Soil biota indicators for monitoring the Estonian agri-environmental programme

The mandatory implementation of agri-environmental programmes (AEP) during the accession to the EU was a major policy development in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In Estonia the development of the AEP began in 1997 and the implementation of the AEP in pilot areas was launched in 2001. By this time, evaluation and monitoring methodologies of AEP had been elaborated. This paper summarises the Estonian AEP applied in 2001-2003 and presents selected indicators of biodiversity. The main focus is on the analysis of selected indicators of soil biota. Soil bioindicators (abundance, diversity, and ecological composition of earthworm communities and hydrolytical activity of the microbial community) were measured in 2001 and 2002. Two pilot areas of the AEP (Palamuse, representing a municipality with intensive agriculture, and Kihelkonna-Lümanda, representing extensive agriculture) and two reference areas where the AEP was not implemented (Mustjala and Saare municipalities) were investigated. Ten farms in both pilot areas and five in both reference areas were studied. There were differences in the abundance and number of earthworm species between Palamuse (intensive agriculture) and Saaremaa (extensive) pilot areas, but these were not statistically significant. However, the differences in the hydrolytical activity of the microbial community between Palamuse and Saaremaa pilot areas were statistically significant (p < 0.05). It is concluded that soil bioindicators are suitable for monitoring human pressure as well as the effects of AEPs. AEPs may increase the abundance and diversity of earthworms, decrease the dominance of A. caliginosa, and increase the activity of the microbial community.