ADORE - Equipping farms to restore biodiversity: applying a results-based approachof a results-based approach

Approaches

In the field of water quality, an adaptive management approach based on results has been successfully tested in a catchment area involving several dozen farmers. ADORE sought to adapt this method to the service provided by agriculture to biodiversity at the farm level of the INRAE research farm in Saint-Laurent de la Prée (located in the marshes of Rochefort-sur-Mer, in Charente-Maritime).

The multi-year approach consists of a series of annual cycles comprising four steps: 1. implementation; 2. monitoring of target species, their habitats and the agricultural practices carried out; 3. collective analysis of results and lessons learned; 4. redesign of the project for the following year.

For the 11 ‘target’ species selected, the expected abundance of the species, the habitat required for that species and, finally, the practices proposed to achieve this habitat and abundance were defined. This action plan was translated into dashboards that display the initial action plan, organise the observations to be made (monitoring) to determine the results obtained and the practices actually implemented, analyse these results and, in particular, understand why the expected results were not achieved, if applicable.

Results

First results from the research farm

ADORE has enabled analysis of the first three years of implementation of the approach on the farm (2021, 2022 and 2023), which shows varying results depending on the target species:

• Very rapid success for the skylark by leaving unmown strips in grasslands or alfalfa fields.
• Not many lapwings despite a favourable habitat, probably due to the general evolution of the populations of this migratory bird.
• For the reed warbler, neither the desired habitats nor the expected abundance could be achieved.

Example of the 2023 results dashboard for the skylark. A green box means that the result has been achieved, while an orange box means that it is moderately satisfactory.

Results of the farmer survey: consideration of biodiversity

Biodiversity is not seen as an economic asset for farming: in general, farmers do not expect it to add value to their income.

The farmer's personal background (their training) seems to influence the nature of the biodiversity taken into account (‘ecosystem’ versus a few species perceived as being of functional interest or not) and to be a strong factor in the level of reasoning behind practices to conserve biodiversity.

If biodiversity conservation is to be integrated as an objective of farming (at the same level as production), farmers will need to acquire knowledge and re-contextualise it. However, moving from ‘imposed’ biodiversity to ‘appropriate’ biodiversity requires the ability to observe it and to have management indicators to support action.

Original results production

Sketchnote – Préserver la biodiversité sur les fermes : et si nous pensions et agissions dans une logique de résultats ?

Participants

INRAE units involved

• UE Saint-Laurent-de-la-Prée - Unité expérimentale de Saint-Laurent-de-la-Prée
• UMR SADAPT - Sciences pour l'action et le développement : activités, produits, territoires
• UR EABX - Unité de recherche Écosystèmes aquatiques et changements globaux
• UE Ferlus - Unité de recherche Fourrages, environnement, ruminants
• UMR Agronomy - AgroParisTech / Université Paris-Saclay

Partners

• An ornithologist
• La fédération de pêche de la Charente