Maurizio G. Paoletti

Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture

Humanity is facing possibly the greatest challenge in its history. Population is expected to reach 9 billion in 2030. At the same time agricultural land is becoming scarcer and poorer in quality. Furthermore, the environmental impact of intensive agriculture and the effects of climate change are threatening food security in many regions of the globe. Further, shortage of fossil fuels will have dramatic effects on the performance of intensive agriculture. There is an urge to develop more ecological agricultural practices both to meet the need to preserve agroecosystems health and to deal with the reduced availability of “cheap” energy from fossil fuels. This paper reviews a number of studies comparing the performances of conventional and organic agriculture in light of energy use, CO 2 emission and other environmental issues. Organic agriculture, along with other low input agriculture practices, results in less energy demand compared to intensive agriculture and could represent a means to improve energy savings and CO2 abatement if adopted on a large scale. At the same time it can provide a number of important environmental and social services, such as preserving and improving soil quality, increasing carbon sink, minimizing water use, preserving biodiversity, halting the use of harmful chemicals, thereby guaranteeing healthy food to consumers. We claim that more work should be done in terms of research and investment to explore the potential of organic farming for reducing environmental impact of agricultural practices. However, in the case of organic agriculture, the implications of a reduced productivity for the socioeconomic system should be considered and suitable agricultural policies worked out.

Edible and Tended Wild Plants, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Agroecology

Humans the world over have depended on wild-growing plants in their diets for hundreds of thousands of years, and many people continue to rely on these species to meet at least part of their daily nutritional needs. Wild harvested plant foods include: roots and other underground parts; shoots and leafy greens; berries and other fleshy fruits; grains, nuts and seeds; and mushrooms, lichens, algae and other species. Use of any of these species requires special cultural knowledge regarding harvesting, preparation, cooking and other forms of processing. Many were, and are, prepared and served in mixtures or combinations. In most cases, too, the species are managed, tended or manipulated in some way to increase their productivity and availability. Many of the most widely used species are categorized as weeds—species that grow and reproduce readily in disturbed or cleared land, and are common around human settlements and agricultural areas. This paper presents case examples of edible wild plant use and the roles of these species in agroecosystems from different parts of the world and discusses similarities and differences in use across different cultures and segments of society.

Agroecosystem biodiversity: matching production and conservation biology

Abstract A review of the existing literature on biodiversity connected with agricultural activities has been developed, and the possible sustainable alternatives have been looked into. Following recent evaluations, only one-twentieth to one-sixtieth of the planets species have yet been described and most of these will be lost if the destruction of the environment continues at its present rate. Most of the terrestrial environment (up to 95%) is affected by human activities including agriculture and the terrestrial habitats provide up to 98% of human food on the planet. Sustainable strategies in food production in agriculture improve the existing biodiversity and include the following items: increased porosity of the landscape through proper management of natural vegetation, better use and recycling of organic residues, introduction of integrated farming systems, reduced tillage, rotation, biological control, increased number of biota involved in human food-webs.

Diversity of soil fauna in the canopy and forest floor of a Venezuelan cloud forest

Arboreal and terresterial soil and lilter were sampled for macro-and microinvertebrates at two locations in a Venezuelan cloud forest. Fauna were most abundant in forest floor soil and associated litter. However, media suspended in the canopy and particularly those trapped in bromeliad shoots were most densely populated, while the diversities of the arboreal and terrestrial soil fauna were indistinguishable. Rates of leaf litter decomposition in the arboreal and terrestrial soils were similar, but the arboreal soils contained higher concentrations of mineral nutrients and carbon. Implications of these findings for the definition of soil in humid tropical forests, and related differences between temperate and tropical forests are discussed. The similarities in diversity and differences in species composition between arboreal and terrestrial soil fauna raise questions concerning the evolution of tropical soil fauna, as well as the estimate of global biotic diversity.

Gains to species diversity in organically farmed fields are not propagated at the farm level

Organic farming is promoted to reduce environmental impacts of agriculture, but surprisingly little is known about its effects at the farm level, the primary unit of decision making. Here we report the effects of organic farming on species diversity at the field, farm and regional levels by sampling plants, earthworms, spiders and bees in 1470 fields of 205 randomly selected organic and nonorganic farms in twelve European and African regions. Species richness is, on average, 10.5% higher in organic than nonorganic production fields, with highest gains in intensive arable fields (around +45%). Gains to species richness are partly caused by higher organism abundance and are common in plants and bees but intermittent in earthworms and spiders. Average gains are marginal +4.6% at the farm and +3.1% at the regional level, even in intensive arable regions. Additional, targeted measures are therefore needed to fulfil the commitment of organic farming to benefit farmland biodiversity.

