Summer School "Biodiversity Serving Agriculture"

The Summer School "Biodiversity Serving Agriculture" was organised with the objective of exchanging information on the latest research results and developments in the broad field of functional biodiversity in agro-ecosystems as well as creating a platform for discussions and further developments in selected topics. The following subjects were discussed by the participants - "Biodiversity serving agriculture" versus "agriculture serving biodivesity";: definition of biodiversity in agroecosystem and its role in multifunctional agriculture. Biodiversity perception at different levels: farmer, environmentalist, policy-maker. Implications of management for functional biodiversity in different farming systems. - Functional biodiversity and crop protection: state of the art. Conservation Biological Control: from research to the field application. Habitat management to enhance beneficial organisms: success stories. How to transfer the knowledge from researchers to farmers and to policy makers? - What are the current policy tools to enhance biodiversity in agroecosystems? How to safeguard economic viability of farms applying biodiversity conservation measures? Role of indicators in biodiversity assessment and monitoring. Assessment of some Agri-Environmental Schemes (AES) implemented in Europe - How to optimise the information exchanges via an Agroecological Network to make the link between policy makers, researchers, advisers and farmers? The Report summarises the presentations, plenary discussions, gives conclusions of the sessions and the whole meeting. The final part gives proposals for future activities highlighting key areas of research and policy.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource