Organic farms act as a refuge for wild plants, offsetting the loss of biodiversity on conventional farms, a study suggests.
Fields around organic farms have more types of wild plants, providing benefits for wildlife, say scientists.
Studies suggest that organic farming produces lower yields than conventional methods but harbours more wildlife.
The new study, by researchers at the University of Swansea and institutes in France, looked at fields sowed with winter wheat in the region of Poitou-Charente.
They found that organic farming led to higher weed diversity on surrounding conventionally farmed fields.
Food security
Farmland provides essential habitat for many animals but intensification of agriculture has led to a loss of biodiversity.
However, in order to provide the extra food needed by the bigger human population of the future, without destroying forests and wetlands, farming needs to be made more intensive.
Supporters of organic farming say the method could be a potential compromise between meeting food security needs and providing habitat for bees, birds and other wildlife.
The researchers say land-sharing between organic farms and non-organic farms could have benefits for both crop production and biodiversity.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Organic farming ‘benefits biodiversity’
