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[SANET-MG] organic farming saves biodiversity



Biology Letters
ISSN: 1744-9561 (Paper) 1744-957X (Online)
Issue: Volume 1, Number 4 / December 22, 2005

Pages: 431 - 434
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0357
URL: Linking Options Benefits of organic farming to biodiversity vary among taxa


R.J. Fuller A1, L.R. Norton A2, R.E. Feber A3, P.J. Johnson A3, D.E. Chamberlain A1, A.C. Joys A1, F. Mathews A3, R.C. Stuart A2, M.C. Townsend A3, W.J. Manley A4, M.S. Wolfe A5, D.W. Macdonald A3, L.G. Firbank A2

A1 British Trust for Ornithology The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK
A2 Lancaster Environment Centre Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK A3 University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Oxfordshire OX13 5QL, UK
A4 Royal Agricultural College Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6JS, UK
A5 Elm Farm Research Centre Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 0HR, UK


Abstract:


Habitat and biodiversity differences between matched pairs of organic and non-organic farms containing cereal crops in lowland England were assessed by a large-scale study of plants, invertebrates, birds and bats. Habitat extent, composition and management on organic farms was likely to favour higher levels of biodiversity and indeed organic farms tended to support higher numbers of species and overall abundance across most taxa. However, the magnitude of the response varied; plants showed larger and more consistent responses than other taxa. Variation in response across taxa may be partly a consequence of the small size and isolated context of many organic farms. Extension of organic farming could contribute to the restoration of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.



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