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Popular nature program Osoon recently featured participants in our ' Kanepi kihlkund' Farmer  Cluster... In an exciting moment for the FRAMEwork Farmer Cluster network, participants from the Estonian University of Life Sciences appeared on the nature program Osoon , to showcase work they are doing in their ' Kanepi kihlkund' Farmer  Cluster. The episode brought to life discussions around diverse agricultural landscapes in pest management, species-specific plant protection, and the broader topic of agricultural landscape management. "Osoon" is a renowned Estonian nature and science program broadcast by ETV, Estonia's national public television network. Since its inception, "Osoon" has been educating and captivating audiences with its in-depth exploration of the natural world, environmental issues, and scientific discoveries. The show delves into a variety of topics, ranging from local Estonian wildlife and ecosystems to global environmental challenges and conservation efforts. By presenting complex subjects in an accessible and engaging manner, "Osoon" aims to raise public awareness and appreciation of nature, promote environmental stewardship, and inspire curiosity about science and the planet's biodiversity among viewers of all ages. The episode descriptions outlines how: One of the biggest scourges of canola fields is the tiny turnip beetle. However, today's plant protection products are weapons of mass destruction, killing beneficial pollinators in addition to the pest - scientists at the Estonian University of Life Sciences have begun to develop a species-specific remedy against this bad guy. You can find details of the episode here . For more insights from FRAMEwork Estonia, check out EMU’s recently released video introducing their agroecology workgroup and highlighting the project's objectives on YouTube .

It was another fascinating year monitoring across project areas... This year has seen some fantastic progress, both in terms of the biodiversity monitoring data we have been able to collect, the growing sophistication of our collection processes and for emerging results. As work continues on the FRAMEwork Data Hub, we have developed our thinking around the harmonisation and quality control of datasets, with FRAMEwork representatives from CREAF presenting on this subject at this year’s Digital Earth Symposium . We have continued to look to the ways Citizen Science activity can complement farmer-led monitoring programmes, with the roll-out of an iNaturalist Citizen’s Observatory across our network, and multiple Farmer Clusters taking part in the international City Nature Challenge and holding training sessions on biodiversity-monitoring for farmers and their local communities. To discover more about activity like this from 2023, please see our Farmer Clusters Year In Review blog or explore project news items. Read on for some professional biodiversity monitoring highlights from across the project this year. Biodiversity Monitoring Protocols in Action The continuing development of project-wide protocols has been a prevalent theme of this year’s work. For example, our Italian consortium partner The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) have led the way on a new protocol that could prove effective across the project. Based on an innovative approach to community data analysis presented by Ovaskainen et al., (2017) and an early application of it (Purhonen et al., 2020), SSSA have developed a model building on monitoring and analysis of habitat and landscape effects on butterfly communities undertaken in 2021 and 2022, in their local Val Graziosa Farmer Cluster. This approach has been presented to FRAMEwork and, if validated, it could help analyse project-wide biodiversity data from across our Farmer Clusters. It's great to see project protocols continue to be implemented and innovated on. Results Coming Down the Track As we enter the penultimate year of FRAMEwork, it is exciting to begin to shape our analysis of the data already collected into actionable conclusions. Staying with our Italian partners, the first results of SSSA’s biodiversity monitoring data indicate that land use diversity and evenness in their reference landscapes are the factors with the highest explanatory power for butterfly abundance data. Very similar distribution patterns are obtained when analysing the data of a single butterfly species, including and excluding sampling time and year. It seems that the results are fairly consistent and, more importantly given the high mobility of butterflies, it makes sense that they respond more to overall land use diversity than to the specific habitat where they were observed. We’ll share more emerging results with you at the end of this article after continuing the tour through some of this years’ professional monitoring highlights! Monitoring Mammals and Birdlife In the UK, early 2023 also saw FRAMEwork partner The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) complete their winter bird feeding project. Concluding in April, this research initiative allowed local farmers and enthusiasts in Dorset to learn about bird populations and their behaviours. As it turns out, the birds of our Dorset cluster have refined tastes! Monitoring them revealed that feeders stocked with Premium Finch mix were favoured over those with a standard wild bird seed mix. The species that used these feeders were Greenfinch, Yellowhammer, Dunnock, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Pheasant and Rook. GWCT went on to complete two rounds of bird surveys across April and June, with 24 transects surveyed twice producing 48 surveys total. Their owl tagging project at Cranborne Chase House is also going strong, with two rounds of owl box checks completed and four female barn owls fitted with GPS tags over the breeding season. All