Hot Science: How Organic Agriculture Improves the Environment

Transcription

1 Hot Science: How Organic Agriculture Improves the Environment Dr. Jessica Shade Dr. Tracy Misiewicz 12/02/2016 Organic-Center.org

2 Hot Science: How Organic Agriculture Improves the Environment Soil Health Water Quality Biodiversity Climate Change

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5 Scientists from around the country presented research on the benefits of organic Policy-makers discussed ways to leverage organic in agency sustainability goals The next Confluence Summit will take place May 22-23, 2017

6 Soil Health & Organic Farming

7 Healthy soils: Filter water Support the food web Mitigate climate change

8 Modern-day agriculture: Depleting healthy soils

9 Organic agriculture: Organic-Center.org Fallowing Crop rotation Manure and legume fertilizer No pesticides

10 Soil Organic Carbon (gc/kg soil) Organic Marriott and Wander (2006) Organic Conventional Soil Nitrogen (gn/kg soil) Organic Organic Organic-Center.org Conventional Higher soil organic matter and nutrient availability

11 Cavigelli et al Soil Carbon (Mg C/ha) Organic-Center.org Organic outperforms conventional no-till 60 Soil Carbon at 1 meter depth

12 Mader et al Organic-Center.org Organic improves soil structure Organic (biodynamic) Organic Conventional (high input) Conventional (low input)

13 Organic increases soil biodiversity Organic (biodynamic) Organic Conventional (high input) Conventional (low input) Mader et al Organic-Center.org

14 Humic Acid (%) Organic-Center.org Cutting-edge Research: The Organic Center Amount of sequestered carbon in organic vs. conventional soil Collaboration with the National Soil Project Organic soil is showing higher levels of organic matter than conventional

15 Highlights: Soil health & organic farming Improves soil health without synthetic fertilizers Increases soil organic carbon even more than no-till farming Improves soil structure and increases nutrient availability Increases beneficial soil biodiversity

16 Clean Water & Organic Farming

17 Water quality: Organic-Center.org Aquatic habitat Recreation Clean drinking water

18 Modern-day agriculture: Poisoning our water

19 Modern-day agriculture: Dead zones

20 Modern-day agriculture: Nitrate pollution

21 Cambardella et al Organic-Center.org Organic farming: Reducing nitrogen runoff

22 Cambardella et al Organic-Center.org Organic farming: Reducing nitrogen runoff

23 Hladik and Kolpin et al. 2015; Morissey et al Organic-Center.org Organic farming: Reducing pesticide contamination

24 Cutting-edge Research: The Organic Center Average conventional N Footprint Calculate your Nitrogen footprint Developing a Nitrogen Calculator Average organic N Footprint The Nitrogen footprint for conventional crops creates more new reactive nitrogen than organic

25 Highlights: Clean water & organic farming Reduces nitrate runoff and improve water quality Reduces pesticide contamination of rivers and streams Improves the quality of water for human consumption Supports healthy aquatic ecosystems

26 Biodiversity & Organic Farming

27 Biodiversity provides ecosystem services Improved soil quality Carbon sequestration Water-holding capacity Energy Use Climate resilience Control of weeds & pests Pollination

28 Biodiversity provides ecosystem services

29 Krauss et al Organic-Center.org Organic farming supports plants and pollinators

30 Krauss et al Organic-Center.org Organic farming supports beneficial predators

31 Bengtsson J., J Ahnstrom, A. Weibull Organic-Center.org Increased biodiversity in organic systems Positive Negative No Difference Birds Mammals Butterflies Spiders Earthworms Beetles Arthropods Plants Soil microbes Total

32 Bengtsson J., J Ahnstrom, A. Weibull Organic-Center.org Research Synthesis: The Organic Center Covers results from over 70 peer reviewed studies Use of toxic synthetic pesticides, destruction of native habitat, and monocropping are detrimental to pollinators. Organic farming standards require that organic producers manage their farms to foster biodiversity and improve natural resources.

33 Creating Tools for Farmers: The Organic Center A tool for farmers and certifiers that aids in reporting of implementation, tracking and verification. USDA National Organic Program Standard A production system that.. promote(s) ecological balance, and conserve(s) biodiversity. Compliance with the requirements requires that a producer incorporate practices into their organic system plan that are beneficial to biodiversity Organic-Center.org

34 Highlights: Biodiversity & organic farming Organic management increases the number of species and abundance of plants and pollinators on farms Organic management increases the abundance of natural predators, providing pest control and reducing the need for costly inputs. Organic management directly benefits bees and other native pollinators by prohibiting most persistent and toxic chemicals, and increasing habitat and food sources.

35 Climate Change & Organic Farming

36 Fossil fuel use is increasing

37 Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing Moberg et al. 2005

38 Agricultural contribution to total GHG emissions

39 Contribution of farm activities to agricultural GHG emissions

40 Pelletier et al Organic-Center.org Life cycle analysis for wheat, soy and corn

41 Pelletier et al Organic-Center.org Life cycle analysis for wheat, soy and corn

42 Osterholz et al Organic-Center.org Nitrous oxide emissions are lower on a per area basis

43 Cutting-edge Research: The Organic Center Examining the benefits that organic provides to our environment and society Collaboration with researchers at Harvard University Focuses on hot-topic issues, such as benefits to human health and climate change mitigation

44 Highlights: Organic farming & climate change Organic management systems that prioritize soil health which offers multiple advantages to climate change mitigation by reducing GHG emissions and sequestering carbon Prohibition of synthetic fertilizers and most synthetic pesticides lead to a lower global warming impact of organic farming compared to conventional. Diversified crop rotations and use of manure and legume fertilizer lowers overall N inputs of the system, decreasing nitrous oxide emissions

45 Organic is great for the environment! Lessons learned from organic research can help improve sustainability of all systems Last 20 years seen a great increase in organic farming research but improving organic systems is still in early stages More research is needed to further quantify the benefits of organic farming and improve best-practices within.

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47 Research Cited Soil Health Marriott, E. E., and M. M. Wander Total and Labile Soil Organic Matter in Organic and Conventional Farming Systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70: Cavigelli, M.A., S.B. Mirsky, J.R. Teasdale, J.T. Spargo, and J. Doran Organic grain cropping systems to enhance ecosystem services. Renewable agriculture and food systems, 28, Mäder, P., A. Fliessbach, D. Dubois, L. Gunst, P. Fried, and U. Niggli Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming. Science, 296, Water Quality Cambardella, C.A., K. Delate, and D.B. Jaynes Water quality in organic systems. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 4, 60. Biodiversity Robert Costanza, Rudolf de Groot, Paul Sutton, Sander van der Ploeg, Sharolyn J. Anderson, Ida Kubiszewski, Stephen Farber, R. Kerry Turner, Changes in the global value of ecosystem services, Global Environmental Change, Volume 26, May 2014, Pages Krauss J, Gallenberger I, Steffan-Dewenter I (2011) Decreased Functional Diversity and Biological Pest Control in Conventional Compared to Organic Crop Fields. PLoS ONE 6(5): e Bengtsson, J., Ahnström, J., & Weibull, A. (2005). The Effects of Organic Agriculture on Biodiversity and Abundance: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42(2), Climate Change Pelletier, N., Arsenault, N. & Tyedmers, P. Environmental Management (2008) 42: 989. Osterholz, W.R., C.J. Kucharik, J.L. Hedtcke, and J.L. Posner Seasonal nitrous oxide and methane fluxes from grain-and forage-based production systems in Wisconsin, USA. Journal of environmental quality, 43,