Targeted action for biodiversity is also needed in organic agriculture

Zurich, 24. The number of different habitats is crucial to sustain species diversity in farmland. Organic farms without targeted measures to promote biodiversity, such as the creation of species-rich habitats, only harbour marginally more species than other farms. This is shown by a recently published study in ten European and two African regions. 'Organic farming is beneficial to the richness of plant and bee species. However, observed benefits concentrate on arable fields', says Felix Herzog, senior scientist at the Institute for Sustainability Sciences at Agroscope in Switzerland and coordinator of the EU-funded research project BioBio. An international team investigated the contribution of organic farming to conserving farmland biodiversity.