Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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would, in fact, be more obvious to people in the area. Keep in mind that
this study reflects the somewhat smaller average farm size and presence of
wooded areas in European rural landscapes, which may not be present in
some agricultural regions of the United States.
Another study investigated bees on farms (Kremen et al. 2002). The
importance of bees cannot be underestimated, as they provide critical pol-
lination services and farmers usually import honey bees for this purpose,
particularly as bee populations have decreased due to pesticides and habitat
loss. These researchers compared conventional and organic farms located
both near and far from natural habitat and found that on organic farms
located near native habitat, “native bee communities could provide full
pollination services even for a crop with heavy pollination requirements,”
in this case, watermelon (16812). Other farms sampled did not have enough
native bees for pollination. This shows that well-managed organic farms
can promote biodiversity, which is good for nature and for agriculture.
The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
(IFOAM) notes that organic farming is just a first step in the process of
improving biodiversity. In fact, more research should be done to illuminate
how biodiversity can be integrated into agricultural production. Another
paper from IFOAM suggests that organic certification standards should be
written to include preservation of biodiversity, and such conservation efforts
could be regularly monitored with the usual annual on-farm inspections
(Stolton and Geier 2002). Many organic farming practices promote bio-
diversity, including whole farm planning, omission of synthetic chemical
pesticides or fertilizers, emphasis on soil health, and diversified farming
systems. These activities all promote diversity and species abundance by
providing increased food sources and more varied habitats.
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stainability
Agricultural sustainability is a tricky subject, as it raises many questions:
What is the time frame? What are the variables to sustain? And what does
“sustainable”reallymean? Scientists grapple with these questions in the con-
text of comparing various farming methods. Research in Italy investigated
the environmental and financial sustainability of conventional, integrated,
and organic farming systems (Pacini et al. 2003). Although the sample was
small, with only three comparative case studies, the data collection and
modeling could be useful as a springboard for other researchers. An envi-
ronmental accounting information system (EAIS) was used to consider “all
the ecological and production processes that potentially affect the state of