of this data is under review, with a paper on farmland bird indicators in the works! Meanwhile in Spain, consortium partner Fundación Artemisan continue their programme of thorough and wide-ranging small mammal monitoring. Ongoing since the beginning of the project, this programme aims to evaluate whether the land-management techniques implemented during the five years of FRAMEwork affect key species in the ecosystem. The Fundación Artemisan team told us a bit about why this monitoring work is important: “We especially want to address the trends of the red-legged partridge, a species under severe decline owing to intensive agriculture conducted in the olive groves, both for the mechanical farming and pesticides used.” Monitoring was conducted March-April (spring pair counts), July-August (summer brood counts) and October (autumn counts) by vehicle through a linear transect. It was carried out twice in a period of two weeks, in both an experimental and control zone. The full list of species comprised small game (red-legged partridges, wild rabbits, hares and thrushes), raptors and songbirds. Monitoring Indicator Species: including Pollinators, Vegetation and Soil Life Another approach to biodiversity monitoring involves selecting an indicator species with a specific function on farmland, and drawing wider conclusions about ecosystem health by monitoring that species. This is something FRAMEwork partner The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) have been exploring in Austria with the Queen of Spain Fritillary butterfly or, in German, the Kleiner Perlmutterfalter. This species was collectively selected by farmers in the project's Burgenland Cluster at a meeting on May 23rd, on the basis of its importance to arable land and its association with extensive management and biodiversity. Prior to the meeting, BOKU prepared information on a range of potentially suitable species, and facilitated a discussion about which one to choose. After the meeting, BOKU prepared specific informational materials about the butterfly, and suitable monitoring methods were developed. Existing programs were consulted and the methods used in them were adapted to this monitoring project. In July, they began the project rollout with cluster farmers and other interested farmers in the region. Another example of interesting indicator species is provided by SSSA’s trial to investigate whether waste elements, like pomace, can be used to improve soil fertility in organically managed olive groves. When assessing the biological and functional quality of soils, researchers are able to use the presence (and degree of soil adaptation) of micro-arthropods as an indicator of the use and status of the soil. The method they are using is based on the QBS-ar (Biological Quality of Soil-Arthropods) index. To conduct the trial, SSSA researchers took lumps of soil from the field that are uniform in volume and brought them to the lab, where Berlese funnels help extract the micro-arthropods. The resulting samples, preserved in alcohol, are then evaluated. This trial is currently in progress and due to end in 2024. When it comes to vegetation monitoring, the data continues to support the conclusion that extensive grassland promotes biodiversity. We published a blog in May celebrating our Spanish Farmer Cluster’s efforts to showcase the implementation and management of vegetation covers, both natural and project-seeded, as viable solutions to combat the desertification and soil erosion that poses a huge threat to Andalusia’s agroecosystems. Additional monitoring conducted by Fundación Artemisan in the Cazadores de Aguilar Cluster shows that once-degraded olive groves now host thriving biodiversity, with the return of various plant species and butterflies, birds and game species. In October, our Austrian cluster carried out observations at their newly created species-rich smooth oatgrass meadows. Formerly arable land, these fields were recently re-sown with the species-rich “renatura smooth oat meadow mixture” from Kärntner Saatbau, using reverse rotation tiller and slot seeding. The group monitored insect and bird populations visiting the plants, which included meadow clary, garden burnet and daisy. Using Technology and Digital Tools 2023 has seen the consortium making sophisticated use of the technology at our disposal, with FRAMEwork partners facilitating the uptake of biodiversity monitoring apps among farmers in their Clusters. For more on this, please read our Farmer Clusters Year in Review 2023 . This digitisation is also something that partners have progressed for professional monitoring. To end back where we started, in Italy, SSA has been implementing new digital workflows in their Val Graziosa Farmer Cluster this year. Data collection for each monitoring activity in the field is now done digitally via a geographic relational database and a QGIS project for each field test. The data is then imported into QField , an open-source mobile application for Android devices and tablets that enables the creation of ad hoc forms for data collection and acquisition of geographic data in real-time. This new process saves a considerable amount of time and allows for greater data accuracy. Underpinning all of this fantastic research are rigorous methodologies. Look out next year for a research paper, currently being drafted, about FRAMEwork Farmer Cluster and biodiversity monitoring methods. This paper will consider our monitoring methods and findings in the context of many ecological avenues, exploring how FRAMEwork brings together multiple techniques across different landscape types for comparative study. You can also read more about how biodiversity monitoring findings are being fed back to farmers and used for research on Recodo , the online home of our Farmer Cluster Network. A good place to start is in our Dutch Zeeasterweg Farmer Cluster !

