Arable land with unmixed crops grown by low-intensity agricultural methods
Quick facts
Red List habitat type | code RLI1.3 |
---|---|
Threat status | |
Europe | Endangered |
EU | Endangered |
Relation to |
|
Source | European Red List habitat factsheet |
European Red List of habitats reports | |
European Red List of habitats (Excel table) |
Summary
This habitat includes arable fields managed using low-intensity agricultural techniques with occurrence of rare native or archaeophyte weed species, survivors of a farming style that has existed in Europe since the Neolithic. The most common crops of such fields have been cereals including Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum, T. turgidum and Secale cereale, managed without herbicides, without application of non-organic fertilizers and often without irrigation systems. They were originally sown manually, which resulted in more patchy distribution of crop plants than when mechanical sowing is used, thus leaving space for the development of weeds and the crop seeds were often contaminated with weed seed.
Traditionally managed rain-fed fields have been preserved especially in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean and although they are no longer profitable for corn production, they are still used locally for planting winter cereals as a source of fodder for livestock. Wheat is the most common crop but rotation with other cereals is common. Such fields are small in size, often located on terraces and are ploughed and sown in autumn and, when the crop biomass increases, they are either grazed or mown for hay. The fields are rich in low-competitive winter-annual weed species which reach their peak of biomass development in spring. Their species composition differs considerably from the irrigated Mediterranean fields, which are rich in weeds that germinate only in warmer periods in spring and reach their phenological optimum in summer or autumn. The latter also contain many more neophytes.
Outside the Mediterranean, the traditionally managed low-intensity fields are much rarer . They occur locally especially on soils with limited water-storage capacity such as on limestone slopes or on sandy plains but most arable fields in such unproductive environments have been abandoned during the last decades. Also here, cereals are the most common crop in such low-intensity farming systems as survive. Wherever low site fertility does not allow the development of dense stands of the crop and the use of herbicides is limited, species-rich weed communities including several archaeophytes of the Mediterranean and Near East origin may develop. Some of these weed species were relatively common until the first half of the 20th century, but they declined dramatically due to agricultural intensification including the use of herbicides, chemical fertilizers, improved seed-cleaning methods, sowing highly productive and competitive varieties of cereals, and removal of refugial habitats in the landscape due to merging of small fields into large ones. Nowadays in many cases, species-rich weed communities only occur in narrow stripes along field margins that are not treated with herbicides or in restoration initiatives.
Indicators of good quality:
· Occurrence of rare or declining, native or archaeophytic weed species
· Low incidence of neophytic weeds
· No use of mineral fertilizers
· No or limited use of herbicides
· No irrigation in dryland areas
Threat status
Synthesis of Red List assessment
EU | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Endangered | A1 |
Europe | |
Red List Category | Red List Criteria |
Endangered | A1 |
Confidence in the assessment
Pressures and threats
- Agriculture
- Modification of cultivation practices
- Agricultural intensification
- Annual and perennial non-timber crops
- Abandonment of crop production
- Use of biocides, hormones and chemicals
- Fertilisation
Habitat restoration potential
Trends in extent |
|
Average current trend in quantity |
|
Decreasing ![]() |
Decreasing ![]() |
EU28 | EU28+ |
Trends in quality |
|
Average current trend in quality |
|
Decreasing ![]() |
Decreasing ![]() |
EU28 | EU28+ |
Conservation and management needs
List of conservation and management needs
- Measures related to agriculture and open habitats
- Other agriculture-related measures
- Measures related to spatial planning
- Establish protected areas/sites
- Legal protection of habitats and species
- Manage landscape features
Distribution
Geographic occurrence and trends
