Relationships between Danish organic farming and landscape composition

Levin, Gregor

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2006.10.018

Cited by 30 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Roth and Schwabe (2003) state that a certain percentage of the farm should consist of these landscape elements to preserve ecological and cultural values and to stimulate environmentally friendly agriculture. According to Levin (2007), organic farms showed a significantly higher density of small biotopes than conventional farms, which may be reflected in a higher fTare% in function of the protection of biodiversity. Smeding and Joenje (1999) presented a procedure to reorganise the lay-out and management of farms in order to increase the biodiversity in the agricultural landscape as well as the sustainability of farming.…”

Section: Functional Tare Plays Several Rolesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tare land in Flemish horticulture

et al. 2010

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Section: Functional Tare Plays Several Rolesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tare land in Flemish horticulture

et al. 2010

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“…In a study of the landscape composition of Danish organic and conventional farms, Levin (2007) found a negative relationship between farm size and the densities of small habitat types, suggesting smaller farms have more fine-scale features such as hedgerows and field margins. Several studies have demonstrated that larger farms contain larger field sizes (Westergaard 2006;Levin 2007), which would tend to reduce the field boundary lengths and area in non-crop habitats such as field margins. There are several possible explanations for these relationships between the scale of the farm and the coarseness of the features.…”

Section: Farm Size Impacts Treed Habitat Extent and Patternmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Seabrook et al (2008) also found farm size to be an important factor influencing landscape variables on farms in the Bigalow Belt of Queensland, Australia, where larger farms contained higher levels of tree cover on average. In a study of the composition of Dutch organic farms, Levin (2007) found farm size to be negatively correlated with densities of small habitat features such as hedgerows and field margins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Less clear, however, is the role of the landowners or users (farmers) in establishing the extent or pattern of these habitats. Few studies, for example, have focused on the motivations of farmers to retain or restore trees on farms, or on the relationship between farm type and landscape composition (Levin 2007). A study based on interviews of farmers in Denmark suggested that farmers were very involved in changes to the landscape through activities such as the creation and removal of landscape elements (hedgerows, woodlots, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extent, pattern, and multifunctionality of treed habitats on farms in Vermont, USA

et al. 2010

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Agroecosystems can serve as multifunctional landscapes when treed habitats such as woodlots, hedgerows, riparian buffers, windbreaks, and orchards, are conserved on farms. We investigated the extent, pattern, and multifunctionality of on-farm treed habitats for 16 Vermont farms in the Lamoille watershed of the Lake Champlain Basin. The site was selected because the land use pattern is representative of the region, containing a mixture of agriculture and forest in different habitat types. We used a GIS-based approach to delineate treed habitats on farms and conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers to explore their perception of the functions of treed habitats. Through an evaluation of the relationship between farm characteristics and spatial attributes of treed habitats, we found farm size to be an important variable. Larger farms had more land in treed habitats, while the pattern of these habitats was more complex on smaller farms. Average elevation of the farm, an indicator of biophysical conditions, was a stronger predictor of the extent of treed habitats than farm characteristics. From interviews, we found that farmers benefited from alternative forest products, both for direct consumption and sale, including firewood, timber, maple sugar, edible fruits and nuts, and wood crafts. Most farmers also recognized cultural and ecological functions provided by treed habitats. These results have implications for developing policies to promote the conservation of treed habitats, considering the preferences of the landowner or farmer.

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“…It is relatively well-documented that organic farming due to the ban on chemicals has a beneficial effect on flora and fauna within the area of cultivated land and in edge biotopes (Aude et al 2003, Tybirk et al 2003. Furthermore, recent research indicates that organic farming leads to higher crop diversity and smaller field parcels, which is beneficial for many farmland species (Levin 2007). The proportion of organic farming is hence a useful proxy-indicator for the general habitat quality of farmland.…”

Section: Species Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%