Adoption and impacts of agri-environmental practices

Resulting from the project BESTMAP (Behavioural, Ecological and Socio-Economic Tools for Modelling Agricultural Policy), funded by the European Union, this policy brief summarizes our research on the impacts of agri-environmental practices in the Mulde River basin (Saxony, Germany). It brings together key findings on farmers’ motivations to participate – or not – in these practices, their spatial distribution, and their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Building on this evidence, we provide recommendations to support wider uptake of agri-environmental practices and strengthen their positive impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Guidelines for successful transdisciplinary research (in German)

Addressing today’s major challenges – biodiversity loss, climate change, social equity, and global food security – requires a fundamental transformation of agricultural and food systems. Transdisciplinary research plays a crucial role in this process by bringing together scientific and non-academic actors to co-develop knowledge and practical solutions. This policy brief, led by Anna Cord, draws on insights from 17 research projects – including the ECO²SCAPE project, which she coordinated – to highlight how transdisciplinary approaches can help balance economic interests with biodiversity protection in agricultural landscapes. It identifies key challenges, including gaps in current funding and incentive structures, and outlines what is needed to better support transdisciplinary research for sustainable agriculture.

Rewarding biodiversity in agriculture through passive acoustic monitoring (in German)

In this policy brief, based on our research in the ECO²SCAPE project, we show how Passive Acoustic Monitoring can help assess the ecological effects of agri-environmental measures on acoustically active groups such as birds, bats, and insects. We demonstrate how Passive Acoustic Monitoring could support result-based payments in the future, complementing existing methods for evaluating the success of these agri-environmental schemes.

Children's book "Wissenschaft – was geht mich das an?" (in German)

Together with Miriam Holzapfel and other members of “Die Junge Akademie” (Young Academy), Anna Cord contributed to this children’s book, which tells 30 life stories of scholars from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering — aiming to inspire enthusiasm for research in young readers.

Interview with local newspaper (in German)

Our research on farmland birds at the Campus Wiesengut near Hennef has also attracted the interest of the Kölnische Rundschau. In its article, the newspaper describes how we use passive acoustic monitoring to record and analyze bird vocalizations, gaining new insights into the behavior and distribution of species in agricultural landscapes.

Iwanami Shoten Science Magazin (in Japanese)

Thanks to our (former) colleague Ryo Ogawa, our research was featured in a popular science magazine from Japan. Ryo, together with Nina Hagemann and Anna Cord, explains research on and conservation of birds in the agricultural landscapes of Saxony, Germany.