In the heart of Europe’s farmlands, a silent revolution is brewing, not in the fields, but in the way we observe and understand the biodiversity that shares these spaces with us. A recent study published in the journal *Ferneerfassung in der Ökologie und Naturschutz* (Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation) has shed light on an underutilized tool that could transform how we monitor and conserve farmland biodiversity: camera traps (CTs).
Stephanie Roilo, a researcher at the Computational Landscape Ecology group at TU Dresden University of Technology, led a comprehensive review of camera trap studies over the past 30 years. The findings reveal a surprising gap in the use of this technology in farmland habitats. “We found only 59 articles that sampled farmland habitats in Europe,” Roilo notes. This is a stark contrast to the widespread use of camera traps in forests and other wild landscapes.
The study highlights that current monitoring schemes are often biased towards birds, insects, and plants, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of other species. “Automated monitoring techniques like passive acoustic monitoring and remote sensing are increasingly used, but the potential of camera traps in farmland remains underexplored,” Roilo explains.
The review identified several key areas where camera traps have been employed, such as monitoring wildlife-livestock interactions, nest predation, and the use of feeders and water troughs. However, fewer studies have used camera traps to investigate species’ habitat use or activity patterns over large agricultural areas. This gap presents a significant opportunity for future research.
One of the main barriers to the widespread use of camera traps in farmland is the technical challenge of monitoring small, elusive species in open habitats. Roilo suggests that tailored camera trap designs, such as boxed CTs for small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, and perch-mounted CTs for raptor monitoring, could help overcome these challenges. Additionally, time-lapse imagery could provide valuable data for monitoring species that are difficult to capture with traditional camera traps.
The study also emphasizes the potential for engaging farmers in camera trap-based biodiversity monitoring programs. This collaboration could lead to low-cost, broad-scale, and automated monitoring schemes, benefiting both farmers and researchers. “Advances in computer vision for image classification provide opportunities for automated monitoring schemes,” Roilo adds.
The implications of this research extend beyond academic interest. For the energy sector, understanding and monitoring farmland biodiversity can inform sustainable practices and mitigate potential impacts on local ecosystems. As renewable energy projects, such as wind farms and solar parks, increasingly encroach on agricultural lands, the need for comprehensive biodiversity monitoring becomes ever more critical.
Roilo’s research points to several research priorities that could be tackled through camera trap applications. These include basic science topics like unraveling animal space use in agricultural landscapes and how this is influenced by varying agricultural practices. Management-related research priorities include crop damage and livestock predation by wildlife, disease transmission between wildlife and livestock, effects of agrochemicals on wildlife, and the monitoring and assessment of conservation measures.
As we look to the future, the untapped potential of camera traps in farmland biodiversity monitoring is clear. By embracing this technology and overcoming the current barriers, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the biodiversity that thrives in our farmlands. This knowledge is not only crucial for conservation efforts but also for informing sustainable practices in agriculture and the energy sector.
In the words of Stephanie Roilo, “Camera traps hold great, yet unexplored, potential to advance agroecological research.” As we move forward, let us seize this opportunity to transform how we monitor and conserve the rich biodiversity of our farmlands.