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November 5, 2004
ORGANIC FARMING BOOSTS BIODIVERSITY
By James Randerson,
New Scientist
October 11, 2004
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996496
Organic farming increases biodiversity at every level of the food chain
all the way from lowly bacteria to mammals. This is the conclusion of
the
largest review ever done of studies from around the world comparing
organic
and conventional agriculture.
Previous studies have shown that organic farming methods can benefit
the
wildlife around farms. But "the fact that the message is similar
all
the way
up the food chain is new information", says agricultural scientist
Martin
Entz of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.
The study reviewed data from Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the US.
Neither
of the two groups of researchers who did the study - one from English
Nature, a government agency which champions wildlife conservation, and
one
from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - has a vested
interest
in organic farming.
"It's good to have independent people add their voice to the debate," says
Nic Lampkin, director of the Organic Centre Wales, part of the
University of
Wales Aberystwyth.
Typically, each of the 76 studies reviewed measured biodiversity in
groups
of organisms ranging from bacteria and plants to earthworms, beetles,
mammals and birds. Of 99 separate comparisons of groups of organisms,
66
found that organic farming benefited wildlife, eight concluded it was
detrimental and 25 produced mixed results or suggested no difference
between
the farming methods.
Mixed Farming
According to the researchers, organic farming aids biodiversity by
using
fewer pesticides and inorganic fertilisers, and by adopting
wildlife-friendly management of habitats where there are no crops,
including
strategies such as not weeding close to hedges, and by mixing arable
and
livestock farming.
Mixed farming particularly benefits some bird species. Lapwings, for
example, nest on spring-sown crops, but raise their chicks on pasture.
Intensive agriculture has been blamed for the 80% decline in lapwing
numbers
in England and Wales since the 1960s. One of the reviewed studies from
the
UK also points to benefits for bats. Foraging activity was up 84% on
organic
farms and two species, the greater and lesser horseshoe bats, were
found
only on organic farms.
The studies might even have underestimated the benefits to wildlife,
says
Phillip Grice of English Nature. Some looked at farms shortly after
they
turned organic, so wildlife numbers may just have started increasing.
Some argue that farms that adopt a few organic practices, swapping
chemical
weeding for mechanical, for example, may help wildlife flourish just
as
much
as completely organic farms. And it is possible that farmers who
switched to
organic farming may have been predisposed towards environmentally
friendly
methods. So the biodiversity on their farms may have been higher than
average before conversion. The current studies are not detailed enough
to
answer these questions.
Journal reference: Biological Conservation (vol 122, p 113)
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This page was posted on 11/09/04 |
