Consequences of organic and non-organic farming practices for field, farm and landscape complexity

Norton, Lisa; Johnson, Paul J.; Joys, Andrew; Stuart, R. C.; Chamberlain, Dan; Feber, Ruth E.; Firbank, L. G.; Manley, Will; Wolfe, Martin S.; Hart, Barbara; Mathews, Fiona; Macdonald, David W.; Fuller, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2008.09.002

Cited by 134 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…The general lack of farm-type differences could be strongly influenced by stubble availability. Although higher arable weed abundance on organic farms (Fuller et al 2005) may be expected to increase winter food resources, at the time of the study stubbles were more prevalent on conventional farms (Norton et al 2009), as organic farmers cannot afford the resulting weed burden. The majority of species identified in this paper likely to most benefit from organic farming practices in winter were increasing species and as such are not of conservation priority.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Norton et al (2009) found a greater extent of non-crop habitats and more heterogeneous land use in a sample of organic farms in the UK (of which this study is a subset). Variation in structural habitat is likely to be a key factor in explaining the organicconventional contrast in birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variation in structural habitat is likely to be a key factor in explaining the organicconventional contrast in birds. For example, variables that are known to systematically vary between farming systems (Norton et al 2009) and which were strongly linked to winter bird density included hedgerow density (A FBI ), proportion of arable area at the farm scale (stock dove, jackdaw) and grass : arable ratio at the landscape scale (woodpigeon, jackdaw), although there were some models where no consistent effects of any variable were found (table S2 in electronic supplementary material). Similar effects of cropping patterns and landscape complexity, coupled with relatively weak effects of organic management, have been found for breeding birds (Piha et al 2007;Kragten & de Snoo 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is evident from a number of studies that organic farms tend to have greater farm-level habitat heterogeneity owing to broad differences in cropping patterns and better/more extensive non-crop habitats at the site and landscape levels (e.g. Rundlof & Schmidt 2006;Norton et al 2009). It therefore remains unclear whether organic farms support greater biodiversity owing to management of inputs to the system (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does organic farming benefit farmland birds in winter?

et al. 2009

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The generally higher biodiversity on organic farms may be influenced by management features such as no synthetic pesticide and fertilizer inputs and/or by differences in uncropped habitat at the site and landscape scale. We analysed bird and habitat data collected on 48 paired organic and conventional farms over two winters to determine the extent to which broad-scale habitat differences between systems could explain overall differences in farmland bird abundance. Density was significantly higher on organic farms for six out of 16 species, and none on conventional. Total abundance of all species combined was higher on organic farms in both years. Analyses using an information-theoretic approach suggested that both habitat extent and farm type were important predictors only for starling and greenfinch. Organic farming as currently practised may not provide significant benefits to those bird species that are limited by winter food resources, in particular, several declining granivores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does organic farming benefit farmland birds in winter?

et al. 2009

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“…Whether organic farming based agriculture enhances biodiversity has been a matter of research and debate in today's world (Norton et al, 2009). Extensive analyses suggest that organic farming is generally associated with higher levels of biodiversity with regards to both flora and fauna (Hawesa et al, 2010).…”

Section: Organic Farming and Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Farming for Crop Improvement and Sustainable Agriculture in the Era of Climate Change

Roychowdhury¹,

Banerjee²,

Sofkova³

et al. 2013

OnLine Journal of Biological Sciences

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Sustainable development has caught the imagination and action of the world for more than a decade. Sustainable agriculture is necessary to attain the goal of sustainable development. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sustainable agriculture is the successful management of resources to satisfy the changing human needs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of environment and conserving natural resources. All definitions of sustainable agriculture lay great emphasis on maintaining an agricultural growth rate, which can meet the demand for food of all living beings without draining the basic resources towards crop improvement. Organic farming is one of the several approaches found to meet the objectives of sustainable agriculture. Most of the techniques used in organic farming like intercropping, mulching and integration of crops and livestock are not alien to agriculture systems including the traditional agricultural practices. However, organic farming is based on various laws and certification programmes, which prohibit the use of almost all synthetic inputs and the central theme of this method is the health of soil. The adverse effects of modern agricultural practices on the farm and also on the health of living beings and thus on the environment has been well documented all over the world. Application of technology, particularly the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides all around us has persuaded people to think aloud. As a result of global climatic changes, their negative effects on the environment are manifested through soil erosion, water shortages, salination, soil contamination, genetic erosion, Organic farming is one of the widely used methods, which is thought as the best alternative to avoid the ill effects of chemical farming. It also has far more advantages over the conventional and other modern agricultural practices that are available today.

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