Learning the value of veteran trees for biodiversity on farmland. .. Early December saw members of the Cranborne Chase Farmer Cluster meet with community volunteers to learn how to survey the veteran trees that make up a striking part of their historic estates and parklands. Sarah Spurling from Dorset Council and Purbeck's Precious Past project  donated a day of her time to train small teams of these volunteers, who will now work together going forward to survey sites within the cluster.  Dorset's 'Purbeck's Precious Past' project is enhancing understanding of Purbeck's ancient trees and wildlife, aiming to expand this knowledge and protect local tree heritage. It engages stakeholders and communities through citizen science to help preserve these trees for the future. Additionally, the project involves collecting seeds from historic trees, cultivating new saplings, and using them in planting programmes enriching local woodlands and hedges. More Information Ancient trees are invaluable to UK biodiversity, especially on farmlands, where they serve as critical ecological anchors in several ways. They provide unique habitats for a variety of species - with their complex structures, including hollows, cracks, and crevices, offering shelter and breeding sites for birds, bats, and invertebrates that newer trees cannot. This complexity increases over time, making ancient trees increasingly important for biodiversity. Ancient trees also act as biodiversity hotspots, supporting a wider range of species than younger trees. This is due to the varied microhabitats they offer and the longevity of their presence in the landscape, allowing ecological communities to stabilize and diversify. They're often associated with rare and specialist species not found in other habitats. Beyond biodiversity, ancient trees provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon storage, air and water purification, and soil stabilisation. Their extensive root systems are crucial for soil health, promoting microbial diversity and aiding in nutrient cycling. The trees also serve as living repositories of genetic diversity, offering resilience to environmental changes and diseases. This genetic reservoir is vital for the adaptation and survival of tree populations in the face of climate change. In agricultural landscapes, ancient trees can form natural corridors and stepping stones for wildlife, facilitating movement and dispersal across fragmented habitats. This connectivity is essential for maintaining genetic diversity and ecosystem resilience. Their presence enhances the cultural landscape, often holding significant historical and cultural value. This can foster a stronger connection between people and their natural environment, promoting conservation efforts. We only have to think about the passionate global response to loss of the famous 300-year old 'Sycamore Gap' tree in Northumbria, UK, to realise their magic! By preserving and integrating ancient trees within farmland, farmers and landowners can contribute significantly to conserving the UK's biodiversity, ensuring the survival of a multitude of species and the health of ecosystems. For those interested in learning more about the conservation of ancient trees in the UK and how to get involved - the Woodland Trust offers extensive information on ancient trees, including how to identify, conserve, and report them. They run the Ancient Tree Inventory, a living database of ancient trees across the UK. The Ancient Tree Forum is also worth a look, this initiative focuses on the preservation and protection of the UK's ancient trees, providing resources to support conservation efforts.

