According to the authors, a landscape mosaic of natural habitats and small-scale and diverse cultivated areas are the key to promoting biodiversity on a large scale in both conventional and organic agriculture. Photo: Tibor Hartel
According to the authors, a landscape mosaic of natural habitats and small-scale and diverse cultivated areas are the key to promoting biodiversity on a large scale in both conventional and organic agriculture. Photo: Tibor Hartel Research team led by the University of Göttingen calls for paradigm shift Is organic farming the only alternative to conventional agriculture to promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes? An international research team led by the University of Göttingen questions this. According to the authors, a landscape mosaic of natural habitats and small-scale and diverse cultivated areas is the key to promoting biodiversity on a large scale in both conventional and organic agriculture. They state that political decision-makers will have to recognise this in order to achieve a corresponding paradigm shift in agriculture. The statement was published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. Organic certification largely focusses on banning synthetic agrochemicals, the research team criticises. This leads to limited benefits for biodiversity, but to high losses in yield, even though agriculture is becoming more intensive and specialised.
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