SHOWCASE launches “Farming with Biodiversity” Handbook and Living Fields Platform

The EU-funded project SHOWCASE launches its science-based handbook for integrating biodiversity into productive European farming and the interactive platform Living Fields

Pensoft Publishers

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Original image produced in Canva with the title of the press release

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The EU-funded project SHOWCASE has released its final handbook, titled “Farming with Biodiversity”, which serves as a practical and evidence-based guide and bank of resources to help farmers, advisors and policymakers work together to make European agriculture both profitable and nature-positive.

Developed through the five years of collaboration across 10 Experimental Biodiversity Areas (EBAs) in 10 European countries, this handbook distills the project’s research findings and on-farm experiences into accessible, illustrated chapters presenting evidence from the project’s researchers and farmers. The handbook demonstrates how biodiversity can be a cornerstone of resilient and productive farm systems when supported by informed policy and farmer-led innovation.

At the heart of the SHOWCASE project lies the conviction that European agriculture should investigate the opportunities to achieve sustainable farming systems that deliver both food and public goods - from biodiversity, to carbon, to thriving rural landscapes. The project combined ecological experiments, socio-economic analysis and participatory research to test how biodiversity-friendly management, such as flower strips, cover crops and reduced pesticide use, affects biodiversity, yield and profit.

Across Europe, SHOWCASE found that biodiversity increased in all trial farms, while yields generally remained stable unless inputs were drastically reduced. The EBAs represent real-world case studies from working farms across Europe, showcasing how biodiversity-friendly practices perform under practical farming conditions, and illustrating the tangible benefits and challenges of integrating nature into productive agriculture, offering evidence and guidance for farmers, advisors and policymakers alike.

Farmers at the centre of innovation

The SHOWCASE approach was built around co-creation, involving farmers as active partners in scientific research. Farmers and scientists worked together to design and test interventions, monitor results and share lessons across the EBAs. This participatory model helped align ecological goals with farmers’ economic realities and social contexts.

A European blueprint for biodiversity-based farming

The SHOWCASE handbook lays out four flexible strategies to help farmers integrate biodiversity into their operations:

• Manage land for nature - set aside or restore natural habitats;

• Farm less intensively - reduce inputs and soil disturbance;

• Increase diversity - through crop rotations, cover crops, or agroforestry;

• Support broader change - collaborate, monitor progress and ensure such funding that addresses the need for support of biodiversity-friendly farming in an efficient way.

These strategies are adaptable to different landscapes and farming systems, offering a practical framework contributing to the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Green Deal, the  Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategy targets at farm level.

A tool for policy and practice

The findings of SHOWCASE, demonstrated in the handbook, support EU and national policies such as CAP eco-schemes and result-based payments for ecosystem services. They also contribute to the  Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, demonstrating how agricultural landscapes could become one of the drivers of biodiversity recovery while supporting rural livelihoods.

The handbook available in 10 languages

To maximise its accessibility and impact, the Farming with Biodiversity handbook has been translated into 10 European languages, ensuring that farmers, advisors and rural communities across the continent can directly benefit from its findings and practical recommendations. By making the material available in the native languages of the Experimental Biodiversity Areas involved in the SHOWCASE project, the consortium aimed to bridge the gap between research and real-world application, empowering farmers in diverse regions to adopt nature-friendly practices tailored to their local conditions.

The Farming with Biodiversity handbook is available for free download on the SHOWCASE website and the SHOWCASE Living Fields Platform.

 

Widely cited stat on global water and food security ‘hearsay’ and fragile for policymaking

Statistics on 70% of water use contributing to 40% of food security based on little evidence and poorly connected to current data

University of Birmingham

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A globally cited statistic about the role of irrigation for food security that has formed foundational evidence for policy making and scientific research is used on a ‘hearsay’ basis and is based on weak evidence, according to a new study.

 

In a new paper published in PNAS Nexus, a team of researchers from the University of Birmingham has analysed the use of widely cited statistics, that irrigation agriculture produces 40% of global crops and withdraws 70% of global freshwater resources. These statistics have appeared in more than 3,500 documents including research and policy documents for more than 50 years, but the origins, dissemination and robustness of the 40% and 70% figures have remained unknown.

 

The team have found that that only 1.5% of the documents citing these statistics contain original data, and that most documents cited for evidence of the 40:70 figures either lacked evidence or did not even mention the numbers at all.

 

Dr Arnald Puy, Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study said: “Our study indicates that the 40 and 70% numbers have spread through hearsay, probably due to their capacity to elicit a strong emotional response and to permit a seemingly simple understanding of complex, ambiguous challenges. However, real-world challenges at the food-water interface often resist characterisation with single digits and attempting to do so risks leading us astray.

 

"As we approach COP30 in Brazil, the time is ripe for us to critically analyse the quality of water use data at the heart of the policy debate on food security."

 

Significant variability

 

The study also shows that, according to current data, irrigation’s role in global food and water security is highly ambiguous: it could be as low as 18% or as high as 50%, while its share of global freshwater withdrawals ranges from 45% to 90%. And these are just conservative estimates of the uncertainty.

 

Seth N. Linga, a PhD researcher from the University of Birmingham and co-author of the study commented: “The wide variability in data on the link between irrigation and food security means that irrigation can be seen either as having only a minor role in feeding the world or as being absolutely central, and likewise as highly inefficient in its water use or remarkably effective. All possibilities are supported by available data.”

 

Carmen Aguiló-Rivera, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham and co-author, added: "Our research suggests that effort should be put into designing policies for food and water that remain solid regardless of an accurate determination of global water and food quanta. A way forward is to work with local stakeholders and communities in order to find common ground to boost crop production and save water, independently of benchmark-based calculations."

