interaction and erosion. |
| M | Geological events, natural catastrophes | Includes pressures such as natural fires, storms and tsunamis. |
| N | Climate change | Includes pressures related to climate change. |
7European Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes (EMBAL)
European Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes (EMBAL) is a rapid approach based on an in situ survey of plots with a size of 500 m × 500 m (25 ha). This plot size yields an optimum ratio between survey effort and detailedness, and effectively represents an agricultural landscape. The development of this survey is part of the monitoring activities coordinated by the European Commission (DG Environment).
The survey aims at recording information on characteristics of agricultural land in each plot, and namely on grassland, cropland and landscape elements. The survey is carried out during optimum vegetation conditions (peak of the growing season). Land cover is mapped, including landscape elements, surveyed parameters include the description of the site (e.g. habitat coding, type of land cover), cropland (e.g. coverage of crops, wild plants, bare soil, number of flowering forbs, key species list) and grasslands (parameters harmonized with LUCAS Grasslands protocol). A nature value is assigned to all mapped elements.
Four 20 m transects are walked, with an observation frame of 1.25
