How does organic farming affect biodiversity?
Among the evidence cited in the paper, the researchers have seen an overall 12 percent increase in biodiversity. Organic farms were found to have more plant diversity and greater floral diversity, as well as more earthworms, insects, butterflies, and even increased numbers of some types of birds.
What is organic farming and how does it work?
Organic farming utilizes soil conservation tactics and practices that help the nutrients and microorganisms thrive. Many organic farms utilize compost, natural fertilizer, and no-till farming practices that eliminate or lessen soil degradation over time.
Does organic farming lead to higher weed diversity?
They found that organic farming led to higher weed diversity on surrounding conventionally farmed fields. "Wild plants are important for birds, bees and other farmland species," said Dr Luca Borger of the department of biosciences at Swansea University.
Why is organic farming important to clean up our rivers?
American Rivers notes that a major water pollution threat to U.S rivers is runoff from non-organic farms, such as harmful pesticides, toxic fertilizers, and animal waste. Organic farming helps keep our water supplies clean by stopping that polluted runoff.
Does organic agriculture help biodiversity?
The Importance of Biodiversity Regenerative organic farming, by contrast, encourages biodiversity. A rich mix of microorganisms, plants, and animals on the farm creates healthy soil, strong crops, and resilient natural systems that don't require chemical intervention to manage pests and diseases.
Is organic farming beneficial to the environment?
Organic farming is widely considered to be a far more sustainable alternative when it comes to food production. The lack of pesticides and wider variety of plants enhances biodiversity and results in better soil quality and reduced pollution from fertilizer or pesticide run-off.
Does organic matter increase biodiversity?
Crop management techniques that increase soil organic matter will also increase soil stability and soil biodiversity. The application of organic matter to the soil, such as crop stubble, supports greater populations of surface feeding creatures including earthworms.
What is the main benefit of organic farming?
Organic agriculture reduces non-renewable energy use by decreasing agrochemical needs (these require high quantities of fossil fuel to be produced). Organic agriculture contributes to mitigating the greenhouse effect and global warming through its ability to sequester carbon in the soil.
What are the pros and cons of organic farming?
Here are the pros and cons of organic farming.Pros of Organic Farming. High nutrition values. Better taste. Improved human health. Environmental sustainability. Food security. ... Cons of Organic Farming. Diminished productivity in the long-term. Time consuming. Skills. Organic products are extremely expensive.
What affects plant biodiversity?
Threats to plant biodiversity include the increasing human population, pollution, deforestation, and species extinction. Plant extinction is progressing at an alarming rate; this, in turn, affects other species, which also become extinct because they depend on the delicate ecological balance.
How does composting increase biodiversity?
#1 Compost nurtures populations of soil food web organisms. #2 Organic Gardens exclude toxic fertilizers, in- crease biodiversity, protect biological communities, and fight climate change. #3 Mulch provides food for soil organisms and shelter for predators.
How does biodiversity benefit soil?
These organisms improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition, and break down of organic matter. A wide variety of organisms provides checks and balances to the soil food web through population control, mobility, and survival from season to season.
Is organic agriculture healthier?
Not only does organic production help reduce public health risks, mounting evidence shows that food grown organically are rich in nutrients, such as Vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus, with less exposure to nitrates and pesticide residues in organically grown fruits, vegetables, and grains when compared to ...
Why are organic farms important?
Organic farms act as a refuge for wild plants, offsetting the loss of biodiversity on conventional farms, a study suggests. Fields around organic farms have more types of wild plants, providing benefits for wildlife, say scientists.
Why is farming important for food security?
However, in order to provide the extra food needed by the bigger human population of the future, without destroying forests and wetlands, farming needs to be made more intensive.
Is organic farming good for the environment?
Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.
More soil life
Organic soils contain more micro-organisme and earth worms. These are very important for fertility and soil structure.
More flowers and plants
In organic farms you will find more wild plants and more plant species.
More fauna
In organic farms there are more beatles, bees, spiders and butterflies, and more birds.
More cultivated species
Agro-biodiversity is bigger in organic farms as a result of crop rotation, intercropping and mixed cultivation.
More landscape variation
Organic farms are better at showing seasonal, historical and special characteristics of a region. The number of biotopes is higher at organic farms.
Soil life
Micro-organisms and earth worms play a leading role in keeping soils fertile. Organic soils usually have more of them, as a result of using natural fertilizers with organic material, and crop rotation. The micro-organisms are also more diverse and more active in organic soils. Source: Haveman & Stortelder 2006
Insects and other invertebrae
On organic farms 1.6 times more beatles, 3 times more butterlies and 1 to 5 times more spiders are found than in conventional agriculture. Many of them are natural predators for pest insects like lice. They also contribute to pollination are an important food source for birds.
Agriculture creates biodiversity
Biodiversity encompasses diversity of life on all levels: diversity of species, genetic diversity as well as diversity of habitats and ecosystems. A rich biological diversity is essential for preserving natural processes contributing to man’s ability to live.
