What biodiversity should we expect from farmland?

Agricultural land-use is a major influence on global biodiversity. The greatest declines in biodiversity have occurred in areas where the intensity of agriculture is high. Conversely, in less intense areas, biodiversity declines have been less or not seen. It is crucial that farming and biodiversity are integrated, so future agriculture policy decisions hold the key to the fate of our farmland biodiversity. This paper reviews the current status of biodiversity on cropped land in Europe using bird populations as an indicator, the current importance to biodiversity of this land, and an assessment of future threats and opportunities.