Organic farming outperforms wildflower strips on profits while both improve farm biodiversity
What makes more sense when farming wheat—strips of wildflowers along fields or organic farming? Both options provide financial support via the European Union as environmentally friendly and sustainable farming practices. An international research team, including researchers from the University of Göttingen, has compared the ecological and economic benefits of these two farming methods in fields…
A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology found that both organic farming and wildflower strips along fields can improve biodiversity compared to conventionally farmed wheat fields. While organic farming resulted in higher profits due to better market opportunities and EU subsidies, flower strips attracted more bee species.
However, both methods contributed to a higher number of ground beetles, spiders, and hoverflies compared to conventionally farmed fields. The research, conducted over two years across nine landscapes in Germany, suggests that combining organic farming and wildflower strips can create agricultural landscapes with multiple functions.
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