 

The University of Birmingham is leading research to help mitigate and adapt to the risks and impacts associated with climate change. The University has been awarded UNFCCC Observer Status which means that its experts can contribute to the vital discussions taking place at COP30.

Research at Birmingham addresses the reality of climate change through transforming health, environment, and society – sustainably supporting people and planet. Its researchers work with industry, academic and policy partners to accelerate progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards the 2030 Agenda.

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Journal

PNAS Nexus

DOI

10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf323 

Article Title

Widely cited global irrigation statistics lack empirical support

Article Publication Date

11-Nov-2025

HALT ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION

Forever chemicals affect the genes of unhatched ducklings

The negative effects of PFAS begin already before birth

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

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Several permanent chemicals called PFAS are already banned. The EU is considering regulating all of them. 

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Credit: Photo: Silje Peterson, NTNU

The EU is considering introducing a blanket ban on the man-made chemicals called PFAS because of the risks they pose. Researchers have now found that these substances can even alter the genes of birds before they hatch.

These substances are called ‘forever chemicals’ because they break down very slowly in the natural environment. Some people may know them by the abbreviation PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are also very abundant.

“These substances are used in hundreds of products, ranging from frying pans and waterproof clothing to firefighting foam, food packaging and stain-resistant coatings,” explained Anne-Fleur Brand, who until recently was a PhD research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

As a result, PFAS can be found across large parts of the world. They have been found in drinking water and in cross-country ski tracks because PFAS was previously used in ski wax. It is a large group of chemicals, and some of them have already been prohibited because they are so toxic. But not all of them.

“Thousands of forever chemicals are still in use,” said Brand.

Little is known about their harmful effects, but researchers have now discovered that these substances can harm ducklings even before they have hatched.

Investigated chemicals in duck eggs

“We studied two new PFAS chemicals that were recently found in wild duck eggs. These chemicals are known to exist in the natural environment, but very little is documented about their effects,” said Professor Veerle Jaspers at NTNU’s Department of Biology.

They conducted the experiments under controlled laboratory conditions. Carrying out these types of experiments in the great outdoors is very difficult because wild birds are exposed to so many influences. These include factors such as viruses, irregular food supply and changes in the environment.

“We therefore investigated mallard duck eggs in the laboratory,” explained Jaspers.

The eggs were collected from a duck farm. The researchers drilled small holes in the eggs and injected them either with one of the two new chemicals or with the PFAS compound PFOS, which is already prohibited because it has been proven to be harmful.

The method replicates the way eggs are infected in the wild, where the chemicals are transferred from the mother to the egg.

The researchers then sealed the eggs with wax and placed them in an incubator for four weeks until they hatched.

Organs were affected

“As soon as the ducklings hatched, we collected samples from three important organs,” said Brand.

The three organs were:

• The liver, where chemical metabolism and detoxification take place.
• The heart, which is vulnerable during development.
• The bursa fabricii, an organ unique to birds, which plays a key role in the development of the immune system.

“We investigated gene expression in these organs, meaning we looked at which genes were turned on and off,” said Brand.

The three organs were affected differently.

The liver

The genes that regulate fat metabolism in the liver changed in the ducklings that were exposed to the two new PFAS substances. This is highly significant.

“Mallard ducks need to store and use fat according to a specific schedule that aligns with both the breeding season and migration. If their fat metabolism changes, it could reduce their chances of surviving or reproducing,” explained Brand.

The heart

“The heart was largely unaffected. This surprised us because other PFAS compounds have previously been shown to affect heart development in other animals, including humans,” said Brand.

However, she emphasizes that the tests were conducted so early in the development of the ducklings that some harmful effects might not have appeared until later instead.

The bursa fabricii

In the bursa fabricii immune organ, the researchers discovered something interesting. It applied to ducklings from all the eggs that were exposed to any of the three substances.

“We found increased activity in a gene that normally helps detect viral infections,” said Brand.

This gene is part of a kind of alarm system that normally provides an early warning signal regarding viral infections. Computer simulations had already predicted this reaction, and the researchers were able to confirm that it also occurs in reality.

“We do not yet know if this helps or harms the birds,” said Brand.

It can signal that the body has increased its readiness to fight infection, but it can also show that the body’s immune system is stressed even if it is not necessary.

“To find out, we need to monitor the birds as they grow and see how they can withstand real viruses. This applies to viruses such as bird flu, which poses a major threat to wild birds.

Key findings

“Our findings show that even new forever chemicals can produce effects similar to those we already know from PFOS.

The EU is therefore considering regulating all PFAS as a group rather than each individual compound. This is simply because the whole group is potentially dangerous. All the substances have a very similar chemical structure.

“Our findings support the demands to regulate all forms of PFAS. Prohibiting them one by one is both expensive and time-consuming,” explained Jaspers.

Before this can happen, however, researchers and decision-makers need more data, especially from experiments that resemble conditions in the natural environment. Therefore, this research will be very important.

The researchers highlight that since the substances remain in the natural environment for such a long time once released, caution is paramount.

“Forever chemicals do not just have long-term consequences. They are a problem right from the very beginning of life,” wrote the researchers in their article.

Reference:

Anne-Fleur Brand, Silje Peterson, Louisa M S Günzel, Kang Nian Yap, Tomasz M Ciesielski, Céline Arzel, Veerle L B Jaspers, Gene expression changes in ducklings exposed in ovo to emerging and legacy per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2025;, vgaf213, https://doi.org/10.1093/etojnl/vgaf213

The researchers drilled small holes in the eggs to add the forever chemicals. 

Credit

Photo: Silje Peterson, NTNU

Journal

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

DOI

10.1093/etojnl/vgaf213 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Gene expression changes in ducklings exposed in ovo to emerging and legacy per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances

Article Publication Date

4-Sep-2025