The scientific part of the NaPA project was carried out by a team of the LIB under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherber. Over 40 interns, student assistants and researchers supported field work, sample processing and identification. The project enabled a total of 10 project, bachelor and master theses. One doctoral thesis is currently still in progress
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About the LIB
The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) was established in 2021 through the merger of the Center for Natural History (CeNak) at the University of Hamburg with the Zoological Research Museum Alexander König in Bonn. The core task of the LIB is to research global biodiversity change across locations and to disseminate findings to the wider society. The Center for Biodiversity Monitoring (ZBM) is one of the LIB's research centers.
Tasks of the LIB in the project
The work of the LIB consisted of planning and supervising the field trials set up in the project. At the 19 project sites, agricultural areas with and without flower strips were examined for their animal biodiversity – at distances of 0, 10, 50 and 100 metres from the field edge. The focus was on monitoring flying insects, soil arthropods and soil mesofauna. New technologies were also deployed: acoustic bird monitoring identified 117 bird species, and AI-assisted methods enabled soil fauna analysis. Vegetation, soil nutrients and soil organic matter were also recorded.
Year-round insect monitoring
Monitoring of arthropod diversity in the NaPA project took place using a variety of technologies. Vane traps, which were primarily used to catch flying insects such as bees, beetles and flies, were placed year-round on agricultural fields and in flowering strips. From April to October, a weekly emptying of the trap containers was carried out by the participating farms. This provided a detailed picture of insect occurrence and insect activity over the course of the year.
Pitfall traps
Pitfall traps (Barber traps) were used to catch invertebrates such as spiders and beetles. These trap systems were installed at intervals of 8 weeks on agricultural areas and in flowering strips, and removed again after a few days by the farmers. A wire mesh prevented bycatch and a rain cover prevented overflow. These traps were particularly effective for capturing ground beetles and spiders, which play useful functions in pest control.
MacFadyen soil samples
MacFadyen soil cores (approx. 200 cm³) helped to understand the impact that measures have on organisms in the soil. This sampling took place in parallel with the use of the pitfall traps and allowed the study of the composition and abundance of soil mesofauna (0.3–1 mm body size) – primarily springtails and mites, which are important decomposers in the soil.
Sample processing and analysis
Over three years, the NaPA project generated thousands of samples – processed and analysed at the LIB. The vane traps produced nearly 10,000 collection bottles, of which over 91% were successfully analysable – a success rate unique for a field project of this scale. The pitfall traps yielded around 970 usable samples from almost 1,000 traps placed – a success rate of 97%. MacFadyen soil cores were additionally collected across all three years. In total, more than 380,000 individual animals were counted. This exceptional data quality would not have been possible without the weekly commitment of the participating farmers – who were not just sample collectors, but active co-creators of the project.
