Cost Assessment of the Field Measurement of Biodiversity: a Farm-scale Case Study

Abstract

Attention to the effects of agriculture on biodiversity is currently increasing. Yet the measurement of biodiversity is both time-consuming and costly. Considering the limited budgets available for biodiversity conservation, it is timely to focus on the cost analysis of biodiversity indicators in order to ensure the optimization of the scarce funds available. We present the cost analysis of operational data from the fieldwork efforts undertaken in the measurement of biodiversity indicators at farm-scale. Methodological issues are discussed.