Reduction of the species
Changes in agricultural techniques have had a negative impact on the typical fauna of agricultural environments, including the hare. In particular, the reduction of these species and of biodiversity in general is due to the monotonization of the environment created by the increase in the size of the plots, the disappearance of hedges and groves, and the poor variability of crops that reduces both the availability of food and the possibility of refuge and reproduction areas.
A significant increase in the bag
An environmental improvement experiment conducted in the Slovakian Danubian plain has recorded an increase of up to 100% of the hare bag, thanks to the greater survival of the leverets. These interventions consisted of the creation of small disposable plots sown with grasses, legumes and other essences for a total of about 0,20-0,25% of the total surface area. In economic terms, these are truly inexpensive interventions! In addition, always from research in the agro-ecological field, we get some very important indications. For example, the consistency of the hare, observed for a period of over twenty years in Germany, was positively influenced by the presence of small woods and bushy areas scattered throughout the agricultural environment.
Preservation of biodiversity
These results are extremely useful for those who have to manage wildlife institutes such as ZRC and AFV, but they give a very important and scientifically based indication on the directions that European agricultural policy should take: the presence of small semi-natural spaces within the agricultural environment represents the main factor for preserving the biodiversity of intensively farmed environments and therefore should be the main point on which to direct agro-environmental funding (Fig. 1). Furthermore, the European hare, thanks also to the fact that it is a species already monitored through the censuses carried out by ATC and AFV, could represent the reference for measuring the effectiveness of the agro-environmental measures themselves (source: Federcaccia).