NORDECO at ECSA 2024... The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA)   is an NGO that supports and advocates for citizen science in Europe, promoting greater recognition and funding for the democratisation of knowledge production.  “ECSA believes in a world where people are empowered to make a positive change through science. Our mission is to make science and research open, accessible and valuable for everyone.” Since 2015, the ECSA conference  has been bringing together ECSA members to celebrate the citizen science community, network and build partnerships. FRAMEwork partner BOKU is one of the conference’s founding organisers.   This year’s conference took place in Vienna from 3-6th April and focussed on the concept of  “change”:   “We are in a time of rapid change on multiple levels. Change can be seen as positive by one group and negative by another. As a result, different perspectives on any given change can draw completely different conclusions … We want to highlight the potential of citizen science to be a change maker in research and society, and as a tool to manage the change happening around us” NORDECO members of FRAMEwork participate in the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) Working Group (WG) on Agri-Food. At ECSA 2024 they presented on and discussed project-related experiences, opportunities, and challenges. The conference was attended by over 500 participants from 36 countries. ECSA shared a summary video of the proceedings  to their YouTube channel, where you can also view the opening and keynote speeches and panel discussions.

Congratulations to FRAMEwork Doctoral Candidate researcher Laura Mansier, who has been busy sharing insights from her project work at recent conferences, ahead of her research being published. Congratulations to FRAMEwork Doctoral Candidate researcher Laura Mansier, who has been busy sharing insights from her project work at three recent conferences, ahead of her research being published. Laura has been developing a model, which provides insights on optimizing agricultural landscapes around arable fields for natural pest control, with Paul van Rijn as part of their FRAMEwork-funded research at University of Amsterdam (UVA) . As covered on the blog, she presented work on the topic at last year’s European Congress of Entomology   and National Entomology Day .  The first presentation was to the 15th Conference on Dynamical Systems Applied to Biology and Natural Sciences  (DSABNS 2024) , a well-established international event involving lectures, talks and a poster session on methodological topics in the natural sciences and mathematics. Laura won a travel grant from UVA to attend the conference, which took place in Lisbon from 6-9th February. She said:  “I wanted to go to this conference to learn more about how we can use mathematics to answer more applied questions, which is what I do with my model, and get feedback from other mathematicians. I mostly just got positive feedback on my work so that was exciting and reassuring, as I am not a schooled mathematician but an ecologist.” Laura explained that the next two conferences were quite different, as they were targeted towards applied ecology more specifically.   On 13-14th February, Laura presented at a second conference, the Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting  in Lunteren. Here, the theme was “Biodiversity, Bending the curve from theory to practice” and discussions were geared towards strengthening the network of ecologists in the Netherlands, Belgium, and surrounding countries and providing an overview of their recent work.  On 20-22nd March, Laura presented again, this time at the 10th meeting of the IOBC-WPRS WG “Landscape Management for Functional Biodiversity”  in Pisa, Italy. Co-organised by FRAMEwork partner SSSA , the meeting focussed on landscape management for functional biodiversity and comparing approaches to the management and monitoring of biodiversity in perennial (orchards) and herbaceous (arable or vegetable) cropping systems.  Laura’s presentation engendered a different type of conversation at these conferences:  “Empirical researchers are often hesitant about theoretical models and their practical applications, questioning their legitimacy due to the assumptions made to make these models. I explained that all research, including empirical studies, relies on assumptions since we can’t measure and think of everything. Often we have to think more about our assumptions in theoretical research as it is the basis of our work, whereas in empirical research this is often overlooked. Therefore, theoretical research can reveal flaws and assumption-based results in empirical work. Besides, models can give insights that we cannot gain from the field, and vice versa. For example, model studies can dissect population dynamics and how they are impacted by the landscape, while empirical studies can use this knowledge to test and gain further insights in the field. ”   Thank you to Laura for sharing these fascinating insights with us, and for taking her research out into the world.  Laura and Paul have now begun updates for the model to make it spatially explicit, so that it can be used more easily for studying different landscape compositions and specific case studies.

New paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production , co-authored by Iris Bohnet from consortium partner CZULS .  Titled “Impact of sustainable land management practices on controlling water erosion events: The case of hillslopes in the Czech Republic,” the paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the socio-economic factors contributing to water erosion events, drawing on extensive data from the Czech Republic's Monitoring Erosion of Agricultural Land (MEAL) program. The study investigates how socio-economic characteristics influence the occurrence of water erosion events in the Czech Republic. Utilising data from 1594 erosion events recorded between 2011 and 2019, the researchers examined various site and farm characteristics to identify key predictors of erosion. Notably, plot size and land tenure emerged as significant factors, with larger plots and certain land tenure arrangements being more prone to repeated erosion.  The research emphasises the need to understand the socio-economic roots of soil erosion, as state policies in the Czech Republic and other EU countries primarily use socio-economic instruments to protect farmland. The researchers aimed to identify which farm types are most effective in controlling erosion and what measures can be applied to mitigate water erosion.  By analysing the frequency and extent of erosion events, the study provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of current erosion control policies and practices. The findings underscore the urgent need for robust soil protection measures and recommend updating agri-environmental standards (Good Agricultural Environmental Conditions - GAEC) within the EU's long-term budget to enhance soil conservation efforts. Find out more here . The Journal of Cleaner Production publishes high-quality research articles, review papers, and case studies focused on sustainable development and environmental science. It covers a wide range of topics related to cleaner production, environmental management, sustainable resource use, and eco-efficient practices. The journal aims to disseminate innovative research findings and practical solutions that promote sustainability and reduce environmental impact across various industries and sectors. It serves as a valuable resource for academics, practitioners, policymakers, and professionals committed to advancing sustainable development and cleaner production methods globally.

Framework's Scottish Farmer Cluster meets in person for the first time... Framework's Scottish Farmer Cluster is based in Aberdeenshire, North-East Scotland. After meeting online during COVID, they caught up in person for the first time to discuss their clusters' soil health and biodiversity. Beatrix Keillior, of The James Hutton Institute reports: "Have you ever been to a meeting in a room that also houses a tractor collection? I certainly hadn’t until I visited the Scottish Farmer Cluster at their meeting in November and what an interesting meeting it was. The Scottish cluster is made up of four farms from across the North East of Scotland and the landscape they cover varies from a very sandy, coastal location to the more wooded landscape that you can see in the photo above. Each farm in the cluster has an average size of 360 hectares and the total area the cluster covers is around 1500 hectares. The main crops and livestock on the farms within the cluster are Spring Barley and Cattle. The Scottish cluster have been unable to meet as an entire group until now so the room was full of chatter as we tucked into a buffet lunch surrounded by some fantastic old tractors. The conversation covered all sorts of topics from potato based milk products to the Highland Cow just outside the meeting room who used to live at the Torridon Hotel in Scotland. Once we were fed it was time to get down to business and the cluster facilitator Gill Banks, from the James Hutton Institute took to the floor to give the cluster a flavour of the vegetation, birds and pollinators she had found during the baseline monitoring completed over the summer. Aside from these main monitoring methods, the team from Hutton had also conducted some earthworm surveys due to the particular interest of the cluster. Then it was time to think about what the cluster farmers might want to try next year on their farms and this resulted in some lively discussion around the benefits of carbon auditing and the tools you can use to do that as well as the challenges around mob grazing. There was also talk of zero till and the transition to this farming practise. In the end the group came to a shared view that they would all be trying some wildflower mixes on the farms but the mix chosen, the size and location of these wildflowers would be different depending on the individual farm. Keep your eyes peeled for some lovely wildflower photos next summer. Finally, after some tea and cakes we were joined by Andrew Christie, an agronomist and agri-tech specialist from The James Hutton Institute who gave a presentation on cover crops and this stimulated some great conversation amongst the group and gave everyone something to take away and consider. I certainly left having learnt a lot about the biodiversity currently on the farms within the cluster and with lots of interesting points to think about going forwards. It will be great to see the cluster meeting regularly as we go forward throughout the project and developing their own ideas to increase biodiversity in their own landscape."

