The impact of Natura 2000 on non-target species. Assessment using volunteer-based biodiversity monitoring - ETC/BD Technical paper N°4/2014

Following a study in France in 2013 assessing the impact of the Natura 2000 network on common bird species populations, this survey aims at expanding the analysis at a European scale, making use of data on 166 common breeding bird species gathered through volunteer-based schemes in 13 EU countries and the EU Natura 2000 database describing the network at the end of 2012. In addition the analysis of the possible impact of the Natura 2000 was also tested on 103 butterfly species populations, making use of data provided through volunteer-based schemes in 6 countries/ regions. Overall more than half of the common bird species are positively impacted by the Natura 2000 network with higher populations inside than outside the network, and among these, a large number are specialist species. In addition bird species communities are less biologically homogeneous inside than outside the network. Results for butterflies should be considered as preliminary.

Prepared by: Vincent Pellissier, Reto Schmucki, Frédéric Jiguet and Romain Julliard (from CESCO-MNHN, FR), Julien Touroult (from SPN-MNHN, FR), Dominique Richard and Doug Evans (from ETC/BD-MNHN, FR)