?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Factors+influencing+biodiversity+within+organic+and+conventional+systems+of+arable+farming+(OF0165)&rft.creator=Anon%2C+&rft.subject=+%22Organics%22+in+general&rft.subject=+Cereals%2C+pulses+and+oilseeds&rft.subject=+Farming+Systems&rft.subject=+Biodiversity+and+ecosystem+services&rft.description=This+is+the+final+report+of+Defra+project+OF0165.+The+main+attached+report+starts+with+a+more+detailed+and+comprehensive+Executive+Summary%2C+from+which+these+paragraphs+have+been+extracted.%0D%0APrevious+studies+suggest+widespread+positive+responses+of+biodiversity+to+organic+farming.+Many+of+these+studies%2C+however%2C+have+been+small-scale.+The+purpose+of+this+project+was+to+test+the+generality+of+responses+to+arable+organic+farming+(i.e.+cereal-growing+farms)+in+England+through+a+multi-taxa+study+of+a+large+number+of+farms.+Abundance+and+diversity+of+higher+plants%2C+spiders%2C+carabid+beetles%2C+wintering+birds+and+bats+were+measured+on+matched+pairs+of+organic+and+conventionally+managed+farms.+Extent+and+potential+quality+of+non-crop+habitat+were+also+measured.+Two+key+issues+addressed+by+the+project+were+(a)+whether+biodiversity+differences+between+organic+and+conventional+systems+arise+from+amount+and+management+of+non-crop+habitat+or+from+differences+in+crop+management+systems+and+(b)+the+importance+of+duration+under+organic+management.%0D%0APlants+and+invertebrates+were+examined+in+89+pairs+of+cereal+fields+(target+fields).+Birds+and+bats+were+studied+at+a+larger+spatial+scale%2C+extending+over+several+fields+on+each+study+farm.+Virtually+all+suitable+organic+farms+in+England+were+studied.+The+farm+pairing+procedure+was+purely+geographical+and+not+based+on+any+attributes+of+either+system.+Target+fields+were+stratified+by+cereal+type+(spring+or+winter+sown)+and+by+age+since+conversion.%0D%0AHabitat+and+management+comparisons+were+carried+out+at+landscape%2C+farm+and+field+scales+using+data+collected+in+the+field+and+existing+landscape+datasets+(Land+Cover+Map+2000+and+CS2000+field+survey+data).+Within+England%2C+organic+farms+tended+to+be+located+to+the+south+of+the+wheat-growing+region%2C+in+areas+with+more+grassland+than+conventional+farms.+It+is+difficult+to+disassociate+many+landscape+level+variables+from+farming+system.+Organic+arable+farms+were+more+often+mixed+farms+than+their+conventional+counterparts%2C+leading+to+smaller+field+sizes%2C+livestock-proof+hedges%2C+diverse+rotations+and+greater+extents+of+grassland.+Hedges+on+organic+farms+occurred+at+higher+density+(length+per+unit+area)+and+were+taller%2C+wider+and+less+gappy+than+those+on+conventional+farms.+All+these+factors+are+likely+to+enhance+many+components+of+biodiversity.+By+contrast%2C+conventional+farms+were+more+likely+to+contain+stubble+and+naturally+regenerated+set-aside+which+can+be+beneficial+to+wildlife.%0D%0AThis+study+has+confirmed+that+organic+systems+do+generally+support+higher+levels+of+biodiversity+but+that+the+differences+are+often+quite+small.+Some%2C+but+not+all%2C+differences+in+biodiversity+between+systems+appear+to+be+a+consequence+of+differences+in+habitat+quantity.+Plants+and+invertebrates+appear+to+be+responding+mainly+to+crop+management+practices+that+are+intrinsic+to+the+system.+Birds+and+bats+benefit+from+increased+quantities+of+various+non-crop+habitats+and+higher+diversity+of+habitats+on+organic+but+this+does+not+account+for+all+differences+between+systems+in+these+groups.+Few+relationships+with+duration+of+organic+management+were+detected.+This+may+be+partly+because+it+was+not+possible+to+account+for+pre-conversion+management.%0D%0AWe+highlight+the+potential+value+to+biodiversity+on+conventional+farms+of+non-crop+habitat+management+(especially+hedges)%2C+mixed+farming+and+the+incorporation+of+%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%98organic%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%99+field+margins.+High+priority+areas+for+future+related+research+include+the+potential+biodiversity+benefits+of+organic+livestock+farming%2C+long-term+controlled+studies+on+responses+to+conversion%2C+and+the+effect+of+extent+of+organic+management+at+larger+scales.&rft.date=2005&rft.type=Report&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F1%2FOF0165_2713_FRP.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F2%2FOF0165_2714_FRA.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F3%2FOF0165_2715_FRA.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F4%2FOF0165_2716_FRA.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F5%2FOF0165_2717_FRA.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2F6%2FOF0165_2718_FRA.pdf&rft.identifier=Anon%2C+(2005)+Factors+influencing+biodiversity+within+organic+and+conventional+systems+of+arable+farming+(OF0165).&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Forgprints.org%2F8119%2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