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[SANET-MG] long term impact of GM canola on biodiversity
Biology Letters
ISSN: 1744-9561 (Paper) 1744-957X (Online)
Issue: FirstCite Early Online Publishing
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0390
URL: Linking Options
Effects of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant cropping systems on
weed seedbanks in two years of following crops
L.G. Firbank A1, P. Rothery A2, M.J. May A3, S.J. Clark A4, R.J. Scott
A1, R.C. Stuart A1, C.W.H. Boffey A4, D.R. Brooks A5, G.T. Champion A3,
A.J. Haughton A5, C. Hawes A6, M.S. Heard A2, A.M. Dewar A3, J.N. Perry
A5, G.R. Squire A6
A1 Lancaster Environment Centre Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Library
Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK
A2 Abbots Ripton Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Huntingdon,
Cambridgeshire PE28 2LS, UK
A3 Broom's Barn Research Station Higham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28
6NP, UK
A4 Winfrith Technology Centre Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8ZD, UK
A5 Rothamsted Research Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
A6 Scottish Crop Research Institute Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
Abstract:
The Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) showed that genetically modified
herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) cropping systems could influence farmland
biodiversity because of their effects on weed biomass and seed
production. Recently published results for winter oilseed rape showed
that a switch to GMHT crops significantly affected weed seedbanks for at
least 2 years after the crops were sown, potentially causing longer-term
effects on other taxa. Here, we seek evidence for similar medium-term
effects on weed seedbanks following spring-sown GMHT crops, using newly
available data from the FSEs.
Weed seedbanks following GMHT maize were significantly higher than
following conventional varieties for both the first and second years,
while by contrast, seedbanks following GMHT spring oilseed rape were
significantly lower over this period. Seedbanks following GMHT beet were
smaller than following conventional crops in the first year after the
crops had been sown, but this difference was much reduced by the second
year for reasons that are not clear. These new data provide important
empirical evidence for longer-term effects of GMHT cropping on farmland
biodiversity.
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