WESEM biodiversity for Landowners
This toolkit offers practical methods and suggested tools to help you, as a landowner, monitor the biodiversity on your property. By tracking these key indicators, you can contribute to broader restoration goals and better understand the health of your forest ecosystem, aligning with the principles of the Nature Restoration Law.
Using This Toolkit:
This toolkit provides a simplified approach for landowners to monitor biodiversity, referencing indicators from the Nature Restoration Law
Important Note
The methodologies described here are simplifications of the detailed requirements outlined in the Nature Restoration Law, which are primarily aimed at national-level monitoring and reporting. Landowners contributing data through these methods are encouraged to seek guidance from local forestry or environmental experts to ensure accuracy and relevance to regional monitoring programs. Tool availability and effectiveness may vary by location.
Biodiversity Indicators & Your Monitoring Actions
Here are the key forest biodiversity indicators and how you can practically monitor them on your land:
Why it matters: Butterflies are good indicators of environmental health. This index brings together species that are characteristic of European grasslands. Monitoring the abundance of these butterflies gives us information about the biodiversity and overall health of the grasslands. A healthy butterfly population indicates a healthy ecosystem.
Your Action:
- Define an observation area: Choose a specific grassland area on your agricultural land to monitor regularly.
- Identify species: Walk calmly along a fixed route (the transect method) and count specific butterfly species. Focus on those species that are characteristic of the region’s grasslands.
- Monitor abundance: Repeat the count at the same time and in similar weather conditions each year to track changes in populations.
- Record data: Write down the date, time, weather, the number of butterflies counted per species, and the location. Use the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet” or a similar log for this.
Tools to Help:
- Butterfly Field Guide: Use a book or a mobile app to identify different butterfly species.
- Notebook or App: Use a field notebook or a phone app (like Evernote, Microsoft OneNote) to record your observations.
- Binoculars: Can be helpful for observing and identifying butterflies from a distance.
Why it matters: Organic carbon is a key factor for soil health and fertility. It improves soil structure, water retention capacity, and provides food for soil organisms. Soil with a high carbon content helps to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, mitigating climate change.
Your Action:
- Take soil samples: Choose representative sampling spots on your cultivated land.
- Collect samples from the correct depth: Take samples from the top layer of the soil, at a depth of 0–30 cm. This is the most biologically active layer.
- Analyze the samples: Send the samples to a laboratory to determine the organic carbon content, or use a simpler field test kit for a preliminary assessment.
- Estimate and compare: Calculate the carbon stock (in tonnes per hectare). Repeat the sampling and analysis every few years to monitor whether your land use practices are increasing or decreasing the soil’s carbon content.
- Record the results: Enter the results on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet,” noting the sampling location, date, and carbon content.
Tools to Help:
- Soil Auger or Spade: For collecting soil samples from a specific depth.
- Soil Testing Kit: Provides a quick preliminary estimate of organic matter content. For more accurate results, use the services of an accredited laboratory.
- GPS or Map App: To accurately mark sampling locations so you can take new samples from the same spot in the future.
Why it matters: Landscape features like buffer strips, hedges, stone walls, ditches, ponds, and field margins provide habitats and food for many species (insects, birds, small mammals). They are nature’s “corridors” that help species spread, increase pollination and natural pest control, and protect soil and water.
Your Action:
- Walk your land: Map all existing high-diversity landscape features – hedges, rows of trees, stone walls, field margins, ponds, etc.
- Assess their condition: Make sure these areas are not used for intensive agricultural production (e.g., grazing, fodder production) or treated with fertilizers or pesticides.
- Measure the area: Estimate the total area of these features on your agricultural land. You can do this by pacing or by using a map application.
- Calculate the share: Divide the area of the landscape features by the total area of your agricultural land in use and multiply by one hundred to get the percentage.
- Document your plans: Record the map and calculations on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.” Set a goal to maintain and increase the share and quality of these areas.
Tools to Help:
- Measuring Tape or Laser Distance Meter: For measuring the length of hedges and the width of areas.
- Map App (e.g., Google Maps, national land survey app): For measuring and mapping the area of your land and its landscape features.
- Notebook and Pen/Phone: To write down observations and measurement results directly in the field.
Biodiversity Indicators & Your Monitoring Actions for forestry
Why it matters: Birds are great indicators of ecosystem health. Monitoring them helps understand the vitality of your forest habitat.
Your Action:
- Pick a few consistent spots in your forest to observe.
- Visit these spots during the breeding season (typically spring/early summer).
- Spend a set amount of time (e.g., 15-20 minutes) at each spot, identifying and counting all the bird species you see or hear.
- Record your observations, noting the date, time, location, species, and number of individuals.
- Repeat this annually to track changes over time.
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Bird Identification Apps: Use apps like Merlin Bird ID (by Cornell Lab) or Picture Bird to help identify birds by their calls or appearance.
