Agricultural habitats

The indicator shows the conservation status of agricultural habitats (grassland) and it measures the percentage of assessments of agricultural habitats (grassland) that have a favourable, unfavourable-inadequate and unfavourable-bad conservation status.

It will be used to assess changes in the conservation status of European grassland ecosystems.

The indicator is based on data collected according to monitoring obligations under Article 11 of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and is therefore part of the indicator "Habitat types of European interest" (SEBI indicator 05). It is important to note that Article 11 monitoring is not limited to the Natura 2000 network, but covers the entire European territory of the EU Member States.

The indicator covers a set of habitat types (listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive) which are considered to be of European interest that are linked to agro- and grassland ecosystems. This set comprises:

habitats which are in danger of disappearance in their natural range;
habitats that have a small natural range following their regression or by reason of their intrinsically restricted area;
habitats which present outstanding examples of typical characteristics of one or more of the biogeographical regions' (Article 1 of the Habitats Directive).

Trends in this indicator should primarily be influenced by the implementation of measures under the Habitats Directive, such as the establishment of the Natura 2000 Network and habitats and species protection measures. Therefore the indicator reflects progress achieved by the Habitats Directive, one of the main legislative pillars of EU nature conservation policy.

EU Member States have to monitor and report the conservation status of habitats of European interest. Habitat types in agro- and grassland ecosystems, which are significant are also individually monitored (e.g. certain types of species-rich grasslands, pastures, moors and heathlands, wetlands). The conservation status is illustrated in three 'traffic light' categories ('favourable' – green, 'unfavourable inadequate' – amber, 'unfavourable bad' – red, plus unknown) characterised by four parameters:

trends and status of range,
trends and status of the area,
structure and function including typical species,
future prospects.

The indicator is consisting in 4 sub-indicators, based on the number of habitats in the different conservation status categories:

1 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Favourable" conditions in the total grassland

2 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Unfavourable-inadequate" conditions in the total grassland

3 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Unfavourable-bad" conditions in the total grassland

4 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in “Unknown” conditions in the total grassland

The indicator will enable an assessment of the level of ambition of the Natura 2000 measures proposed by Member States in the Rural Development focus area on biodiversity. The information is complementary to the Farmland Bird Index, which is not an indicator of habitats and only focused on common birds. Two "greening" measures of pillar 1 (the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) and the grassland conservation measure) as well as certain cross compliance provisions are complementary key elements which contribute to the improvement of the grassland conservation status.

Type of indicator	Environment
Indicator C36	Conservation status of agricultural habitats (grassland)
Definition	The indicator shows the conservation status of agricultural habitats (grassland) and it measures the percentage of assessments of agricultural habitats (grassland) that have a favourable, unfavourable-inadequate and unfavourable-bad conservation status. It will be used to assess changes in the conservation status of European grassland ecosystems. The indicator is based on data collected according to monitoring obligations under Article 11 of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and is therefore part of the indicator "Habitat types of European interest" (SEBI indicator 05). It is important to note that Article 11 monitoring is not limited to the Natura 2000 network, but covers the entire European territory of the EU Member States. The indicator covers a set of habitat types (listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive) which are considered to be of European interest that are linked to agro- and grassland ecosystems. This set comprises: habitats which are in danger of disappearance in their natural range; habitats that have a small natural range following their regression or by reason of their intrinsically restricted area; habitats which present outstanding examples of typical characteristics of one or more of the biogeographical regions' (Article 1 of the Habitats Directive). Trends in this indicator should primarily be influenced by the implementation of measures under the Habitats Directive, such as the establishment of the Natura 2000 Network and habitats and species protection measures. Therefore the indicator reflects progress achieved by the Habitats Directive, one of the main legislative pillars of EU nature conservation policy. EU Member States have to monitor and report the conservation status of habitats of European interest. Habitat types in agro- and grassland ecosystems, which are significant are also individually monitored (e.g. certain types of species-rich grasslands, pastures, moors and heathlands, wetlands). The conservation status is illustrated in three 'traffic light' categories ('favourable' – green, 'unfavourable inadequate' – amber, 'unfavourable bad' – red, plus unknown) characterised by four parameters: trends and status of range, trends and status of the area, structure and function including typical species, future prospects. The indicator is consisting in 4 sub-indicators, based on the number of habitats in the different conservation status categories: 1 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Favourable" conditions in the total grassland 2 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Unfavourable-inadequate" conditions in the total grassland 3 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in "Unfavourable-bad" conditions in the total grassland 4 - percentage of grassland types assessed as being in “Unknown” conditions in the total grassland The indicator will enable an assessment of the level of ambition of the Natura 2000 measures proposed by Member States in the Rural Development focus area on biodiversity. The information is complementary to the Farmland Bird Index, which is not an indicator of habitats and only focused on common birds. Two "greening" measures of pillar 1 (the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) and the grassland conservation measure) as well as certain cross compliance provisions are complementary key elements which contribute to the improvement of the grassland conservation status.
Unit of measurement	For each type of assessment: - % of total assessments of habitats
Data source	EEA, CLC 2018 (extraction on demand)
References /location of the data	Member State level: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/article-17-database-habitats-directive-92-43-eec-1 Conservation Status by Member State and biogeographical region for each species: https://nature-art17.eionet.europa.eu/article17/habitat/report/?period=5&group=Grasslands&country=
Data collection level	National level. NUTS2 level.
Frequency	Every 6 years
Delay	2-3 years
Comments/caveats