What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to develop a framework for assessing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes using operational policy datasets.

April 23, 2026Open Access

Empirical study on arable land use diversity - Discussion paper

Key Points

This study aims to develop a framework for assessing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes using operational policy datasets.
Developed a harmonized framework integrating LPIS, IACS, and Sentinel-2 data.
Constructed indicators for ecosystem connectivity, compositional diversity, and structural mosaicity.
Conducted change detection analysis over a decadal dataset from 2015 to 2024.
Significant decline in boundary complexity between arable land and semi-natural elements observed.
Over 80% of quadrats showed reduced connectivity over time, pointing to landscape simplification.
The framework provides scalable proxies for biodiversity monitoring, though species-level processes remain unobserved.

Abstract

Abstract Monitoring biodiversity in agricultural landscapes remains constrained by a persistent disconnect between ecological theory and operational policy datasets. While Earth Observation (EO) and administrative systems such as the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) and Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) provide high-resolution spatial data, they are not explicitly designed for biodiversity assessment. This study develops and applies a harmonised framework for deriving biodiversity-relevant proxies from LPIS, IACS, and Sentinel-2 time-series data, with a focus on arable land use diversity in Hungary. The framework operationalises landscape ecology concepts — particularly habitat connectivity, heterogeneity, and mosaicity — into parcel- and quadrat-level indicators that are directly computable within Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) monitoring infrastructures.Using a decadal dataset (2015–2024), we construct three core indicators: (i) ecosystem connectivity based on land cover boundary length, (ii) compositional diversity integrating crop and land cover heterogeneity, and (iii) intra-parcel structural mosaicity derived from EO-based segmentation. Results reveal a systematic decline in boundary complexity between arable land and semi-natural landscape elements, alongside increasing spatial homogeneity in arable systems. Change detection analysis indicates that more than 80% of analysed quadrats exhibit significant reductions in connectivity over time, suggesting progressive landscape simplification.The findings demonstrate that integrated EO–administrative data systems can generate scalable, reproducible proxies for biodiversity-relevant landscape structure. However, results also highlight the limitations of current proxy approaches, particularly their inability to directly observe species-level ecological processes. The study contributes a transferable methodological framework for operational biodiversity monitoring within CAP implementation systems and advances the integration of ecological theory into policy-relevant geospatial infrastructures. Keywords: biodiversity proxies; landscape connectivity; habitat heterogeneity; arable land use; Earth Observation; LPIS; IACS; Sentinel-2; Common Agricultural Policy; agricultural landscape structure; spatial indicators; ecosystem monitoring Further information can be acquired in Deliverable 3.2 & Deliverable 4.2. Citation Csonka, B., Balázs, K., & Podmaniczky, L. (2026). Empirical study on arable land use diversity - Discussion paper (Version v01). BrightSpace Horizon Europe project GA Nr. 101060075. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19672586----------------- Funding acknowledgement Funded by the European Union. Grant Agreement No. 101060075. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Legal notice This document was produced under the terms and conditions of Grant Agreement No. 101060075 for the European Commission. It does not necessary reflect the view of the European Union and in no way anticipates the Commission’s future policy in this area. The European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. © BrightSpace, 2026 The reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CCBY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the BrightSpace consortium, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders. Project information BrightSpace Horizon Europe project Grant Agreement No. 101060075 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101060075 CALL: Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal WORK PROGRAMME Topic ID: HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-12 EU agriculture within a safe and just operating space and planetary boundaries BrightSpace Project coordination: Wageningen Economic Research, The Hague, NL Contact: brightspace.wser@wur.nl | Website: www.brightspace-project.eu Project duration: 1 November 2022 – 31 October 2027.

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