Organic farming and biodiversity - the impact of organic farming on nature

Organic farming is generally acknowledged for its positive effects on biodiversity and other landscape services. However, the intensity of farming has changed significantly through the last decade as ranks of traditional holistic organic farmers have been joined by much more economically-driven new organic farmers. At the same time there have also been steady improvements in farming methodology and crop types resulting in efficiency in organic farming which can often rival its conventional counterparts. Therefore, large variations occur between organic farms

Økologisk jordbrug som refugier for biodiversitet (Refugia)

• Økologiske marker har mere ukrudtsbiomasse end konventionelle. • Der er flere blomstrende arter i økologiske hegn end konventionelle forudsat, at der er kontinuitet i den økologiske drift. • Der er flere små pattedyr i små økologiske biotoper end konventionelle. • Fjernmålinger fra fly eller satellit, kaldet remote sensing, kan skelne hvilken afgrødetype der dyrkes, samt forekomsten af småbiotoper. • Uanset driftformen er det vigtigt at inddrage naturhensyn i driften, dvs., at der findes ekstensivt drevne arealer (græsmarker, overdrev, enge) til natur og direkte afsatte arealer til natur

Investigation into experimental toxicological properties of plant protection products having a potential link to Parkinson's disease and childhood leukaemia

In 2013, EFSA published a literature review on epidemiological studies linking exposure to pesticides and human health outcome. As a follow up, the EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their residues (PPR Panel) was requested to investigate the plausible involvement of pesticide exposure as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) and childhood leukaemia (CHL). A systematic literature review on PD and CHL and mode of actions for pesticides was published by EFSA in 2016 and used as background documentation. The Panel used the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) conceptual framework to define the biological plausibility in relation to epidemiological studies by means of identification of specific symptoms of the diseases as AO. The AOP combines multiple information and provides knowledge of biological pathways, highlights species differences and similarities, identifies research needs and supports regulatory decisions. In this context, the AOP approach could help in organising the available experimental knowledge to assess biological plausibility by describing the link between a molecular initiating event (MIE) and the AO through a series of biologically plausible and essential key events (KEs). As the AOP is chemically agnostic, tool chemical compounds were selected to empirically support the response and temporal concordance of the key event relationships (KERs). Three qualitative and one putative AOP were developed by the Panel using the results obtained. The Panel supports the use of the AOP framework to scientifically and transparently explore the biological plausibility of the association between pesticide exposure and human health outcomes, identify data gaps, define a tailored testing strategy and suggests an AOP’s informed Integrated Approach for Testing and Assessment (IATA)

Landscape scenarios to evaluate the impact of organic farming on selected animal species

A total of seven scenarios were constructed to model different aspects on the influence of organic farming practice in the Herning model area. The chosen scenarios aimed to describe different levels of organic farms present and different levels of crop management intensification on organic farms (mechanical weeding, density of live stock grazing, watering). Extensified conditions were a reduction of 50% in intensity compared to standard conditions. The effects of the scenarios were tested on: carabid beetle (Agonum dorsale), Linyphiid spider (Erigone sp.) and skylark as these species are expected to be the most sensitive species in relation to impacts following the agricultural changes described above. Following main results were obtained: • Organic scenarios indicated that organic farming was beneficial for all species considered. However, the impact varied depending upon the crops grown. • The impact of the current organic farms on the landscape at large was measurable, but not large • 100% organic farming led to a 9-120% increase in numbers depending on species. • Extensification of management had clear beneficial impacts on spiders and skylarks, but not beetles. • The ‘nature’ rotation (‘nature optimised’) was better for skylarks, but inferior to the standard rotations for beetles and spiders

Pitfall trap sampling and community analysis of grassland spiders

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Evaluation of biodiversity management through organic farming

Organic farming has often been suggested as a way of increasing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but literature reports a variable success. The drivers in play are multi-factorial and include the particular species groups under consideration, the precise form of organic management, the landscape structural and management context, the area and scale considered, and the historical context. Here ALMaSS, a comprehensive agent-based model simulation system, was used to produce an assessment of the impact of organic and conventional farm types, landscape structure, and management context for six common agricultural wildlife species. ALMaSS outputs can be expressed as a simple index of relative change in abundance and distribution, allowing easy comparison between scenarios. Results indicate that organic farming generally had a beneficial effect, but the degree was variable with all factors considered and there were strong interactions between factors. Targeted managements provided much greater impacts than changes in farm types. Predictions of biodiversity impacts depended on precise inputs, underlying both the view of this system as being complex, and the necessity for detailed knowledge. However, this combination of detailed modelling platform with a simple index of impact provides an easily interpreted method for objective evaluation of impacts of potential policy scenarios

Evaluation of wildlife management through organic farming

Organic farming has often been suggested as a way of increasing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but literature reports a variable success. The drivers in play are multi-factorial and include the particular species groups under consideration, the precise form of organic management, the landscape structural and management context, the area and scale considered, and the historical context. Here ALMaSS, a comprehensive agent-based model simulation system, was used to produce an assessment of the impact of organic and conventional farm types, landscape structure, and management context for six common agricultural wildlife species. ALMaSS outputs can be expressed as a simple index of relative change in abundance and distribution, allowing easy comparison between scenarios. Results indicate that organic farming generally had a beneficial effect, but the degree was variable with all factors considered and there were strong interactions between factors. Targeted managements provided much greater impacts than changes in farm types. Predictions of biodiversity impacts depended on precise inputs, underlying both the view of this system as being complex, and the necessity for detailed knowledge. However, this combination of detailed modelling platform with a simple index of impact provides an easily interpreted method for objective evaluation of impacts of potential policy scenarios

Evaluating and communicating simulated wildlife responses to land-use scenarios

Reliable assessments of how human activities affect wildlife populations are essential for effective natural resource management. Agent-based models provide a powerful tool for integration of multiple drivers of ecological systems, but communication of model results is at the same time constrained by the complexity of the model responses. Here, we systematically modify a digital version of a real landscape to produce a set of model landscapes differing in the degree of heterogeneity and test how different landscapes affect abundance and occupancy of six model animal species in four different management scenarios using an agent-based model framework (ALMaSS). ALMaSS is capable of highly detailed modelling of individuals but the outputs can be complex and voluminous. We develop a statistic (the AOR-index) based on the abundance occupancy relationship to simplify presentation of model simulations and facilitate scenario comparisons. Scenario results demonstrate that species respond very differently to a particular land-use scenario and in some cases in opposite directions. The bird and mammal species generally showed larger responses than the invertebrates and changes in occupancy were often smaller than changes in abundance. The species-specific responses are caused by differences in habitat requirements and dispersal abilities, but the importance of such life history traits are affected by landscape dynamics and structure. Hence predictions of species-specific responses to land-use changes in terms of abundance and occupancy are greatly improved by incorporation in a model framework taking spatial and temporal dynamics into account. The use of the AOR-index simplifies the presentation of scenario comparison and provides and objective way to combine impacts across species. Its use, however, still requires management goals in order to evaluate scenario responses