Evaluation of Farm Biodiversity with Indicators in the Context of Sustainability

Summary

Organic farming depends on the promotion of biodiversity and the corresponding functions. No tools are known for the obtention of farm-specific information explaining the influence of farm management on biodiversity. The paper describes an approach that allows estimating such effects. It has been applied in an experimental farm with an organic and a conventional farm section. The results distinguish between both sections. The investigations made so far allow concluding that multiple-structured low-input systems achieve better marks than specialized high-input systems. For further development and validation additional studies are required. It is planned to test the indicator model in numerous farms, in order to disclose bottlenecks and deficiencies.