Intensive farming as one of the main causes of species decline
Semi-natural areas serve as hibernation sites and as habitat for many species.
Rare and endangered species on organic land
Ground-nesting birds can only survive in less intensively used areas (sky lark).
Higher biodiversity benefits farmers
Biodiversity promotes self-regulation mechanisms (e.g., natural pest reduction).
Literature
Bengtsson, J., Ahnström, J., Weibull, A.C., 2005. The effects of organic agriculture on biodiversity and abundance: a metaanalysis. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 261-269. Crowder, D.W., Northfield, T.D., Strand. M. & Snyder, W.E. Organic agriculture promotes evenness and natural pest control. Nature 2010, 46:109-112. FAO, 2002.
How much does biodiversity increase on organic farms?
Among the evidence cited in the paper, the researchers have seen an overall 12 percent increase in biodiversity.
Why are organic farmers important?
By allowing their animals to range and become part of the surrounding environment, organic farmers are able to utilize the natural grazing behaviors and fertilization, erm, methods of the animals they raise.
Why do earthworms help the soil?
They know that earthworms help maintain soil, and that insect and bird waste can help it remain arable. It is a type of conservation, which in turn helps build or rebuild biodiversity amongst the creatures that live there. Article continues below advertisement. Source: Getty Images.
Why are humans farming?
Humans have been farming almost since the very beginning of civilization. As civilization grew and the population continued to grow with it, these farms became even more essential to the perpetuation of the species. Unfortunately, our species’ unchecked growth has wreaked havoc on the natural world. Biodiversity, the variety, and the variability of life on Earth have been adversely impacted by many aspects of civilization, but commercial farming is one of the most egregious. On the other hand, organic farming has had a positive effect on biodiversity
What is organic farming?
Organic farming utilizes soil conservation tactics and practices that help the nutrients and microorganisms thrive. Many organic farms utilize compost, natural fertilizer, and no-till farming practices that eliminate or lessen soil degradation over time.
Why are organic farms better than commercial farms?
What this means is that organic farms are better equipped to keep their environmental impact lower than that of commercial farms.
Why is Roundup bad for crops?
The main reason for this is the lack of chemical pesticides. Pesticides like Roundup are cancer-causing chemical concoctions that not only harm the insects that try to take a small share of our crops, but they also cause harm to the humans that rely on those crops for survival.
Why is organic farming important?
Organic farming not only helps preserve more natural habitat areas but also encourages birds and other natural predators to live happily on farmland, which assists in natural pest control.
Why are organic farms good for animals?
Additionally, animals who live on organic farms are exposed to clean, chemical-free grazing that helps keep them naturally healthy and resistant to illness. As a perk for organic farmers, happy and healthy organic animals are productive organic animals.
How does organic farming help the soil?
Organic Farming Builds Healthy Soil. To grow healthy food, you must start with healthy soil. If you treat the soil with harmful pesticides and chemicals, you may end up with soil that cannot thrive on its own. Natural cultivation practices are far better than chemical soil management.
How many pounds of pesticides would be eliminated if every farmer in the U.S. converted to organic production
The Organic Trade Association notes that if every farmer in the U.S. converted to organic production, we could eliminate 500 million pounds of persistent and harmful pesticides from entering the environment annually. Pesticide and chemical use results in many negative environmental issues:
Does organic cotton use less water?
However, organic cotton farming needs less irrigation and thus conserves water.
Do synthetic pesticides harm the environment?
Sometimes these harmful pesticides stick around for decades (maybe longer). Synthetic chemicals also discourage smart farming practices such as cover crops and crop rotation, which in turn, may cause other harmful environmental problems like erosion.
Is organic farming good for the environment?
Beyond money and ethics, though, organic farming practices result in numerous environmental benefits.
How do organic regimes affect biodiversity?
The report concluded that “organic regimes have the greatest benefit for biodiversity at the farm level …Both in terms of their agricultural practices and the extent and management of uncropped land, organicregimes … exert a positive effect on the biodiversity of arable land. The effect derives from the lack ofsynthetic inputs, the occurrence of post cropping planting practices that benefit several organism groupsand the widespread occurrence and sympathetic management of uncropped elements present withinthe regime. This combination of agricultural and structural elements is clearly one that can act toenhance the biodiversity of arable land”.
What is the best feature of organic crop production?
The avoidance of agrochemicals is the best-known feature of organic crop production systems. It meansthere are higher levels of invertebrates and wild plants that form the base of food chains and supportnatural predators. In comparison, ICM uses perhaps 50 per cent less pesticides and herbicides thanconventional farming.
What is nature conservation?
Nature conservation has traditionally consisted of geographically targeted efforts. Since 1949,designated areas have been established across the UK to protect key samples of nationally importanthabitats or scarce species. For example, nature reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and throughagri-environment schemes. While this approach has resulted in a number of successes for rare speciesor particular locations, worrying declines have been found to have occurred meanwhile right across thecountry in many different living groups. These have been well documented for birds and wild plants ofarable fields, and it is considered that their declines are representative of the situation across the board.Conservation concerns have thus now shifted to include the more common and widespread species.
