Additional Metric Notes

Rationale: Priority species are considered indicators of healthy agro-ecological systems that help maintain the functioning of key ecosystem services. These may include taxa important for ecosystem service provision, functionally important groups, keystone species, and indicator species of ecosystem integrity—such as pollinator species, species important for pest control, and invertebrate groups used as indicators of freshwater ecosystem condition. This metric can be integrated with other species abundance metrics where available (e.g., EU-NRL grassland butterfly index). It requires a minimum of two timepoints for calculation, with surveys conducted over multiple years to reduce the influence of seasonal variation. Trend line slopes should be plotted using multi-year data (preferably ≥ 5 years) to assess overall change over time. For the change to be considered valid, it must be statistically detectable (i.e., the probability that the trend line slope is actually zero must be < 0.05). Reporting must clearly specify which species/taxa are included in the calculation, how priority species groups were selected, and the timeframe and methods of the surveys. The proposed spatial scope is the farm boundary plus 500 meters. Key resources: WBCSD Regen-ag Metrics - Biodiversity chapter