Organic farming (OF) is leveraging nature and natural processes to grow crops or rear animals without damage to the environment. The 'natural' orientation of organic farming suggests that fertilizers and pesticides are not used in the process. It is this feature of organic farming has a significant impact on biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers primarily to the variety of life forms in the context of a specific geographical area. Rapid industrialization, urbanization and mass farming techniques decrease the biodiversity of geographical areas. Inorganic agricultural methods exacerbate this by emphasizing mass production and efficiency without encouraging a thriving natural environment for animals and crops.
It is easy to understand the direct impact a natural farming system, such as OF, has on wildlife in their natural environment. The application of principles of OF leads to an increase in biodiversity in comparison with other farming methods.
Organic farming has also been shown to increase the abundance of wildlife in addition to increasing biodiversity. Conventional farming methods suggest that pests should be destroyed so that they would not interfere with crops and livestock. OF embodies the view that balance in nature would reduce the effect of pests' on farming without the use of pesticides, for example.
That organic farming encourages pests also suggests that it encourages natural predators. What some farmers regard as pests are really food for some other animal. The absence of worms and insects would lead to the absence of birds as well. That basic logic governs the impact of OF on biodiversity.
The use of the mixed farming' and crop rotation' methods has also resulted in greater biodiversity through organic farming. With mixed farming, different crops are planted in a particular area. This variety creates room for more groups of organisms to thrive among the crops that constitute their habitat. Crop rotation has a similar effect and encourages more micro-organisms to inhabit fertile soils through natural means.
Organic farming might not provide high-yield harvests, but can increase biodiversity. However, improper use of its methods may hinder biodiversity as well. It is important to recognise that an increase in the quantity and variety of life forms are likely effects of natural farming methods - but they are not necessarily guaranteed effects.
The organisms that are likely to benefit from OF include many forms of flora and fauna associated with farmlands. Farmland birds, insects, micro-organisms, arachnids, weeds, fungi and bacteria are just some of the organisms that are directly impacted by organic farming. With benefits such as abundant life forms and an increase in the diversity of farm life; OF can help to ease the environmental burden created by anti-conservation activities.
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