Handbook Offers Guide to Integrating Biodiversity on Productive Farms

The SHOWCASE project funded by the European Union released Farming with Biodiversity, a free handbook available online in 10 languages. The handbook distills the results of five years of research in Experimental Biodiversity Areas across 10 European countries to demonstrate how biodiversity can be a cornerstone of resilient and productive farm systems when supported by informed policy and farmer-led innovation. The project combined ecological experiments, socio-economic analysis and participatory research to test how management practices such as flower strips, cover crops, and reduced pesticide use affected biodiversity, yield, and profit. Across Europe, SHOWCASE found that biodiversity increased in all trial farms, while yields generally remained stable unless inputs were drastically reduced. The SHOWCASE handbook lays out four flexible strategies to help farmers integrate biodiversity into their operations: manage land for nature, farm less intensively, increase diversity, and support broader change.