DARCOF III project:

“The role of Organic Farms as refuge for biodiversity”

Project background

Project leaflet (dk)
Project leaflet (uk)

Objective
- to increase society’s, decision-makers’ and consumers’ knowledge about the multifunctional role of organic farming- especially focusing on the impact of organic farming on nature.

- to investigate food chains, species diversity and genetic diversity and cohesion in wild flora and fauna in organic farming in relation to conventional farming.

Preliminary results
- Remote sensing is able to determine which crop species are grown and the occurrence of small biotopes

- The weed-biomass is higher in organically cultivated fields compared to conventionally cultivated fields

- The number of flowering species in organic hedgerows is significantly higher compared to the number of species in conventional hedgerows. This positive effect depends on continuity in the organic farming system, i.e. the longer the organic farming system has existed, the higher the number of flowering species.

- There is a tendency of a higher density of small mammals in small biotopes in the organic farming system compared to conventional farming systems.

Based on results obtained from REFUGIA, recommendations as to how organic farming systems can be adjusted and developed in the future to improve nature protection and biodiversity in the agricultural landscape are expected to be given.

Irrespective the farming system (organic or conventional), it is important to address concerns regarding nature, specifically, i.e. to ensure the existence of extensively cultivated areas (grass fields, meadows, permanent grassland) and set-a-side areas aimed at improving nature content.