Europe is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Human activity has shaped its landscapes over centuries and contributed much to its biodiversity, e.g. semi-natural habitats such as extensive hay meadows and semi-natural dry grasslands. However, human activity has also caused deterioration and decline for many native species and habitat types — particularly (and much faster) in the past 100 years.
The most frequently reported pressures for both habitats and species stem from agriculture, which reflects the relative scale of agricultural land‑use and changes in farming practices (intensification and abandonment of extensive agriculture). Extensive agricultural management creates and maintains semi-natural habitats with diverse fauna and flora. Since the 1950s, however, more intensive and specialised farming has contributed increasingly to ongoing biodiversity loss. Grasslands, freshwater habitats, heaths and scrubs, and bogs, mires and fens have been most severely affected. Semi-natural habitats depending on agriculture 16 , such as grasslands, are particularly threatened and their conservation status is significantly worse than for other habitat types that do not depend on agriculture (45% are assessed as bad, as compared with 31% for other habitats). Compared to 2015, assessments of agricultural habitats show an overall deterioration in conservation status: good status decreased from 14% to 12% and bad status increased from 39% to 45%. Only 8% of agricultural habitats show an improving trend, whereas 45% are deteriorating. Many species of birds, reptiles, molluscs, amphibians, arthropods and vascular plants are also impacted and farmland biodiversity continuous to decline.

Source: EURO-Lex