Organic agriculture is often deemed effective in conserving and promoting biodiversity, yet most studies have so far only focused on farmland in temperate areas and a few taxonomic groups, mainly ...birds and arthropods. Mediterranean agroecosystems host considerable biodiversity, and their wildlife likely delivers quantitatively important ecosystem services to agriculture, yet information is still limited. Here, we test the importance of organic farming and habitat structure for bat activity and richness in the Mediterranean. We disentangled the effects of organic vs. conventional management and habitat structure by adopting acoustic surveys and a matched-pair sampling design. Foraging bats preferred organic over conventional farming, with a scale-independent effect of local farm management on activity (but not richness), consistently across bat species and functional guilds. While fine-scale habitat structure had contrasting effects on bat species and guilds, the positive influence of linear landscape elements on bat activity was consistent and independent of management options. We highlight the key role of organic farming in preserving and promoting bat activity in agricultural areas, which brings the mutual benefit of sustaining bat conservation and emphasising the precious ecosystem services bats provide. To increase bat richness, however, appropriate management of landscape structure must be secured at larger geographical scales.
•Foraging bats prefer organic over conventional farming.•Preference for organic farming is consistent across functional guilds of bats.•Landscape elements such as hedgerows and trees are key elements favoured by bats.•Bat richness is not influenced by farmland management.
Abstract
Billions of tons of agricultural waste are generated worldwide every year. In Russia the total amount of agricultural waste reaches 630-650 million tons annually. The situation with ...agricultural waste will only get worse, because on the one hand, this waste is a valuable raw material that can be used in agriculture (more than half of that is manure), and on the other hand, for the same reason, this waste creates great environmental and sanitary problems. The most promising way to solve the problem is to use manure for the production of organic fertilizers, which can be used in organic farming. The organic market is one of the most dynamically developing in the world, which is estimated at 198.1 billion US dollars in 2020, is projected to reach 495.9 billion US dollars by 2027. The solution of the problem of agricultural waste must be complex and includes legislative, economic and technological components. The article describes the need to support cooperation between producers of organic fertilizers, organic products and sellers of organic products. Variants of modification of the existing equipment for manure processing in order to obtain biologically active organic fertilizers are proposed.
Among the myriad complications involved in the current food crisis, the relationship between agriculture and the rest of nature is one of the most important yet remains only incompletely analyzed. ...Particularly in tropical areas, agriculture is frequently seen as the antithesis of the natural world, where the problem is framed as one of minimizing land devoted to agriculture so as to devote more to conservation of biodiversity and other ecosystem services. In particular, the "forest transition model" projects an overly optimistic vision of a future where increased agricultural intensification (to produce more per hectare) and/or increased rural-to-urban migration (to reduce the rural population that cuts forest for agriculture) suggests a near future of much tropical aforestation and higher agricultural production. Reviewing recent developments in ecological theory (showing the importance of migration between fragments and local extinction rates) coupled with empirical evidence, we argue that there is little to suggest that the forest transition model is useful for tropical areas, at least under current sociopolitical structures. A model that incorporates the agricultural matrix as an integral component of conservation programs is proposed. Furthermore, we suggest that this model will be most successful within a framework of small-scale agroecological production.
Transitions to more sustainable livestock production systems are increasingly demanded by parts of society. Scientists suggest moving towards diversified farming systems due to their potential ...environmental and economic benefits, especially in the organic sector. However, empirical knowledge of multi-species livestock farms, i.e. farms keeping two or more animal species, is lacking.
Our objectives were to identify European organic multi-species livestock farms that outperform their peers despite having the same resources and constraints, and characterize their distinctive management principles.
We conducted surveys on 102 farms in seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. We restricted the analysis to a sub-sample of 75 farms that had complete data and that covered 3 main livestock combinations (cattle and sheep, cattle and pigs, cattle and poultry) with similar number of farms. We implemented a positive deviant approach based on three indicators: land productivity, nitrogen input dependence and satisfaction regarding income.