EU28 | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | Present | 135 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Belgium | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Bulgaria | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Croatia | Present | 10 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Cyprus | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Czech Republic | Present | 3000 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Denmark | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Estonia | Present | 655 | Unknown | Unknown |
Finland mainland | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | |
France mainland | Present | 2250 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Germany | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Greece (mainland and other islands) | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
Hungary | Present | 35 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Ireland | Present | 1 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Italy mainland | Present | 20538 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sardinia | Present | 20538 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Sicily | Present | 20538 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Lithuania | Present | 10 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Netherlands | Present | 12.5 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Portugal mainland | Present | 754 | Unknown | Decreasing |
Romania | Present | 8 | Unknown | Increasing |
Slovakia | Present | 200 | Unknown | Decreasing |
Slovenia | Present | 5 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Spain mainland | Present | Unknown | Decreasing | Decreasing |
United Kingdom | Present | 188 | Unknown | Decreasing |
Latvia | Uncertain | - | - | |
Luxembourg | Uncertain | - | - | |
Malta | Uncertain | - | - | |
Poland | Present | 15.6 | Decreasing | Unknown |
Sweden | Uncertain | - | - |
EU28 + | Present or presence uncertain | Current area of habitat (Km2) | Recent trend in quantity (last 50 years) | Recent trend in quality (last 50 years) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Present | 5 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | Present | Unknown | Unknown | Decreasing |
Switzerland | Present | 500 | Decreasing | Decreasing |
Albania | Uncertain | - | - | |
Kaliningrad | Uncertain | - | - | |
Kosovo | Uncertain | - | - | |
Montenegro | Uncertain | - | - | |
Serbia | Uncertain | - | - |
Extent of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (Km2) | Area of Occupancy (AOO) | Current estimated Total Area | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
EU28 | 3928700 | 256 | 27817 | no data from Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden |
EU28+ | 257 | 28322 | no data from Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden, Norway, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Kaliningrad, Serbia |
EOO = the area (km2) of the envelope around all occurrences of a habitat (calculated by a minimum convex polygon).
Characteristic species
Species scientific name | English common name | Species group |
---|---|---|
Adonis aestivalis | Flowering Plants | |
Agrostemma githago | Flowering Plants | |
Ajuga chamaepitys | Flowering Plants | |
Allium nigrum | Flowering Plants | |
Alopecurus myosuroides | Flowering Plants | |
Anagallis arvensis | Flowering Plants | |
Anthemis altissima | Flowering Plants | |
Aphanes arvensis | Flowering Plants | |
Arnoseris minima | Flowering Plants | |
Asperula arvensis | Flowering Plants | |
Bifora radians | Flowering Plants | |
Bupleurum rotundifolium | Flowering Plants | |
Caucalis platycarpos | Flowering Plants | |
Centaurea cyanus | Flowering Plants | |
Chrysanthemum segetum | Flowering Plants | |
Conringia orientalis | Flowering Plants | |
Euphorbia exigua | Flowering Plants | |
Galium tricornutum | Flowering Plants | |
Gladiolus italicus | Flowering Plants | |
Hordeum vulgare | Flowering Plants | |
Hypecoum procumbens | Flowering Plants | |
Legousia speculum-veneris | Flowering Plants | |
Lilium bulbiferum | Flowering Plants | |
Lolium rigidum | Flowering Plants | |
Medicago polymorpha | Flowering Plants | |
Muscari comosum | Flowering Plants | |
Nigella arvensis | Flowering Plants | |
Papaver argemone | Flowering Plants | |
Ranunculus arvensis | Flowering Plants | |
Raphanus raphanistrum | Flowering Plants | |
Reseda phyteuma | Flowering Plants | |
Rhagadiolus stellatus | Flowering Plants | |
Roemeria hybrida | Flowering Plants | |
Scandix pecten-veneris | Flowering Plants | |
Secale cereale | Flowering Plants | |
Silene gallica | Flowering Plants | |
Stachys annua | Flowering Plants | |
Teesdalia nudicaulis | Flowering Plants | |
Thymelaea passerina | Flowering Plants | |
Triticum aestivum | Flowering Plants | |
Turgenia latifolia | Flowering Plants | |
Veronica agrestis | Flowering Plants | |
Vicia sativa | Flowering Plants |