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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Organic farms 'best for wildlife'

Organic farms are better for wildlife than those run conventionally, 
according to a study covering 180 farms from Cornwall to Cumbria.

The organic farms were found to contain 85% more plant species, 33% more 
bats, 17% more spiders and 5% more birds.

Scientists - from Oxford University, the British Trust for Ornithology, and 
the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology - spent five years on the research.

Funded by the government, it was the largest ever survey of organic farming.

"The exclusion of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers from organic is a 
fundamental difference between systems," the study says.

Other key differences found on the organic farms included smaller fields, 
more grasslands and hedges that are taller, thicker and on average 71% longer.

Dr Lisa Norton, of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said: "Hedges are 
full of native, berry-producing shrubs, which are great for insects and the 
birds and bats that feed on them."

        
A greater area of organically-managed land in the UK would help restore the 
farmland wildlife that has been lost from our countryside
Soil Association policy manager Gundula Azeez

Increased biodiversity was a "happy by-product" of sustainable farming 
practices and farmers working with "natural processes" to increase 
productivity, she added.

The fact the organic arable farms were more likely to have livestock on 
them also made them richer habitats for wildlife.

The study's lead author, British Trust for Ornithology habitat research 
director Dr Rob Fuller, told BBC News: "There were very large benefits 
right across the species spectrum."

The study had looked at a "very, very high" proportion of England's organic 
arable farms, he said.

More organic farming would help "restore biodiversity within agricultural 
landscapes", Dr Fuller added.

"Less than 3% of English farmland is organic so there is plenty of scope 
for an increase in area."

Soil Association policy manager Gundula Azeez said: "A greater area of 
organically-managed land in the UK would help restore the farmland wildlife 
that has been lost from our countryside in recent decades with intensive 
farming."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4740609.stm