How wildflower strips restore biodiversitiy to our fields

The unique Citizen-Farmer-Science project “Nature-Positive Agriculture” (NaPA) demonstrates how effective nature conservation works in agriculture. Many farmers want to actively promote biodiversity on their fields. They can achieve this through simple measures such as wildflower strips – regardless of the farming system or location, and whilst maintaining their income. 
 

To secure our food production in the long term, we must preserve biodiversity. As more than half of Germany’s land area is used for agriculture, it is not enough to relegate species conservation solely to protected areas. Instead, ecological goals and economic interests must be firmly integrated into agricultural practice.

The NaPA project demonstrates that this is achievable. Between 2020 and 2024, experts from the LIB, together with industry partners and farmers, investigated how conservation measures work in practice. What makes this project special is that the joint research took place directly on the land of 19 conventional and organic farms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The results are encouraging: even on intensively farmed land, there is a surprising diversity. The team recorded 270,000 animals and, using DNA analysis, identified around 2,600 insect species. “What makes this project special is that it wasn’t just us researchers asking questions, but the farmers too,” explains Prof. Christoph Scherber from the LIB. “Together, we found solutions that work in practice.”
 

Flower strips increase biodiversity in fields

A key finding is that wildflower strips are consistently effective – regardless of location and farming method. Fields with wildflower strips had, on average, 50 per cent more biomass than conventional fields. The effect was particularly evident at the edges: whilst the researchers discovered an average of 126 species on control plots, there were 159 species in the wildflower strips.

In the project, ground beetles, spiders and short-winged beetles benefited most from the wildflower strips. They act as biological pest controllers in the field. At the same time, there was evidence that important decomposers such as springtails and mites were proliferating in the soil. This has a positive impact on biological activity and improves soil quality in the long term – a real benefit for crop production.
 

Framework conditions determine acceptance

The fact that monitoring in the NaPA project was possible across the board is due not least to technological progress. Thanks to AI-supported analysis of soil fauna, the effort required for the study was drastically reduced compared with earlier projects. In addition, automated acoustic systems identified 117 bird species, 15 of which were found exclusively in the wildflower strips.

This success was underpinned by the enormous commitment of the farmers, who actively helped shape the project from the outset, thereby ensuring its practical relevance. They themselves contributed over 10,000 samples for scientific analysis. This shows that there is a huge willingness to protect species. However, for these measures to catch on, the right conditions must be in place. “What we as researchers have noticed very clearly is that there is a willingness within the farming community to promote biodiversity in the fields,” says LIB researcher Vera Prenzel. “It must be as simple as possible, free from red tape and easy to integrate into farm operations; then farmers will be happy to implement the measures.”

Many farmers were so inspired by the exchanges within the project that, on their own initiative, they even created additional conservation strips for wildcats or partridges, introduced mixed cropping, or implemented measures for gentle soil cultivation and improvement. The project proves that when nature conservation is economically viable and entrepreneurial freedom is preserved, the spark is ignited. Farmer Hans-Heinrich Grünhagen puts it this way: “Freedom is contentment – and only those who can farm freely will stay on board in the long term.”

View the final report on naturpositiv.de.