Biodiversity was on average 15% lower in Hungarian and Romanian villages surrounded by homogenised agricultural landscapes than in villages in forest-dominated areas.
The findings come from research comparing biodiversity, human wellbeing and human pressures across 64 villages around 16 mid-sized cities in Hungary and Romania, the European Commission informed on Tuesday.
Half of the villages were closer to cities and half were farther away, and researchers grouped them by surrounding landscape type — agricultural areas such as arable land, pasture and fruit crops, or forest areas including broadleaved woodland, mixed forest and scrub.
Researchers recorded 1,164 species of plants, insects, other arthropods and birds in public green spaces at village edges and centres, then assessed residents’ wellbeing using the OECD Better Life Index and measured human pressures using the Human Footprint Index, a tool that combines factors such as land use change, population density, transport and development.
A village’s proximity to a city did not significantly affect biodiversity scores, but biodiversity was generally higher at village edges and declined towards centres.
The decline from edge to centre was larger in forest-dominated landscapes, at 20%, than in agricultural landscapes, at 15%.
Wellbeing higher near cities, pressures higher too
Wellbeing was 27% higher in villages near cities than in those farther away, and 14% higher in villages in forest-dominated landscapes than in villages in other farmed landscapes, the Commission said.
Human pressures were also higher in villages closer to cities, regardless of whether they were in farm or forest landscapes.
Human pressures had an overall negative effect on biodiversity, and researchers reported evidence of a trade-off between the Human Footprint Index and biodiversity.
The research said forest-dominated areas showed a “buffering effect”, with the highest biodiversity and higher wellbeing even where human pressures were increased.
Researchers said priorities for land management should differ depending on a village’s location and surrounding landscape.
In villages near cities, they recommended reducing the sealing of soil with impermeable surfaces such as concrete or asphalt, and lowering the intensity of green space management.
In forested areas, they recommended limiting agricultural expansion and intensification, and preserving semi-natural habitats, particularly around village edges where biodiversity was higher than in centres.
The study was published as “Biodiversity and human well-being trade-offs and synergies in villages” in "Nature Sustainability" in 2025.