Five structurally diverse positive deviant farms were identified with 4 types of livestock combinations represented, and farmland area ranging from 25 to 273 ha, herd size from 33 to 146 livestock units (LU) and total workforce size from 1 to 24 annual worker units (AWU). These farms were located on a trade-off between land productivity and autonomy for feed, and all but one had high overall autonomy for feed (89–100% against a mean of 76% for the whole sample). Their diversity of pastures, crops and livestock species and their diversification beyond agricultural production were controlled (e.g. no agritourism) and below that of the other sample farms, to remain manageable by the farmers while still allowing to buffer shocks and hazards. Interactions among farm enterprises remained limited to matter (mainly grain, straw, hay, manure) flows, and practices requiring specific efforts and investments (e.g. for fencing), such as co-grazing of different livestock and crop residues grazing, were avoided.
We conducted the first integrated study on European organic multi-species livestock farms and identified key management principles implemented on positive deviant farms. We showed that whatever their size, farms outperforming their peers do not necessarily maximize diversity of agricultural productions and of non-agricultural activities, and interactions among farm enterprises but that they remain at a level of complexity manageable by the farmers. These principles will inform farmers running multi-species livestock farms or transitioning to this model.
Display omitted
•Empirical knowledge of multi-species livestock farms with two or more species is lacking.•We identify farms that outperform their peers despite having the same constraints.•We implement a positive deviant analysis based on three environmental and socioeconomic indicators.•Key management principles implemented on positive deviant farms are identified.•Control over diversification activities, autonomy, and simplicity are some of these principles.
Little is known about US organic production of ruminant livestock. Objective was to examine growth, gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection, and eligibility of organic certification between ...conventional (CON) and organic (ORG) management (Mgt) up to 150 d of age. Katahdin lambs (ORG, n = 240; CON, n = 690) were born in fall (Oct-Dec) or winter (Jan-Mar) between 2014 and 2019 in Booneville, AR. Intact male and female lambs were fence line weaned -90 d of age, grazed tall fescue and/or mixed forages and were supplemented (corn/soybean meal) when forage quality became limiting. Organic sheep and pastures were certified by NICS. Body weight was determined at birth and approximately 60, 90, 120, and 150 d of age. Blood and feces were collected for packed cell volume (PCV) and fecal egg counts (FEC) at 90, 105, 120, 135, and 150 d of age. Lambs were selectively dewormed based on Five Point Check and incidence recorded.
Stresses provoked by adverse living conditions are inherent to a changing environment (climate change and anthropogenic influence) and they are basic factors that limit plant development and yields. ...Agriculture always struggled with this problem. The survey of non-toxic, natural, active substances useful in protection, and stimulation of plants growing under suboptimal and even harmful conditions, as well as searching for the most effective methods for their application, will direct our activities toward sustainable development and harmony with nature. It seems highly probable that boosting natural plant defense strategies by applying biostimulators will help to solve an old problem of poor yield in plant cultivation, by provoking their better growth and development even under suboptimal environmental conditions. This work is a concise review of such substances and methods of their application to plants.
► There is spatial diffusion of organic farming in Norway. ► Organic farming is connected to the local population level. ► There is a negative connection between the high density of farms and levels ...of organic farming.
The organic boom in agriculture at the turn of the new millennium culminated in ambitious political goals for further growth in organic agricultural production and consumption. In Norway, the present goal is to reach a level of 15% organic production and consumption by 2020. So far, the requested shift toward organic farming has not occurred at the anticipated level. Organic farming began in Norway with a few pioneers who questioned the conditions in conventional agriculture. Since the late 1980s, there has been a rise in the number of organic farms from the core 20 or so original farms to approximately 2800 certified organic farms in 2010. While several studies have explored the diffusion of organic farming as an innovation, little research has been carried out to specifically understand the spatial diffusion of organic agriculture. This paper explores spatial diffusion of organic farming in Norway by asking if the level of organic farming in one municipality is influenced by organic farming in its neighbouring municipalities. Spatial analyses are carried out on population, agricultural production and producer data. The dependent variable is the proportion of organic production in Norwegian municipalities (N=430). Analyses in the paper show a connection between the level of organic production, the population level in the municipalities, and access to consumers. This research also shows a connection between the farm processing of organic products and the level of organic farming. The patterns are of a geographical nature, showing neighbourhood effects in the development of organic farming that are especially strong in particular regions of Norway. The results are discussed in light of previous research on organic farming and Hägerstrands (1953 1967) theory of spatial diffusion of innovations.
