Winners and losers of organic cereal farming in animal communities across Central and Northern Europe

• Published in: Biological conservation Vol. 175; pp. 25 - 33
• Main Authors: Birkhofer, K., Ekroos, J., Corlett, E.B., Smith, H.G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agri-environment schemes; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biodiversity conservation; Biologi; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Sciences; Climate; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Earth and Related Environmental Sciences; Ecology; Ekologi; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap; intensity; Land-use; Land-use intensity; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Rare species; Synecology; Taxonomic distinctness; Central Europe; Europe; Biodiversity conservation; Climate; Taxonomic distinctness; Agri-environment schemes; Land-use intensity; Rare species; Farming animal; Northern Europe; Taxonomy; Environmental factor; Biodiversity; Land use; Cereal crop; Organic agriculture; Animal community; Cereal; Agri-environmental measure; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2014.04.014

[Display omitted] •Winners of organic farming were herbivorous/omnivorous birds, beetles and butterflies.•Losers of organic farming were predaceous beetles and spiders.•A higher number of threatened species benefitted from organic farming.•The taxonomic breadth of bird communities was slightly higher under organic farming.•Gradients in climate or farming intensity did not alter effects of organic farming. Organic farming is promoted as a sustainable alternative to conventional farming, with positive effects on the diversity of plants and selected animal taxa. Here, we used a literature survey to collect presence/absence data on the composition of farmland bird, ground beetle, spider as well as butterfly and moth communities from 28 independent studies to identify genera and (sub-)families that had either higher (winners) or lower (losers) species richness under organic farming. We further tested if the taxonomic breadth of communities and the number of species of conservation concern differed between farming systems and if climate or fertilization intensity altered responses of animal communities to organic farming. Our results suggest that there are both winners and losers of organic farming and that this effect depends on whether taxa are predaceous (losers) or exclusively feed on plant material (winners). Organic farming did not lead to a higher number of exclusive species, but significantly more species of conservation concern were observed under organic farming. Organic farming consistently led to a slightly higher taxonomic breadth of bird communities. Finally, we did not find support that local long-term climatic conditions or differences in fertilization rates between farming systems altered the effect of organic farming. Overall, we did not find strong support for general positive effects of organic farming on animal diversity in the analysed groups across Central and Northern Europe.