The aim is an area-wide, quantitative status analysis of the landscape structures and the utilization systems operating in these landscapes. For this purpose, a wide variety of indicators are required, e.g. landscape elements, crop rotations, intensity of grassland use or genetic diversity in agriculture. It would be extremely expensive to implement such indicators in large numbers over a wide area specifically for monitoring biodiversity on the ground. The challenge is therefore to combine (a) the already existing sources of agricultural statistics, (b) the new possibilities of remote sensing, and (c) on-site surveys of sample areas in such a way that a quantitative, representative overall picture of habitat diversity can be created at reasonable expense.