Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Landscape context affects the sustainability of organic farming systems

Olivia M. Smith, Abigail Cohen, John P. Reganold, Matthew S. Jones, Robert J. Orpet, Joseph Taylor, Jessa H. Thurman, Kevin A. Cornell, Rachel L. Olsson, Yang Ge, Christina M. Kennedy, David W. Crowder

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020

Read source ↗ All evidence

Summary

Organic agriculture promotes sustainability compared to conventional agriculture. However, the multifunctional sustainability benefits of organic farms might be mediated by landscape context. Assessing how landscape context affects sustainability may aid in targeting organic production to landscapes that promote high biodiversity, crop yields, and profitability. We addressed this using a meta-analysis spanning 60 crop types on six continents that assessed whether landscape context affected biodiversity, yield, and profitability of organic vs. conventional agroecosystems. We considered landscape metrics reflecting landscape composition (percent cropland), compositional heterogeneity (number and diversity of cover types), and configurational heterogeneity (spatial arrangement of cover types)

Subject
Food composition & nutrient databases
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
System type
Organic systems
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1906909117
Catalogue ID
BFmommpe3r-8j3c96
Pulse AI · ask about this record

Dig deeper with Pulse AI.

Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.