Agriculture in Finland has experienced very large changes during the last 50 years. The last big change happened in the year 1995 when Finland joined the European Union (EU) and adopted the common agricultural policy of EU. Agricultural intensification and loss of open semi-natural farmland habitats has caused large-scale losses of farmland biodiversity in Finland (Pitkanen & Tiainen, 2001) as well as in other parts of Europe (Krebs et al., 1999). Because of the large changes there is a substantial need for useful indicators to measure the extent of change both at the national and landscape level. A preliminary set of indicators for the sustainable use of renewable resources at the national level was approved in Finland in February 1999 (Lahti & Nikkola, 1999). At a smaller spatial scale indicators are particularly needed in the monitoring and further development of the effects of the Finnish agri-environmental support scheme, which is half-funded by EU.
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