- Citizen Science Platforms: Explore platforms like eBird or national bird monitoring schemes in your country. These often provide standardized protocols and allow you to contribute your data to larger biodiversity monitoring efforts.
Why it matters: Dead trees that are still standing are crucial habitats for insects, fungi, mosses, and cavity-nesting birds (like woodpeckers).
Your Action:
- Walk through different areas of your forest.
- Identify standing dead trees (snags).
- Focus on trees above a certain size (e.g., thicker than your arm, or more than 20 cm diameter at chest height).
- Count the number of these standing dead trees in a defined area or along a path.
- Estimate their height and trunk diameter. Note if they are in the early stages of decay (hard wood) or more advanced (soft, crumbling wood).
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Measuring Tape: A simple retractable measuring tape can help estimate diameter and height (use a stick of known length held at a distance).
- Field Notebook or App: Use a notebook or a note-taking app on your phone (like Evernote or Microsoft OneNote) to record the number, size estimates, and decay stage.
Why it matters: Fallen dead trees and branches provide habitat, return nutrients to the soil, and help the forest retain moisture.
Your Action:
- In representative areas of your forest floor, look for fallen logs and branches.
- Focus on pieces above a certain diameter (e.g., thicker than your wrist, or >10 cm).
- Measure the diameter and length of these pieces.
- Note how decayed they are (e.g., solid, partially soft, crumbling apart).
- Estimate the volume of lying deadwood in a specific area (e.g., a 10m x 10m plot).
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Measuring Tape & Calipers: Useful for measuring diameter and length.
- Photo Documentation: Take photos of different types and decay stages of lying deadwood. Organize them by location or date.
Why it matters: Forests with trees of various ages are generally more resilient and offer more diverse habitats than those with trees all the same age.
Your Action:
- Walk through different stands or sections of your forest.
- Observe the mix of tree sizes – are there young saplings, medium-sized trees, and large mature trees all growing together, or are most trees about the same size?
- Visually assess if an area has a good mix of age classes (uneven-aged) or is dominated by one age class (even-aged).
- Estimate the percentage of your total forest area that has an uneven-aged structure.
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Aerial Imagery: Use online tools like Google Earth or national mapping portals to view aerial images of your forest, which can sometimes help distinguish different stand structures.
- Sketch Mapping: Draw a simple map of your property, outlining different forest areas and noting their apparent age structure.
Why it matters: Connected forests allow wildlife and plants to move between areas, which is vital for healthy populations and adaptation to climate change.
Your Action:
- Look at maps or aerial photos of your property and the surrounding landscape.
- See how your forest fits into the wider landscape. Is it part of a large continuous forest, or are there smaller patches?
- Identify natural corridors like hedgerows, streams, or lines of trees that connect your forest to other wooded areas.
- Note potential barriers such as wide roads or large open fields.
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Online Mapping Tools: Use Google Maps, Google Earth, or national/regional online mapping services to view your property and surrounding area.
- GIS Software (Basic): If you’re comfortable with technology, free GIS software like QGIS can allow for more detailed mapping and analysis of forest cover and connectivity patterns.
Why it matters: Healthy forest soils store large amounts of carbon, which is good for soil fertility and helps combat climate change.
Your Action:
- Focus on forest management practices that build healthy soil: allow leaves and dead wood to decompose naturally, avoid heavy machinery that compacts soil, and maintain continuous forest cover.
- Observe the forest floor – is there a good layer of decomposing leaves and organic matter.
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Soil Health Guides: Look for online resources from forestry or agricultural extension services on assessing forest soil health visually and by feel.
- Note-taking Apps: Record observations about the depth and composition of the forest floor’s organic layer.
Why it matters: Native tree species are best adapted to the local environment and support a wider range of native wildlife.
Your Action:
- Identify the different tree species growing in your forest.
- Determine which of these species are native to your specific region.
- Estimate the areas where native tree species are the most common (making up more than half of the trees).
- Record your findings on the “Restoration Site Notes Sheet.”
Tools to Help:
- Tree Identification Apps: Apps like PictureThis, Forest Identifier, or region-specific tree identification apps can help identify tree species.
- Local Forestry Resources: Consult websites, brochures, or experts from local forestry services or conservation organizations for lists of native tree species in your area.
Why it matters: A variety of tree species makes your forest more resilient to pests, diseases, and climate change impacts.
Your Action:
- Walk through different parts of your forest, systematically looking for all the different types of trees present.
- Keep a list of every unique tree species you find on your property.
- Repeat this over time to see if the diversity is changing.
Tools to Help:
- Tree Identification Apps: (See above).
- Species Checklist Apps: Use apps designed for biodiversity recording or simple note-taking apps to keep a running list of tree species observed.
By using this toolkit and regularly monitoring these indicators, you can play an active role in understanding and improving the biodiversity of your forest, contributing to a healthier environment for everyone.
You can also add data on your restoration site notes sheet, to help you track changes over time.