Discovering Nature Together in the Heart of Tuscany... On April 29, 2023, the slopes of Monte Pisano came alive with the excited voices of families, children and nature enthusiasts as the first-ever BioBlitz of this Tuscan mountain took place. This citizen science event, supported by the H2020 FRAMEwork project, brought together over 100 participants in a day-long exploration of local biodiversity that would ultimately rank eighth in Italy's City Nature Challenge competition. Credit: Scuola Sant'Anna This area is home to the project's Val Graziosa Farmer Cluster, with members taking part in the BioBlitz. Don't forget, our Clusters do much more than just Citizen Science events! You can follow their news directly on our online platform . The event was organized by an impressive coalition of institutions and organizations, demonstrating the power of community collaboration in environmental education and conservation. The Plant Science Research Center of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies led the initiative within the FRAMEwork project, partnering with: Successione Ecologica APS Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa Calci Agroecology Desk (Sportello Agroecologico) Forest Community (Comunità del Bosco) Olive Oil Trail of the Monti Pisani (Strada dell'Olio dei Monti Pisani) OliValGraziosa Farmer Cluster National Biodiversity Future Center The Day's Adventure The BioBlitz began at the Natural History Museum of Calci, where participants gathered before setting off on their biodiversity adventures. The event was thoughtfully designed to accommodate different interests and age groups, with 120 participants divided into five groups, each guided by expert naturalists. The day featured both afternoon and evening excursions through the Calci area, allowing participants to observe different species active at various times. Twelve experts specializing in different fields accompanied the groups: Botanists identified local plant species Herpetologists pointed out reptiles and amphibians Ornithologists helped spot and identify birds Entomologists revealed the fascinating world of insects Results The collective effort of all participants resulted in remarkable biodiversity documentation: 430 total observations  were recorded 199 different species  were identified The project achieved 8th place  in the Italian classification of the City Nature Challenge 2023 These numbers reflect not just the rich biodiversity of Monte Pisano, but also the enthusiasm and dedication of the local community in documenting their natural heritage. Tech and a Taster of Local Tradition All observations made during the BioBlitz were uploaded to iNaturalist, a global citizen science platform. A dedicated project page was created for the event as part of the City Nature Challenge 2023, ensuring that the biodiversity data collected would contribute to both local and global conservation efforts. The BioBlitz concluded at San Vito Farm, an organic farm that is part of the FRAMEwork Farmer Cluster. Here, participants were treated to a delightful taste of local gastronomy that perfectly complemented their nature exploration. Participants got to sample slices of homemade toasted bread drizzled with locally produced olive oil, homemade desserts and Glasses of Tuscan wine for the adults! This culinary finale highlighted the connection between biodiversity conservation and sustainable local food production, a key theme of the FRAMEwork project. Legacy and Impact The success of the first Monte Pisano BioBlitz may help establish it as an annual tradition. The event demonstrated how citizen science can effectively engage communities in biodiversity monitoring while fostering environmental awareness and appreciation for local ecosystems. By combining scientific expertise with community participation, supported by the H2020 FRAMEwork project's resources, the 2023 BioBlitz created a model for future biodiversity monitoring efforts. It showed that when families, children, scientists, and local farmers come together, they can create meaningful contributions to our understanding and conservation of natural heritage. Ultimately, the BioBlitz was was a celebration of biodiversity, community and the vital connection between people and their environment. As participants headed home with new knowledge, full stomachs, and memories of their discoveries, they hopefully carried with them a deeper appreciation for the natural treasures of Monte Pisano and their role in protecting them for future generations.

