Project number: QL24010300
Project title: Rationalization of agricultural landscapes to combine production functions with efficient biodiversity support
Donor: Ministry of Agriculture Czech Republic
Programme: NAZV
Lead Partner of the project: CZU
Project partners: VIN AGRO s.r.o.
Project coordinator: doc. Ing. Michal Knapp Ph.D.
Project adminstration: Ing. Jana Vorlová Kortanová
Schedule: 03/2024 - 12/2028
Total budget: 20 504 000 CZK
Abstract:
The project aims to rationalise the agricultural landscape to combine high agricultural production with effective biodiversity support. The main tool for achieving this goal is the concept of EIPC (Ecologically-Informed Precision Conservation), which utilizes technological innovations such as yield maps and satellite data to identify low-yield areas suitable for the establishment of non-productive biotopes. The project focuses on optimising the establishment and management of permanent fallows, wildflower strips and woodlots on both low and high fertility soils. The field research will examine the impact of soil fertility on the biodiversity of these biotopes and will explore different management practices for fallows, including mulching, mechanical mowing, and grazing. Another part of the project is the development of a landscape visualisation application that will allow users to optimise landscapes according to ecological rules aimed at connecting existing habitats, increasing landscape diversity and improving ecological conditions. The project will also contribute to the development of a methodology for implementing the EIPC concept in the practice of public administration and local governments, including proposed rules for financial incentives aimed at supporting biodiversity. The project outcomes will be widely communicated among experts and the general public through popular articles, workshops, and media promotion. This will help the project to more effectively fulfil the international commitments of the Czech Republic in the field of biodiversity protection and minimisation of negative impacts of agriculture on the environment.