(no subject)
The purpose of crop farming is to replace a mixed population of trees, plants and grasses with a dense population of a single species such as wheat or beans. In a monoculture, a single crop is permitted to grow, while competing plants are destroyed along with organisms that may infect or feed on the cultivated crop. Agriculture may be seen by some as the opposite of monoculture, but scientists are beginning to recognize the problems surrounding this method of farming.
Farmers have worked to reduce genetic biodiversity between crops through the use of plant breeding and cloning. Reduced biodiversity has been considered favourable as it is ensures consistency and predictability. Crops grow at the same time, produce identical fruit and have higher chance of successfully harvesting.
Unfortunately, such actions force the balanced ecosystem to split, displacing plants and animals to small areas. In order to sustain a rich variety of wildlife, it is vital to carefully plan the balance between the amount of land used for agriculture, roads, or other human inhabiting. Agriculture has destroyed many natural habitats for animals. Many hedges which support wild plants and provide a nesting and feeding area for birds and animals have been wiped out in favour of larger fields. This has had adverse effects on many species of insects, flowers and birds.
One historical example of the danger of monoculture is the Irish Potato Famine of the 1800’s. The Irish of this century managed to feed a growing population with potato farms consisting of identical potatoes, lacking any genetic variability. The potatoes were devastated as soon as a change in environment occurred and a potato disease struck the country. Had the potato farms been sown with genetic variability, there would have been some potatoes with the genes to resist the disease, and more of this sort could have been planted during the next season.
Such effects can be diminished by leaving strips of uncultivated land around fields or by planting new hedges. The “unproductive” land can prove valuable if it is utilized to provide refuge for insects in the winter, as well as shelter, food and nesting grounds for mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Strips of wild plants between fields can be a great help to the population of beneficial insects. For example, the placement of phacelia around wheat fields can control the aphid population by providing a nesting ground for hover flies, the aphid’s predator. Another method is to sow a strip of grass in between fields in order to provide a warm shelter for predatory beetles.
Additionally, there is increasing recognition for the need to maintain diversity within a single species. Genetic diversity within a species is very beneficial to its health, possibly crucial to the maintenance of endangered animals. Encouraging such diversity may also be very helpful in the breeding of new crops and livestock.
Species of all kinds have roles within the ecosystem. Species can perform different functions, such as obtaining and storing energy, production, decomposition, distributing substances, guarding against threats, or regulating the climate. A diverse ecosystem is therefore significantly more stable, healthy and productive than a monoculture. The departure of a single species may hinder the ecosystem in its ability to maintain stability and recover from disturbances seeing as the room for adaptation is very small in a monoculture.
Species work together to form an interwoven web, where many species are reliant on each other. Many different kinds of plants are necessary in order to feed a variety of different animals, and many species require a variety of food sources in order to obtain all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet. Plants also serve as homes and shelter for many species, and mean more than just a source of food to maintain the food chain.
Due to the nature of monocultures consisting of single species and continuing through repeated planting, vulnerability to insect attack and disease is high. Pesticides are often used to combat such threats, destroying both pests and competitors such as weeds. Herbicides are used to destroy plants which compete for root space, soil minerals and sunlight while fungicides protect against fungus and insecticides destroy insects which may cause damage to the crop. The downside to pesticides is that they can kill beneficial as well as harmful organisms. For instance, bees are helpful in pollinating flowering plants while ladybirds eat aphids.
Predatory animals and insects can be a valuable natural alternative to pesticides. Many farmers are moving away from the use of pesticides that they were once so reliant upon, in favour the biological method for destroying pests. Benefits of using these new methods include a cleaner image and reduced. Biological control is much easier to maintain, as it is self-sustaining and removes the problem of pests developing resistance to pesticides. Biological control also eliminates the risk of pollution and human reaction to harmful pesticides.
Unfortunately, biological control of pests is not always completely functional. When insects are introduced to crops by human means, they may be slow to spread, reproduce, and adapt. For this reason, it is far more effective to enhance and encourage predatory species which are already present in an environment.
Useful predators include ladybirds and other beetles, flies, and parasitic wasps. The naturally occurring population of these predators is too low to provide ample control of pests, as they are also sensitive to pesticides and require abundant resources in order to reach high population. Their use can be more easily exploited when pesticides are reduced or only microbial substances are used. They can be encouraged to grow in population by providing pollen and nectar bearing plants, shelter, and alternative prey to feed on during periods when pest density is low.
Yet another benefit to biodiversity is to provide alternative food sources for pests, detracting them from crops. For instance, the Nezara viridula is a major pest to sweet corn, which sucks out the juice and discolours the crop when it feeds on it. The bug is resistant to pesticides, but farmers have solved this problem by planting mustard seed around corn fields, attracting the pest away from corn itself.
Due to the inconsistency of the world’s climate, biodiversity is necessary to maintain the environment. Chemicals die and regenerate constantly throughout the year to provide a steady supply of food for various organisms. For instance, certain bacteria emit nitrogen, while others reduce or convert nitrogen, providing nutrients for plants. These organisms work together to produce healthy crops, while other organisms keep the bacteria from overpopulating by feeding on them.
In Sweden, the most biodiversity found in agriculture is among the hay meadows. These can hold as many as fourty different species of plants within a single square meter. Hay-making allows many plants to grow which require a great deal of light but grow low to the ground. The practice of hay-making has caused a genetic change in that many plants are beginning to flower earlier in the year. Many of the plants that live in this environment can adapt to a lack of nutrients by living in symbiosis with the aforementioned nitrogen-producing bacteria.
