Environmental Impacts of Organic Farming

Abstract

Organic agriculture is a production system that aims at sustaining healthy soils, ecosystems and people by prohibiting the application of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers in crop production and by emphasising animal welfare in livestock breeding. This article shows that organic agriculture is characterised by higher soil quality and reduced nutrient or pesticide leaching compared to nonorganic agriculture, but that positive effects on biological control services or emission of greenhouse gases are less evident. Yield gaps between organic and nonorganic agriculture are on average 20%, but vary between crops and regions. Given the environmental risks that are associated with intensive, nonorganic agriculture, farming practices should be modified to decrease risks. Organic agriculture can be a more environmentally friendly alternative, but individual farming practices need improvement to meet the demands of a growing human population. Further growth of the organic farming sector will contribute to reduce the negative environmental impact of agriculture. Key Concepts Organic agriculture leads to higher soil quality and reduced nutrient and pesticide leaching compared to nonorganic agriculture. Organic agriculture may lead to a higher provision of ecosystem services and reduced soil erosion compared to nonorganic agriculture, but more research is needed to address these impacts. Organic agriculture leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions if considered per unit product and, on average, has 20% lower yields than intensive, nonorganic agriculture. The current situation of nutrient supply to crop plants in organic agriculture is often not optimal and this is a major challenge for future research. Intensive, nonorganic agriculture is based on the application of pesticides that cause risks to human health, and organic agriculture can act as an environmentally friendly alternative.

Does Organic Farming Provide a Viable Alternative for Smallholder Rice Farmers in India?

“…Nutrient management has an important effect on various sources of nitrogen (N) pollution: Nitrate leaching can contaminate ground and surface water; volatilization of ammonia leads to air pollution (PM 2.5 ) and eutrophication of natural ecosystems; and emissions of the potent greenhouse gas and ozone depleting nitrous oxide (N 2 O) adversely affect climate change and human health [35]. Averaged across geographic locations and cropping systems, N pollution on a per unit area basis is lower in organic compared to conventional systems [31,34,36,37].…”

Impact of Legumes as a Pre-Crop on Nitrogen Nutrition and Yield in Organic Greenhouse Tomato

“…The global market of organic products has increased more than three times during the recent 20 years due to commensurate increases in consumer demand for these products [ 1 ]. However, according to most researchers and practical experience, there is a yield gap of more than 20% between organic and conventional farming [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. This difference in yield performance probably represents the most important limitation to the further expansion of organic farming [ 5 ].…”

“…Nitrogen (N) availability is of paramount importance for successful cultivation in any form of agriculture [ 6 , 7 ]. In organic farming, the use of industrially produced fertilizers of inorganic N is prohibited [ 3 ]. In addition, in many countries and throughout the European Union, the use of inorganic N in organic agriculture is not allowed, even if it is of mineral origin [ 8 ].…”

Effects of Ground Cover Management on Biotic Communities, Ecosystem Services and Disservices in Organic Deciduous Fruit Orchards in South Africa

“…The global demand for organically farmed products is continuously increasing (Willer and Lernoud, 2019) and organic farming practices may benefit several key ecosystem services (Birkhofer et al, 2016). Organically certified orchards may have higher microbial activity (Pokharel and Zimmerman, 2016), soil quality (Vogeler et al, 2006), pest predator (natural enemy) numbers (Happe et al, 2019), levels of biological control of pests (Porcel et al, 2018), and often overall higher biodiversity (Simon et al, 2011, but see Tuck et al, 2014 compared to conventional orchards (see also Samnegård et al, 2019).…”