Agri-environment schemes (AESs) have been implemented across EU member states in an attempt to reconcile agricultural production methods with protection of the environment and maintenance of the countryside. To determine the extent to which such policy objectives are being fulfilled, participating countries are obliged to monitor and evaluate the environmental, agricultural and socio-economic i...

Executive Summary Soil quality is an account of the soil's ability to provide ecosystem and social services through its capacities to perform its functions under changing conditions (after Tóth et al. 2007.) The concept of soil quality expressed by this definition allows practical applications with regards to targeted social and/or ecosystem services, including agri-environmental services. The ...

Macrobenthic intertidal assemblages from five Atlantic Iberian estuaries were analyzed to develop an estuarine index. An R-mode analysis revealed a close association between the isopod Cyathura carinata, the polychaete Hediste diversicolor and the bivalve Scrobicularia plana. Although these species are abundant in all the estuaries considered, they tend to be absent from sites at the marine and...