In conclusion, biodiversity is valuable for many reasons. It provides a variety of resources for plants and animals, including humans. It ensures a selection of food and tools. Many species and their biological processes are required to maintain the environment, including the composition of the atmosphere, soil formation, temperature, precipitation, and radiation levels.
Farmers have worked to reduce genetic biodiversity between crops through the use of plant breeding and cloning. Reduced biodiversity has been considered favourable as it is ensures consistency and predictability. Crops grow at the same time, produce identical fruit and have higher chance of successfully harvesting.
Unfortunately, such actions force the balanced ecosystem to split, displacing plants and animals to small areas. In order to sustain a rich variety of wildlife, it is vital to carefully plan the balance between the amount of land used for agriculture, roads, or other human inhabiting. Agriculture has destroyed many natural habitats for animals. Many hedges which support wild plants and provide a nesting and feeding area for birds and animals have been wiped out in favour of larger fields. This has had adverse effects on many species of insects, flowers and birds.
One historical example of the danger of monoculture is the Irish Potato Famine of the 1800’s. The Irish of this century managed to feed a growing population with potato farms consisting of identical potatoes, lacking any genetic variability. The potatoes were devastated as soon as a change in environment occurred and a potato disease struck the country. Had the potato farms been sown with genetic variability, there would have been some potatoes with the genes to resist the disease, and more of this sort could have been planted during the next season.
Such effects can be diminished by leaving strips of uncultivated land around fields or by planting new hedges. The “unproductive” land can prove valuable if it is utilized to provide refuge for insects in the winter, as well as shelter, food and nesting grounds for mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Strips of wild plants between fields can be a great help to the population of beneficial insects. For example, the placement of phacelia around wheat fields can control the aphid population by providing a nesting ground for hover flies, the aphid’s predator. Another method is to sow a strip of grass in between fields in order to provide a warm shelter for predatory beetles.
Additionally, there is increasing recognition for the need to maintain diversity within a single species. Genetic diversity within a species is very beneficial to its health, possibly crucial to the maintenance of endangered animals. Encouraging such diversity may also be very helpful in the breeding of new crops and livestock.
Species of all kinds have roles within the ecosystem. Species can perform different functions, such as obtaining and storing energy, production, decomposition, distributing substances, guarding against threats, or regulating the climate. A diverse ecosystem is therefore significantly more stable, healthy and productive than a monoculture. The departure of a single species may hinder the ecosystem in its ability to maintain stability and recover from disturbances seeing as the room for adaptation is very small in a monoculture.
Species work together to form an interwoven web, where many species are reliant on each other. Many different kinds of plants are necessary in order to feed a variety of different animals, and many species require a variety of food sources in order to obtain all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet. Plants also serve as homes and shelter for many species, and mean more than just a source of food to maintain the food chain.
Due to the nature of monocultures consisting of single species and continuing through repeated planting, vulnerability to insect attack and disease is high. Pesticides are often used to combat such threats, destroying both pests and competitors such as weeds. Herbicides are used to destroy plants which compete for root space, soil minerals and sunlight while fungicides protect against fungus and insecticides destroy insects which may cause damage to the crop. The downside to pesticides is that they can kill beneficial as well as harmful organisms. For instance, bees are helpful in pollinating flowering plants while ladybirds eat aphids.
Predatory animals and insects can be a valuable natural alternative to pesticides. Many farmers are moving away from the use of pesticides that they were once so reliant upon, in favour the biological method for destroying pests. Benefits of using these new methods include a cleaner image and reduced. Biological control is much easier to maintain, as it is self-sustaining and removes the problem of pests developing resistance to pesticides. Biological control also eliminates the risk of pollution and human reaction to harmful pesticides.
Unfortunately, biological control of pests is not always completely functional. When insects are introduced to crops by human means, they may be slow to spread, reproduce, and adapt. For this reason, it is far more effective to enhance and encourage predatory species which are already present in an environment.
Useful predators include ladybirds and other beetles, flies, and parasitic wasps. The naturally occurring population of these predators is too low to provide ample control of pests, as they are also sensitive to pesticides and require abundant resources in order to reach high population. Their use can be more easily exploited when pesticides are reduced or only microbial substances are used. They can be encouraged to grow in population by providing pollen and nectar bearing plants, shelter, and alternative prey to feed on during periods when pest density is low.
Yet another benefit to biodiversity is to provide alternative food sources for pests, detracting them from crops. For instance, the Nezara viridula is a major pest to sweet corn, which sucks out the juice and discolours the crop when it feeds on it. The bug is resistant to pesticides, but farmers have solved this problem by planting mustard seed around corn fields, attracting the pest away from corn itself.
Due to the inconsistency of the world’s climate, biodiversity is necessary to maintain the environment. Chemicals die and regenerate constantly throughout the year to provide a steady supply of food for various organisms. For instance, certain bacteria emit nitrogen, while others reduce or convert nitrogen, providing nutrients for plants. These organisms work together to produce healthy crops, while other organisms keep the bacteria from overpopulating by feeding on them.
In Sweden, the most biodiversity found in agriculture is among the hay meadows. These can hold as many as fourty different species of plants within a single square meter. Hay-making allows many plants to grow which require a great deal of light but grow low to the ground. The practice of hay-making has caused a genetic change in that many plants are beginning to flower earlier in the year. Many of the plants that live in this environment can adapt to a lack of nutrients by living in symbiosis with the aforementioned nitrogen-producing bacteria.
In conclusion, biodiversity is valuable for many reasons. It provides a variety of resources for plants and animals, including humans. It ensures a selection of food and tools. Many species and their biological processes are required to maintain the environment, including the composition of the atmosphere, soil formation, temperature, precipitation, and radiation levels.