Promoting biodiversity-friendly landscapes - beyond organic farming


Date:
August 4, 2021
Source:
University of Go"ttingen
Summary:
Is organic farming the only alternative to conventional agriculture
to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes? An international
research team questions this. According to the authors, a landscape
mosaic of natural habitats and small-scale and diverse cultivated
areas is the key to promoting biodiversity on a large scale in both
conventional and organic agriculture. They state that political
decision- makers will have to recognize this in order to achieve
a corresponding paradigm shift in agriculture.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Is organic farming the only alternative to conventional agriculture to
promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes? An international research
team led by the University of Go"ttingen questions this. According to
the authors, a landscape mosaic of natural habitats and small-scale
and diverse cultivated areas is the key to promoting biodiversity on
a large scale in both conventional and organic agriculture. They state
that political decision-makers will have to recognise this in order to
achieve a corresponding paradigm shift in agriculture. The statement
was published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.


========================================================================== Organic certification largely focusses on banning synthetic agrochemicals,
the research team criticises. This leads to limited benefits for
biodiversity, but to high losses in yield, even though agriculture is
becoming more intensive and specialised. "Areas cultivated under organic certification have a third more species, but do not reach the yield
level of conventional cultivation. This means that more land is needed
for the same yield," explains first author Professor Teja Tscharntke, Agroecology Group at the University of Go"ttingen.

However, as a larger area is needed, the advantages for biodiversity
disappear.

Moreover, it is a myth that organic farming never uses
pesticides. "Pesticides are allowed as long as they are considered
natural. For example, grape, orchards and also vegetables are sprayed extensively and repeatedly, mainly with copper products, even though
these products accumulate in the soil," says Tscharntke. "In addition,
much organic farming has moved far away from the ideals of its early
years: organic farming is not always done on idyllic family farms;
organic monocultures are often similar in size to conventional
farms; and vegetables are often grown under glass, at the expense of biodiversity." In the Mediterranean region, covering crops with plastic
sheets for vegetable cultivation is ruining entire landscapes, and yet
an ever-increasing proportion of farming here is none-the-less achieving organic certification.

"Landscapes with high crop diversity, small fields, and at least one fifth near-natural habitats can promote biodiversity significantly more than
just organic certification," emphasises the agroecologist. "Landscapes
with small fields and long edges have many times more species than
landscapes with large fields, and are equally feasible both in organic
and conventional agriculture." As an example, he cites landscapes where
fields are one hectare instead of six: "These can be home to six times
as many plant and insect species. Variety in cultivation can also double
the number of species and greatly increase biological pest control as
well as successful pollination." Even if the EU's Green Deal sets out
to achieve a 25 percent share of organic agriculture by 2030, it will
still be necessary to include 75 percent conventional agriculture in
the biodiversity strategy.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Go"ttingen. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Teja Tscharntke, Ingo Grass, Thomas C. Wanger, Catrin Westphal,
Pe'ter
Bata'ry. Beyond organic farming - harnessing biodiversity-friendly
landscapes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/
j.tree.2021.06.010 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210804123622.htm

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