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On arable land, weeds, alongside cultivated plants, often constitute the only plant-based food source and habitat structure for higher trophic levels, thus forming one of the most important foundations for a biodiverse agricultural landscape. While the monitoring of a set of defined indicator species, such as field larkspur and field gromwell, is already being carried out on arable land (HNV monitoring by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation), no long-term vegetation monitoring program exists nationwide in Germany that captures the entire weed diversity on arable land.
The indicator "arable weed diversity" aims to provide a scientifically sound data basis for the state and continuous development of weed species diversity in agricultural landscapes across Germany. The long-term nature of the monitoring allows the influence of changing agricultural practices and changes in land use and agricultural structure (e.g., through future agri-environmental policy strategies and funding instruments) to be depicted and thus used for evidence-based policy advice.
