Modern Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation

I came across a publication by the EuropeanCrop Protection Association (ECPA), which is an organisation representing the pest control industry and promoting modern agricultural technology in the context of sustainable development. Maybe the source of this publication is slightly biased because of the publisher, but I thought it raised a few interesting points in relation to my previous post about farms as supporters of biodiversity.

Agriculture Benefitting Biodiversity

ECPA suggest that the evolution of European agriculture has actually enriched biodiversity, through the conversion of relatively homogeneous woodland vegetation into a heterogeneous ‘mosaic’ of cultivated fields with boundaries that provide a range of different ecosystems and habitats. As a result, they claim that many plant and animal species are now dependent on agriculture.

These may seem quite rash claims, but there is evidence to support some of these assertions. For example, floral diversity in grasslands and alpine meadows are maintained by stock (sheep and cattle) pasturage, and without this agricultural input these areas would revert to scrub vegetation that is less biodiverse. There are a number of bird and plant species that are promoted by agriculture, with the skylark and yellow wagtail two prominent examples as well as cornflower and corncockle.

The Skylark can be seen in fields in the UK (Source: birdforum.net)

As long as landscape heterogeneity is maintained, agriculture will continue to support biodiversity.

Modern Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation

An increase in land used for agriculture is a major threat to biodiversity. However, as ECPA suggest, the intensive practices of modern farming can play a role in minimizing land conversion and hence aid the conservation of biodiversity. The proportional growth in global cropland is far smaller than the growth of the human population (10 times smaller between 1961 and 2005!).

By increasing yields on existing agricultural land, modern agriculture has contributed to biodiversity conservation by leaving more land for conservation purposes than there would otherwise be in the absence of such intensive technologies and practices. This issue has been highlighted by the European Commission on debates relating to deforestation, raising the point of a need to invest in increasing yields on existing farmland to halt further habitat conversion.

What this publication summarises is the role of agriculture in promoting and supporting biodiversity, both within the agricultural landscape and externally to it. Agriculture, if practiced appropriately, can help in biodiversity conservation. Of course, if poorly managed and practiced, farming presents a real threat to biodiversity. The key is to find a balance between production and environmental protection, so that both systems can continue to prosper in the face of climatic change and increasing demand from growing global populations.