Does organic farming benefit biodiversity?
D. G. Hole, A. J. Perkins, J. D. Wilson, I. H. Alexander, P. V. Grice and A. D. Evans. Biological Conservation, Vol. 122, No. 1, Mar 2005, pp. 113-130. The intensification and expansion of modern agriculture is amongst the greatest current threats to worldwide biodiversity. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, dramatic declines in both range and abundance of many species associated with farmland have been reported in Europe, leading to growing concern over the sustainability of current intensive farming practices. Purportedly ‘sustainable’ farming systems such as organic farming are now seen by many as a potential solution to this continued loss of biodiversity and receive substantial support in the form of subsidy payments through EU and national government legislation. This paper assesses the impacts on biodiversity of organic farming, relative to conventional agriculture, through a review of comparative studies of the two systems, in order to determine whether it can deliver o
