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Related: About this forumOrganic farming 'benefits biodiversity'
Organic farming 'benefits biodiversity'
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment correspondent
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.
The research is likely to fuel the debate over the environmental benefits of organic farming.
Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32781136
By Helen Briggs
BBC Environment correspondent
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.
The research is likely to fuel the debate over the environmental benefits of organic farming.
Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32781136
Fuel the debate? What?
Extreme "industrial" monoculture using herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers is hazardous to the natural environment. There's nothing to debate.
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Organic farming 'benefits biodiversity' (Original Post)
hunter
May 2015
OP
Nihil
(13,508 posts)1. K&R (n/t)
bananas
(27,509 posts)2. The yield difference isn't much.
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2014/12/09/organic-conventional-farming-yield-gap/
Can organic crops compete with industrial agriculture?
By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | December 9, 2014
BERKELEY
A systematic overview of more than 100 studies comparing organic and conventional farming finds that the crop yields of organic agriculture are higher than previously thought. The study, conducted by UC Berkeley researchers, also found that certain practices could further shrink the productivity gap between organic crops and conventional farming.
<snip>
In terms of comparing productivity among the two techniques, this paper sets the record straight on the comparison between organic and conventional agriculture, said the studys senior author, Claire Kremen, professor of environmental science, policy and management and co-director of the Berkeley Food Institute. With global food needs predicted to greatly increase in the next 50 years, its critical to look more closely at organic farming, because aside from the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, the ability of synthetic fertilizers to increase crop yields has been declining.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 115 studies a dataset three times greater than previously published work comparing organic and conventional agriculture. They found that organic yields are about 19.2 percent lower than conventional ones, a smaller difference than in previous estimates..
The researchers pointed out that the available studies comparing farming methods were often biased in favor of conventional agriculture, so this estimate of the yield gap is likely overestimated. They also found that taking into account methods that optimize the productivity of organic agriculture could minimize the yield gap. They specifically highlighted two agricultural practices, multi-cropping (growing several crops together on the same field) and crop rotation, that would substantially reduce the organic-to-conventional yield gap to 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
<snip>
Its important to remember that our current agricultural system produces far more food than is needed to provide for everyone on the planet, said Kremen. Eradicating world hunger requires increasing the access to food, not simply the production. Also, increasing the proportion of agriculture that uses sustainable, organic methods of farming is not a choice, its a necessity. We simply cant continue to produce food far into the future without taking care of our soils, water and biodiversity.
<snip>
Can organic crops compete with industrial agriculture?
By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | December 9, 2014
BERKELEY
A systematic overview of more than 100 studies comparing organic and conventional farming finds that the crop yields of organic agriculture are higher than previously thought. The study, conducted by UC Berkeley researchers, also found that certain practices could further shrink the productivity gap between organic crops and conventional farming.
<snip>
In terms of comparing productivity among the two techniques, this paper sets the record straight on the comparison between organic and conventional agriculture, said the studys senior author, Claire Kremen, professor of environmental science, policy and management and co-director of the Berkeley Food Institute. With global food needs predicted to greatly increase in the next 50 years, its critical to look more closely at organic farming, because aside from the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, the ability of synthetic fertilizers to increase crop yields has been declining.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 115 studies a dataset three times greater than previously published work comparing organic and conventional agriculture. They found that organic yields are about 19.2 percent lower than conventional ones, a smaller difference than in previous estimates..
The researchers pointed out that the available studies comparing farming methods were often biased in favor of conventional agriculture, so this estimate of the yield gap is likely overestimated. They also found that taking into account methods that optimize the productivity of organic agriculture could minimize the yield gap. They specifically highlighted two agricultural practices, multi-cropping (growing several crops together on the same field) and crop rotation, that would substantially reduce the organic-to-conventional yield gap to 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
<snip>
Its important to remember that our current agricultural system produces far more food than is needed to provide for everyone on the planet, said Kremen. Eradicating world hunger requires increasing the access to food, not simply the production. Also, increasing the proportion of agriculture that uses sustainable, organic methods of farming is not a choice, its a necessity. We simply cant continue to produce food far into the future without taking care of our soils, water and biodiversity.
<snip>