What is FarmCAT?
A research project designed to test the impact of two factors on the successful delivery of agri-environment schemes: firstly the landscape situation of the farm and secondly the level of environmental training the individual farmer receives.
What are we trying to find out?
The principal aim of the FARMCAT project is to develop a holistic understanding of the social and ecological factors which lead to the successful delivery of agri-environmental schemes (AES). We will pursue this aim in a number of different ways:
- By exploring the attitude of different groups of farmers towards agricultural management under AES.
- Determining whether these attitudes affect the biodiversity gains of AES.
- Assessing the impact that training can have on farmer attitudes towards AES and the delivery of increased biodiversity.
- Assessing the impact that landscape context plays in constraining biodiversity gains under AES.
- Determining whether improvements in biodiversity under AES alter farmer attitudes towards the scheme over time.
A multi-disciplinary group of scientists will address these social and ecological constraints. We will compare structured samples of farms within arable and pastoral landscapes to determine how AES management, farmer attitude and training affect biodiversity change. We will study the role of the farmer agent in the success of AES and the process by which attitudinal shifts occur.
Measures of distribution and colonisation by target species will be used to determine how landscape context interacts with farm habitat quality to determine biodiversity responses to AES. Statistical models will be developed for testing of the extent to which improved habitat quality, larger species pools and increased dispersal – by farmer training and landscape management – could enhance the biodiversity outcomes of AES.
…Full methodological details are provided in the project plan
From a policy and from a practical perspective, farmers are the root of long-lasting and sustainable rural development. Agri-environment schemes play a key role in the UK and EU government policy for the promotion of nature conservation and regeneration. They provide incentives for farmers to take a proactive role in managing land for environmental benefit and so contribute towards a diverse and flourishing countryside – both for people and for wildlife.