Non-point source (NPS) pollution has been increasingly serious in China since the 1990s. The increases of agricultural NPS pollution in China is evaluated for the period 2000−2008 by surveying the ...literature on water and soil pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and assessing the surplus nitrogen balance within provinces. The main causes for NPS pollution were excessive inputs of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides, which were partly the result of the inadequate agricultural extension services and the rapid expansion of intensive livestock production with little of waste management. The annual application of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides in China increased by 50.7 and 119.7%, respectively, during 1991−2008. The mitigation measures to reduce NPS pollution include: correct distortion in fertilizer prices; improve incentives for the recycling of organic manure; provide farmers with better information on the sound use of agro-chemicals; and tighten the regulations and national standards on organic waste disposal and pesticides use.
Background: There is considerable uncertainty about the actual size of the global soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and its spatial distribution due to insufficient and heterogeneous data coverage.
...Aims: We aimed to assess the size of the German agricultural SOC stock and develop a stratification approach that could be used in national greenhouse gas reporting.
Methods: Soils from a total of 3104 sites, comprising 2234 croplands, 820 permanent grasslands and 50 sites with permanent crops (vineyards, orchards) were sampled in a grid of 8 × 8 km to a depth of 100 cm in fixed depth increments. In addition, a decade of management data was recorded in a questionnaire completed by farmers. Two different approaches were used to stratify cropland and grassland mineral soils and derive homogeneous groups: stratification via soil type (pedogenesis) and via SOC‐relevant soil properties.
Results: A total of 146 soils were identified as organic soils, which stored by far the highest average SOC stock of 528 ± 201 Mg ha−1 in 0–100 cm depth. Of the mineral soils, croplands and permanent crops stored on average 61 ± 25 and 62 ± 25 Mg ha−1 in 0–30 cm (topsoil) and 35 ± 30 and 44 ± 28 Mg ha−1 in 30–100 cm (subsoil), while permanent grasslands stored significantly more SOC (88 ± 32 and 47 ± 50 Mg ha−1 in topsoil and subsoil). Overall, topsoils stored 67 ± 14% and subsoils 33 ± 14% of total SOC stocks. Soil C:N ratio, clay content and groundwater level were major factors that explained the spatial variability of SOC stocks in mineral soils. Accordingly, Podzols, Gleysols and Vertisols were found to have the highest SOC stocks.
Conclusions: Stratification via soil properties yielded the most comparable cropland and grassland strata and is thus preferable for estimating land‐use change effects, e.g., for greenhouse gas inventories.
In total, 2.5 Pg C are stored in the upper 100 cm of German agricultural soils, making them the largest organic carbon pool in terrestrial ecosystems of Germany. This bares a large responsibility for the agricultural sector and society as a whole to maintain and, if possible, enhance this pool.
•An Efficiency Field Potential (EFP) is assigned to each feasible operating point.•Efficiency Field Vector (EFV) represents the direction of maximum EFP reduction.•A stepwise efficiency improvement ...path is computed using EFV direction.•Inputs reduced and outputs increased monotonously until efficient frontier is reached.•Preferences, non-discretionary variables and undesirable outputs can be handled.
In this paper, a new stepwise benchmarking approach is presented. It is based on the concept of efficiency field potential given by a continuous and differentiable function that decreases monotonously as the amount of inputs consumed is reduced and the amount of outputs produced is increased. A gradient-based stepwise efficiency improvement method is proposed and the graphical interpretation of the continuous gradient-based trajectories is shown. A minimum potential DEA model is also formulated. The proposed approach is units invariant and can take into account preference structure, non-discretionary variables and undesirable outputs. The proposed method has been applied to an organic farming dataset.
PDF
