Diversity as a key concept for organic agriculture

Diversity is a key concept of organic agriculture and is intuitively perceived as having positive, but not always explicit, consequences for the internal functioning of the farm as well as for the impact on environment and farmland nature. In two groups of specialised organic farms (arable and dairy) and a group of mixed farms, links between production diversity and diversity at the scales above and below, as well as relations to potential farmland biodiversity, are examined. Results show that diversity in different scales are not consistently correlated, i.e. neither high diversity in farm household on-farm activities, nor diversity in agricultural production are linked to high crop and land use diversity. Furthermore, there are no simple relations between diversity measures and potential benefits for farmland biodiversity

LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES ON DANISH ORGANIC FARMS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO FARM BASED RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Household livelihood strategies among Danish organic farmers are identified using combinations of off-farm income levels, time used for farming, and farm size. This is based on interviews carried out in 2002 with 10 % of the Danish organic farmers representing the national distribution of organic farm types as well as major landscape systems. The relationship between these strategies and farm-based rural development is investigated in terms of engagement in other farm-based activities and landscape management, and it is discussed how different strategies may be interpreted and the questions it raises to the further development of the organic farming

Density, structure and management of landscape elements on Danish organic farms

Density and management of landscape elements on organic farms were investigated for 345 organic farms in Denmark in 2001, representing approximately 10% of the total number of organic farms. The density of hedgerows, area habitats and ponds was estimated and related to various aspects of farm character, such as size, type and lifestyle/part time/full time farms, as well as region and biophysical context. A large variation in the densities was found, the highest densities were found on the smallest farms. Farm size was the farm parameter that was closest related to the density of landscape elements as well as landscape structural variables. Farm size was related to the other farm characteristics

Partnerskaber og målrettet indsamling af viden kan hjælpe bestøvere

Mange vil bestøverne det godt. På et nylig afholdt bestøversymposium arrangeret på initiativ af bl.a. BEEFARM projektet deltog interesserede landmænd, biavlere, forskere, rådgivere samt deltagere fra kommuner, relevante styrelser og interesseorganisationer

Økologiske frø- og frugtavlere "tænker som vilde bier"

Organic farmers wish to improve conditions for wild bees on their farms. Therefore they collaborate with researchers on developing a tool to evaluate food resources on the farm

Beefarm: Meeting the complex challenges of food and lodging to wild bees

During the first season the project Beefarm has found a total of more than 40 species of-solitary bees in fruit farms with varying abundance and diversity in the individual farms.-In the case of clover seed farms the project directs attention to the distribution between-good and less efficient clover pollinators among the bumblebees

Atten landmænd har kortlagt bedriften fra bierne synsvinkel

Ni frøavlere og lige så mange frugtavlere har i løbet af sommeren vandret deres bedrifter tynde for at registrere blomster og kortlægge redepladser for de vilde bier. Deres registreringer skal bruges til at udvikle et nyt redskab, der kan bruges til at skabe bedre leveforhold for bierne. Der er almindelig enighed om, at de vilde bier har det svært i det intensivt dyrkede danske landbrugslandskab. Selv på økologiske bedrifter, hvor de ikke er udsat for pesticider, kan de mangle føde- og redesteder, og kun den enkelte landmand eller frugtavler kan ændre på situationen. Derfor har vi i forskningsprojektet BEEFARM sat os for at udvikle et værktøj, som landmanden kan bruge til at vurdere leveforholdene for vilde bier på bedriften. Ni økologiske kløverfrøavlere i Jylland og ni økologiske frugtavlere på Sjælland deltager, og de har i denne sommer afprøvet første version af værktøjet med stor entusiasme

Landmænd skal tænke som bier

Frø- og frugtavlere er særlig afhængige af de vilde bier. Vilde bier øger udbyttet, fordi de sammen med biavlernes honningbier sørger for bestøvning i landbruget. Men de vilde bier er i tilbagegang. Det betyder ikke blot forringet dyrkningssikkerhed for frøafgrøder og frugtkulturer, men også at bestøvningen af vilde planter og dermed biodiversiteten svækkes. Tidligere er bestøvningen fra de vilde bier blevet set som en udbytteforsikring, hvis honningbierne af en eller anden grund ikke fungerede godt. Fornylig er det imidlertid vist, at de vilde bier på bedriften kan øge udbyttet selv med velfungerende honningbier, og derfor er det vigtigt, at man som landmand sikrer de bedst mulige forhold for de vilde bier

Structural development in Danish agriculture and its implications for farmland nature

During the last decades, development of Danish agriculture was characterised by concentration of land on fewer and larger farms and consequently increasing farm sizes. On basis of three case studies supplemented by national data we explore relationships between farm size change and farmland nature in terms of field sizes and hedgerow densities. Data point to a significant relationship between farm enlargement and increases in mean field sizes. Furthermore, mean field size is negatively related to densities of hedgerows. For the coming decades, scenarios for Danish agriculture point to a continued increase in farm sizes. We argue for an increased focus on the effects of a continued scale enlargement on farmland nature in terms of changes in field size structure. In order to reduce harmful influences of scale enlargement, we suggest that in relation to changes in field structure, agricultural policies should focus on restrictions on removal of old hedgerows and on subsidies for planting of ne

Flere blomster til de vilde bier, tak

Det lyder nemt: Der skal være føde til de vilde bier ude i agerlandet i tilstrækkelig mængde og af god kvalitet. Men hvad, der fungerer som ressource, afhænger af biarten