===== Agricultural land use and environmental indicators at 1x1 km grid resolution- High Nature Farmland index =====

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Main Contributors: Maria-Lusia Parrachini, Phillippe Pointereau, Wolfgang Britz

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{{  :capri:concept:hnv_pl.jpg?400|}}//Intermediate results for Poland//

The [[http://agrienv.jrc.it/activities/hnv/|High Nature Farmland]] index tries to espress in one single number the "nature likeness" of farming practises. High index values indicate a rich crop rotation or a high share of grass land combined with a low intensity of farming, generally assumed to be beneficial for the environment, by allowing for high bio-diversity and reducing harmful impacts on the environment. The preliminary index, still in development, is the built from the following elements:

  * **Arable crop index** 
    * The arable crop index takes into accound firstly a slightly modified **Shannon index measuring the diversity of shares of annual crops.**. The modification ensures index values between 0 and 1. High index values (close to 1) indicate a combination of small shares of many crops. The index drops if the number of the crops is reduced, or the rotation is dominated by large share of a few crops. It takes on the value zero in case of monoculture. The second part of the index is based on the **average mineral nitrogen fertilization application in kg/ha**. It is defined to be close to 1 with doses at or or below 20 kg per ha and drops non-linearly to zero for doses for 200 kg per ha or above. The overall index for the arable crop part is derived by multiplying the two index elements. {{:capri:concept:nindex.jpg?600|}}

  * **Permanent crop index** 
    * The permanent crop index uses only the **mineral nitrogen fertilizer dose** to define a sub-index between 0 and 1 as explained for the arable crops. 
  * **Grass land index**
    * The grass land index takes into the **ruminant stocking density**, calculated per fodder area, and takes on values between 0 and 1. {{:capri:concept:luindex.jpg?600|}} 

The overall index is derived by adding the three sub-indices (arable, permanent, grass land), weigthed with their share on total agricultural area. The methodology is based on a study conducted by [[http://www.solagro.org/site/015.html|Philippe Pointerau from Solagro, Toulouse, France]].

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