A round up of recent activity posted on Recodo, our platform for Europe's Clusters.
The first half of the year is always a busy time for our FRAMEwork farmer clusters as we make the most of the nicer weather by inviting our communities into the landscape, visiting each others’ projects and carrying out as much biodiversity monitoring as possible. Here’s a round up of all the activity that’s happened during the spring and summer, from Recodo's Farmer Cluster Stories.
Wildlife Monitoring and Research
Biodiversity data continues to be the bedrock of our research at FRAMEwork and we rely on our clusters to carry out the necessary monitoring across their land.
In Basse Durance, France, visual observation and pan-trap sampling of pollinators has been carried out each month from May to August and a vegetation session was conducted in the first two weeks of July. The below table, which describes the methodology used by our French cluster farmers and their partners at INRAE and GRAB, is a great example of the detailed approach required.
Table: Description of the biodiversity monitoring at the farmer cluster done or planned in 2024
Observation/Sampling | Number | Dates | Taxa |
Bird transects | 17 transects of 500 meters | Marsh (12th to 19th) and April (24th to 26th) | bird |
Pollinator transects | 15 transects of 500 meters | May (07th to 16th) June (17th to 20th) July (11th to 16th) August (21 th to 27th) | bumble bees, butterflies |
Pan-trap sampling | 3 to 4 pantraps for each of 15 transects | May (13th to 22th) June (17th to 20th) July (11th to 16th) August (06t to 09th) | Hymenoptera, Diptera |
Vegetation, EMBAL protocol | 3 to 4 transects of 20mX2,5m for each of 14 transects | April (2nd to 4th) July (3rd to 16th) | Flora |
Cardboard trap | 15 apple orchards | June 24 to July 2 October to November (not done yet) | moth larvae, spiders, earwigs |
Sentinel preys | 15 apple orchards | April (22th to 26th) and May (13th to 22th) | codling moth eggs, aphids |
Apple damages | 15 apple orchards | June 24th to July 2nd | aphids, codling moths, diseases |
Vole presence | 15 apple orchards | May (13th to 27th) ; June 24th to July 2nd ; October (not done yet) | Microtus duodecimcostatus |
In Luxembourg, weather conditions were very rainy over the spring/summer period, which meant it wasn’t a great year for monitoring butterflies and bumblebees. Nevertheless, our cluster managed to conduct all required visits across the four test squares and four control squares. Species identification for the pan trap samples collected will begin in September.
Our Austrian cluster has written up a very informative summary of their monitoring activity on Recodo, with fantastically detailed descriptions of the methodology and lovely pictures of their samples.
Our Estonian cluster conducted their second round of bird surveys, four rounds of pan trapping, four rounds of butterfly and bumblebee transects and two rounds of vegetation surveys. They were especially focused on monitoring the effects of land abandonment on biodiversity, and conducted pan and pitfall trappings and sentinel surveys to assess this.
A key objective for our UK partner this year was to reconnect habitats that have been divided across the 10,000ha landscape of the cluster by checking and updating habitat maps and co-creating a cluster-wide plan for improved connectivity. Monitoring results from the period emphasised the importance of achieving this ambition: when five farms from the cluster took part in the Big Farmland Bird Count, of the 46 species of bird they recorded, 17 species were found to occur across 50% of the farms involved.
Of course, we’re always looking to be at the forefront of the latest innovations in monitoring technology. This summer, five farmers from our Netherlands cluster participated in a pilot run by PPP Carbon Farming to test some monitoring tools created by Earthwatch. They have been testing three different tools - a soil animal test, an insect transect and a bird point count - and you can read a description of how they work on Recodo.
One of the most special parts of carrying out monitoring occurs when we are able to record a rare species. Happily, a rare Downland Villa beefly was recorded on one of our UK cluster farms in June - one of only 6 recent records in Dorset.
Cluster Knowledge Exchange Events
Collaboration at a landscape level is at the heart of the Advanced Farmer Cluster system that we advocate for at FRAMEwork, so farmers in our clusters have lots of opportunities to get together and exchange ideas, discussing challenges and solutions.
On 7th March, Italian FRAMEwork partner SSSA organised a fun event to present farmers in the Monte Pisano region with “awards” for their biodiverse olive groves. They jokingly named the award Lo Stafilinide d’Oro (or The Golden Staphylinide) after an important predator of the olive fruit fly, a pest that negatively impacts olive yields in the region, and presented it to a grove with 18 different species of staphylinids and a total of 119 individual insects!
Meanwhile, our Austrian cluster farmers in Mostviertel held a tree-pruning workshop on 6th March, delving into the theory behind the practice with a talk from an expert in the field and practising techniques together. On 18th May, nine farmers from the cluster had the opportunity to take an informative tour of “Naturhof Wieser” in Haidershofen, a farm with a focus on biological diversity and rare animal breeds.
Our UK cluster also enjoyed some fantastic talks. On 7th March, Project Officers from the Isle of White's Sea-Eagle reintroduction project came to speak to farmers and volunteers about the White-Tailed Sea Eagle that has been spotted in the skies over the cluster. On 7th March, GWCT Game management expert Mike Swan provided an informative overview of best practice management to control rat populations on farms and to highlight changes to legislation and products in 2024. On 28th May there was a cluster meeting to discuss techniques to mitigate the effects of a fugal pathogen affecting ash trees in the region and, on 26th June, the opportunity to tour The Stubhampton Estate, an extensive network of well-connected habitat farmed using biodiversity-sensitive management techniques.
18th July saw the Netherlands cluster visit the Waalkens farm on the Zeeasterweg in Lelystad where they toured the farm’s bird field, and heard a presentation on moths from Rik Wever of the Butterfly Foundation.
Our Estonian partner EMU held a field day for five farmers and a student at Kriisa farm on 11th July, in the Kanepi kihlkund Farmer Cluster. FRAMEwork researchers introduced the positive effects of sown meadow seeds, discussed pest control as an ecosystem service, and demonstrated the use of pitfall traps.
Engaging Communities
Spring and summer are great times to welcome our communities onto our farms - hopefully nicer weather means they will get to see the landscape at its best and perhaps spot some interesting biodiversity.
In April, our Born cluster in Luxembourg participated in City Nature Challenge for the third year running. Ramborn Cider, one of FRAMEwork's Cluster Farms, provided a base for scientists from project partner LIST and volunteers from the NGO Beetogether to explain to visitors how the app iNaturalist is used, and about the background of its use in the orchards of the cluster. A record number of observations were made this year.
Also in April, our Val Graziosa cluster held an event dedicated to edible wild plants for twenty people from the local community, featuring an expert talk by a farmer from the cluster and an identification walk. The cluster also hosted a successful bioblitz in May.
On 15th May, EMU organised a field day for 10 pre-school and 10 high-school pupils, inviting them to use the iNaturalist app to record nature observations at Hauka farm and listen to a talk about biodiversity and its role in food production.
Our Austrian cluster also did fantastic work engaging school children. On 25th June, they facilitated a visit for 13 students to tour a local dairy farm and learn about all the important processes that take place, from working with machinery to milking and caring for the animals. At the farm’s species-rich meadows, the students took part in quizzes and games to learn about biodiversity and ecosystem services.
We hope everyone in our community has had a fantastic summer!
As we move towards the end of the year, we’re looking forward to building on the momentum created by all of this exciting activity and progression FRAMEwork’s research and fieldwork. We want to thank all of our project partners and cluster farmers for their excellent efforts so far.
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