Organic farms 'best for wildlife'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4740609.stm

The organic farms tended to have smaller fields
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."