New paper in the Journal of Environmental Management. We are pleased to share the publication of a new paper in the Journal of Environmental Management , co-authored by Iris Bohnet from consortium partner CZULS .  Titled "Impacts of Land Consolidation on Land Degradation: A Systematic Review," this research sheds light on the complex dynamics of land consolidation (LC) and its effects on land degradation across various regions and conditions. Land consolidation is a pivotal tool in rural planning, often touted for its potential to combat land degradation. This systematic review scrutinizes LC projects from diverse global regions, unveiling a significant divide in their approaches and outcomes.  In areas like Africa and Southeast Asia, LC primarily aims to create larger fields for streamlined management. Conversely, in Europe and China, LC encompasses a broader array of land management measures. The study reveals that LC projects' impact on land degradation is closely tied to their specific designs. Projects lacking integrated land management measures sometimes worsen land degradation, while those with such measures generally yield positive outcomes.  The study also touches on the challenges of LC, including concerns about property rights and the need for co-financing by governments and NGOs to support local agriculture and prevent land degradation. The papers’ findings highlight the critical role of strategic planning in harnessing LC's potential to mitigate land degradation effectively, delving into the nuances of LC projects implemented across diverse natural and socio-economic conditions worldwide. You can read the full paper   here . The Journal of Environmental Management is a peer reviewed journal for the publication of original research related to managing environmental systems and improving environmental quality.

New project supported paper considers farm landscape aesthetics We are pleased to share the publication of an insightful FRAMEwork supported paper titled "Does Increasing Farm Plot Size Influence the Visual Quality of Everyday Agricultural Landscapes?" in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health .  Co-authored by Iris Bohnet from consortium partner CZULS , this study explores how the size of farm plots impacts the visual appeal of agricultural landscapes, with significant implications for agricultural policies and landscape management. Focusing on central and eastern European agricultural landscapes, which have experienced significant changes in plot size since the 1950s, the research examines whether smaller farm plot sizes, contributing to greater landscape heterogeneity, are perceived as more visually appealing compared to larger homogeneous plots.  Key Insights: Visual Preferences: People generally prefer small-scale plot patterns, especially in flat landscapes with low woody vegetation. These diverse landscapes are deemed more beautiful and beneficial to well-being. Impact of Plot Size: Even moderate decreases in plot size significantly improve the visual quality of homogeneous landscapes. Demographic Consistency: Preferences for smaller plots are consistent across different demographic groups, notably older individuals, those with higher education, and professionals in landscape design or conservation. Policy Implications:  The study suggests re-evaluating land consolidation practices in agricultural policy-making to enhance the visual and ecological quality of landscapes. For more details, you can read the full paper   here . The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is a peer-reviewed, trans-disciplinary journal focused on publishing content related to health promotion and disease prevention. IJERPH aims to bring together all scientific communities from various disciplines that address health promotion, wellbeing and improvement of quality of life. We strive to broaden the perception of Public Health to encompass all aspects of biological, social, environmental, and behavioural determinants of health, shifting the focus beyond traditional boundaries.

New project supported publication tracks tick spread via search trends... We are excited to announce the publication of a fascinating new FRAMEwork study co authored by Finn Danielsen from consortium partner NORDECO. The research, titled "Monitoring Temporal Trends in Internet Searches for ‘Ticks’ Across Europe by Google Trends: Tick–Human Interaction or General Interest?", investigates whether Internet searches for ticks can serve as a low-cost, real-time monitoring tool for tracking tick-human interactions.  By analyzing Google Trends data from nine European countries over several years, the researchers aimed to determine if search frequencies correlate with actual tick encounters influenced by local weather conditions. Key Insights: Seasonal Variation: The study found that search frequencies for ticks reflect expected seasonal patterns, suggesting a link to actual tick encounters rather than mere general interest. Search Term Preferences: Variability in search term preferences over time highlights the need for careful consideration when using such data for monitoring purposes. Weather Correlation: Monthly search frequencies showed significant correlation with local temperature and precipitation patterns, indicating that Internet search data could provide valuable insights into tick activity. The researchers noted limitations in using search data due to changing search term preferences and potential inaccuracies in search behavior. They recommend further in-depth analysis by experts familiar with local languages and search behaviors to enhance the reliability of this approach. For more details, you can read the full paper here. Insects  is an international, peer-reviewed open access journal of entomology published by MDPI online monthly. It publishes reviews, research papers and communications related to the biology, physiology, behavior and management of arthropods as well as their interactions with human societies, plants, and ecosystem services.