Why is genetic diversity important in agriculture?
If diversity is encouraged then locally adaptedplants and animal breeds which are more appropriate to local ecosystems can be used . But, perhapsmore importantly, agricultural genetic diversity is a basic insurance against crop and livestock diseaseoutbreaks becoming national epidemics. The less diversity in the system, the wider and faster newbacterial, viral or other strains can spread throughout the national agricultural base. Crop and animalbreeding has now become such a specialised and centralised industry that this essential diversity hasbeen eroded in recent years. This is a huge and increasing risk to the economy of the farm industry andalso to national food security, human health and the national economy, as indicated by the cost andramifications of all major farm health scares. The Irish potato famine of 1846 is an example of a pastnational crisis which followed low genetic diversity in the crop.
How does agriculture help the UK?
Agriculture has a very important role in the preservation of the UK’s biodiversity. Since it arrived about7000 years ago, it has created or maintained most of the valued “semi-natural” habitats that characterisethe UK countryside and support specific communities of wildlife. For example, heathland, flower richmeadows, unimproved pastures, ditches, hedgerows, but also the cropped areas. Farming is also by farthe dominant land use in the UK, accounting for 76 per cent of the land area. Furthermore, there isevidence that the UK’s traditional farming systems steadily increased the levels of biodiversity: the1800s were the highest point for biodiversity.
Why are hedges important in organic farming?
And, as the farming is mostly mixed, hedges are frequently used to provide stockproofboundaries between fields . The standards encourage good management of other farm habitats, forexample farm woods and ponds. A large amount of non-crop habitats have been removed onconventional farms. For example, it has been estimated that between a quarter and a third of hedgerowsin Britain have been removed since 1945 (Watt and Buckley, 1994).
Why are invertebrates important?
Invertebrates are especially important for biodiversity. They form an important part of the diet of manybirds, especially young birds, and predatory invertebrates have an important function in agricultural pestcontrol. When considering the biodiversity of different farming systems, it is important that the effects onthe abundance of pest species are identified separately from the effects on invertebrate biodiversity ingeneral. Invertebrate predators, such as spiders, are essential for biological pest control, and it isconsidered that their abundance has been reduced by the widespread use of agro-chemicals.
The Spread of Randomized Trials
Why We Still Need Observational Studies
- Not surprisingly the results of the Krebs badger culling trial have now been pounced upon by both pro- and anti-cull groups with messianic zeal. But unfortunately a single randomized trial can be just as misleading as an observational study, especially if the number of replicates is small. This is partly because of simple random error - random allocation can only be guaranteed to provide …
Conventional Versus Organic Farming
- In 'developed' economies conventional farminghas long used a high level of synthetic inputs - including manufactured fertilizers, synthetic pesticides and fungicides. Such methods have been adopted worldwide for the commercial production of most crops and livestock. Mixing insecticides and fertilizer with no protective clothing (Photo: InfluentialPoints) In reaction to the …
What Is The Evidence That Organic Farming Benefits Biodiversity?
- Perhaps the first point to make is that, as far as we know, no randomized trials have been carried out to test the hypothesis that converting an area from conventional to organic farming increases species richness or any other measure of biodiversity. A large number of studies have been carried out, but they nearly all use what is best described as...
What The Reviews Don't Mention
- Surprisingly none of these reviewers have commented on two obvious design problems common to nearly all these studies: 1. Cross-sectional designs provide very weak evidence for causalityIn terms of demonstrating causality between organic farm management and biodiversity, all these studies had a fundamental design weakness - they are all cross-sectional. In other words sampli…
Can The Comparative Group Design Be Improved?
- The comparative group design could be greatly improved if all or a random sample of organic farms in an area (obtained from a listing of organic farms) were compared with either a random sample of conventional farms, or with a matched sample obtained using rigorous criteria (say farms randomly selected from the five nearest conventional farms within specified size limits). …
What About Using Other 'Cross-Sectional' Designs
- We next consider whether alternative 'cross-sectional' designs could be used. 1. The obvious design to try is a simple analytical survey. One takes a completely or stratified random sample of all arable farms in the study area. For this one needs a listing of all farms in the study area. This unfortunately may not be available in all countries, but could presumably be collated for a partic…
Is Species Richness The Best Response variable?
- What do we want from our agricultural system(s)? Most would agree on a sustainable system that gives high yields at low cost; many would also want systems that use biological rather than pesticidal / herbicidal control of pests, and that make a significant contribution to wildlife conservation. Species richness is a relatively easy response variable to measure (albeit it is tim…
A Postscript
- The worrying aspect of what we have described above is the scientific community appears to have accepted the organic paradigm so unquestioningly. At any rate very little attention has been paid to the study design issues described above. Perhaps the central (albeit embarrassing) question we have to ask the reader is whether you think the arguments for organic farming are p…