Organic farming boosts biodiversity

[Guest guest]

Organic farming boosts biodiversity

09:45 11 October 2004

Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition

James Randerson

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)

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

When we were in New Zealand recently a big scandal broke regarding organic

produce. It seems that 20% of that sold as organic had been sprayed with

chemicals. It wouldn't surprise me if that were true in other places as

well.

 

Annice

[Guest guest]

I am in the big city of Philadelphia. When I read organic I never believe that

it is really organic.

 

Blessings,

Chanda.Maria

 

-

Annice Grinberg

Friday, January 07, 2005 9:07 AM

Re: Organic farming boosts biodiversity

 

 

Hi,

 

When we were in New Zealand recently a big scandal broke regarding organic

produce. It seems that 20% of that sold as organic had been sprayed with

chemicals. It wouldn't surprise me if that were true in other places as

well.

 

Annice