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Organic farming

About: Organic farming is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7254 publications have been published within this topic receiving 138030 citations. The topic is also known as: pertanian organik & organic farming.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Interactions between green manure type and vegetable crop N response are the result of the dual effects of the green manures: biological N fixation by the legumes, and the variable ability of thegreen manure crops to concentrate available N in the topsoil.
Abstract: An experiment was performed to study the significance of rooting depth of four vegetable crops on their utilization of green manure nitrogen (N). Rates of rooting depth development were estimated as approximately 0.2, 0.7, 1.2 and 1.2 mm day C)1 for onion, carrot, lettuce and cabbage, respectively. At harvest, onion and lettuce were found to be shallow-rooted with final rooting depths of only 0.3 and 0.6 m, respectively, whereas carrot and cabbage reached rooting depths of at least 1.1 m. The two deep-rooted vegetables increased their N uptake by 46, 24 and 7 kg N ha)1 when following winterhardy legumes, non-hardy legumes and rye, respectively; the equivalent responses by the two shallowrooted crops were 23, 9 and 15 kg N ha)1, respectively. Thus the deep-rooted crops used the legume N more efficiently but the shallow-rooted crops made better use of N left by the non-legume rye crop. These interactions between green manure type and vegetable crop N response are the result of the dual effects of the green manures: biological N fixation by the legumes, and the variable ability of the green manure crops to concentrate available N in the topsoil. Before shallow-rooted crops, the ability of rye to concentrate N in the topsoil may be as important as the N fixing ability of legumes.

94 citations

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the environmental impacts of organic agriculture on the environment and found that yields under OA are about 19% lower and the attendant lower soil carbon (C) inputs together with tillage for weed control contributes to lower profile soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks.
Abstract: Organic agriculture (OA) is practiced on 1% of the global agricultural land area and its importance continues to grow. Specifically, OA is perceived by many as having less negative effects on the environment than conventional agriculture because applications of soluble mineral fertilizers, and synthetic herbicides and pesticides are prohibited. However, scientific evidence for better environmental impact is scanty. Specifically, yields under OA are about 19% lower and the attendant lower soil carbon (C) inputs together with tillage for weed control contributes to lower profile soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks under OA. Less well known are the effects on soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks. Otherwise, soils managed by OA may emit less carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and methane (CH 4 ). Specifically, by the adoption of OA practices 1.65 Mg CO 2 ha −1 y −1 may be sequestered in the top 20-cm layer. Further, N 2 O emissions from soils managed by OA may be 492 kg CO 2 eq. ha −1 y −1 lower than those from conventionally managed soils. Under OA management, a higher CH 4 uptake of 3.2 kg CO 2 eq. ha −1 y −1 may be observed for arable soils. The soil, air, and water quality may also be enhanced by OA whereas effects on biodiversity are mixed. Thus, there is an urgent need to strengthen the database on environmental impacts of OA by establishing and studying long-term field experiments in all major biomes and principal soils. Consumer demand for organic products will continue to grow driven by food safety concerns and increasing affluence. Due to lower yields, however, natural ecosystems may be increasingly converted to agroecosystems to meet the demand with less well-known consequences for the environment. Nonetheless, scientific interest in OA is less than a century old, and there is significant potential to lessen its environmental impacts while methods derived from OA can contribute to sustainable intensification of agricultural systems.

94 citations

02 Jul 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effect of organic vs. conventional farming on insect-ower interaction network size and structure, bee and hover diversity, and pollination in 10 pairs of organic and conventional dairy farms in the Republic of Ireland.
Abstract: 1. Pollination interactions comprise a network of connections between flowers and insect visitors. They are crucial for reproductive success in many angiosperms but are threatened by intensive agricultural practices. Although less intensive approaches, including organic farming, could improve farmland biodiversity, it is not clear whether or not these approaches enhance wild plant pollination and the stability of insect–flower interaction networks. 2. We investigated the effects of organic vs. conventional farming on insect–flower interaction network size and structure, bee and hoverfly diversity, and pollination in 10 pairs of organic and conventional dairy farms in the Republic of Ireland. 3. We found that insect–flower interaction networks on organic farms were larger and more asymmetrically structured than networks on conventional farms. Overall, however, networks contained fewer taxa and niche overlap and plant ⁄ animal ratios were relatively low compared with previously documented insect–flower interaction networks. Organic farms did attract higher numbers of bees partly because of higher floral abundances (mainly Trifolium sp.). Hoverfly evenness was greater in organic farms but neither abundance, richness nor evenness was related to floral abundance, suggesting organic farms provide additional resources for hoverflies. Pollination of Crataegus monogyna hawthorn was higher on organic farms, although pollen deposition was limited. 4. Synthesis and applications. Organic dairy farming can increase the size and alter the structure of insect–flower interaction networks. However, network stability was not improved and all networks (organic and conventional) were vulnerable because of their small size, low niche overlap and low plant ⁄ animal ratios. Nonetheless, organic farming provided more flowers that attracted more flower visitors and improved pollination of C. monogyna. We suggest that strategic management of important flowers for pollinators in hedgerows and pastures should be endorsed in agri-environmental schemes. Sowing Trifolium spp., and allowing these plants to flower, could benefit bees, but more research into hoverfly ecology is necessary before realistic conservation recommendations can be made for this group. We conclude that organic farming, although not the solution in its present form, can benefit insect biodiversity, insect–flower interaction networks and insect-mediated pollination.

93 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential environmental impacts of four different types of organic dairy farms are compared, based on a survey of 27 farms classified by a percentage of grassland on total farm area and feeding intensity, and analyzed environmental impact categories were energy consumption, climate impact, land demand, ammonia emissions, nitrogen leaching, conservation of soil fertility, biodiversity, animal welfare and milk quality.

92 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023342
2022687
2021376
2020388
2019362
2018390