Pistic, traditional food from Western Friuli, N.E. Italy

Western Friuli, Italy, there is a small area near the town of Pordenone where an ancient rite of spring is still carried out. This is the preparation of a special dish, known as “pistic,” a collection of 56wild herbaceous meadow and wood plants which are boiled and then sautéed together. This practice is still alive in a few areas of Friuli today and possibly goes back to pre-Roman Celtic cultures in this part of Friuli. The number of herbaceous plants used in this dish is extraordinarily high (56), especially when compared to the low number normally used in other conventional dishes. “Pistic” is therefore important, not only because it represents a quantitatively high use of wild herbs in the diet of the rural population, but also because it reflects environmental awareness, in that the archaic method of naming, identifying and using these plants still exists today. Similar rural practices include the use of “pot herbs” in Great Britain and in France the cooking of “mesclun.”RésuméDans le Val Colvera, dans l’ouest de Frioule, au nord-est de l’ltalie, il existe une petite région, prés de la ville de Pordenone oú un ancien rituel printanier a toujours cours. Il s’agit de la préparation d’un plat spécial, connu sous le nom del “Pistic,” á base de 56 especes herbacées sauvages des prés et des bois, qui sont bouillies, puis rissolées ensemble. Cette pratique est toujours vivante dans quelques régions du Frioule et il est possible de la retrouver jusque dans les cultures celtique, pre-romaines, qui une et des actives dans cette partie du Frioule. Le nombre d’espéces herbacées utilisées est exceptionnellement élevé (56), spécialement quand on le compare au nombre normalement bas d’espéces utilisées dans d’autres plats. Le Pistic est done important, non seulement parce quil représente un usage important d’herbes sauvages dans le régime des populations rurales, mais aussi parce que la nomenclature archaïque, utilisée encore actuellement pour identifier ces plantes est toujours en usage, refléte une sensibilité a l’environment.

In search of traditional farm wisdom for a more sustainable agriculture: A study of Amish farming and society

Abstract A religious society with a strong emphasis on family and community ties, the Amish are an agrarian people who have a long history of using less energy-intensive, albeit productive, agricultural methods. The low-input farming systems practiced today by Amish farmers have developed over 300 years and have sustained the Amish as one of the most persistent and successful subcultures in North America. Strict socio-religious rules control Amish farming practices. As a result, Amish agriculture depends on traditional elements, such as horse farming and hand labor, and therefore contrasts starkly with conventional high-input agriculture. However, contemporary Amish agriculture is a blend of old practices with new ideas, similar in many respects to the low-input sustainable practices that agricultural researchers are currently experimenting with and designing. The long continuous history of low-input sustainable production on many Amish farms offers researchers an unique opportunity to study the biological control of insect pests and diseases and nutrient cycling, which contribute to sustainability. Important to the success of the Amish as a traditional farming subculture is the extremely tight coupling of social and technological phenomena within their society. This observation has significant implications for the development of low-input sustainable agriculture for the larger society in which conventional agriculture often decouples farming technology from a strong cultural base.

Organic Farming Benefits Local Plant Diversity in Vineyard Farms Located in Intensive Agricultural Landscapes

The majority of research on organic farming has considered arable and grassland farming systems in Central and Northern Europe, whilst only a few studies have been carried out in Mediterranean agro-systems, such as vineyards, despite their economic importance. The main aim of the study was to test whether organic farming enhances local plant species richness in both crop and non-crop areas of vineyard farms located in intensive conventional landscapes. Nine conventional and nine organic farms were selected in an intensively cultivated region (i.e. no gradient in landscape composition) in northern Italy. In each farm, vascular plants were sampled in one vineyard and in two non-crop linear habitats, grass strips and hedgerows, adjacent to vineyards and therefore potentially influenced by farming. We used linear mixed models to test the effect of farming, and species longevity (annual vs. perennial) separately for the three habitat types. In our intensive agricultural landscapes organic farming promoted local plant species richness in vineyard fields, and grassland strips while we found no effect for linear hedgerows. Differences in species richness were not associated to differences in species composition, indicating that similar plant communities were hosted in vineyard farms independently of the management type. This negative effect of conventional farming was probably due to the use of herbicides, while mechanical operations and mowing regime did not differ between organic and conventional farms. In grassland strips, and only marginally in vineyards, we found that the positive effect of organic farming was more pronounced for perennial than annual species.

Biodiversity use and technical performance of freshwater fish aquaculture in different socioeconomic contexts: China and Italy

Abstract The availability of natural resources and the socioeconomic context in which aquaculture is performed condition the choice of aquacultural production techniques. In this paper, we examine and compare the pattern of biodiversity use (the ecological side of the production process) and the technical coefficients (the economic side of the process) that characterize freshwater aquaculture in PR China and in Italy in relation to the role that freshwater aquaculture plays in these societies. The comparison between aquaculture in China and Italy covers the following aspects: (1) history and general statistics of aquaculture; (2) cultivated species and trophic structure of managed freshwater ecosystems; (3) technological characteristics of the production process, including inputs/outputs, yields, labor productivity, and fossil energy use; (4) role of freshwater aquaculture in relation to its socioeconomic context. In Italy, where socioeconomic constraints (high opportunity cost of labor and a food system dealing with a surplus of nutrients) overwhelm ecological constraints (through imports and technology), freshwater aquaculture operates with densities of nutrient flows outside the range typical of natural aquatic ecosystems. Freshwater bodies used for production are artificial and generally contain only one carnivorous species that depends for its survival on human management of inputs and waste disposal. In contrast, in China, up to nine different species (mainly herbivores) are kept in the same pond, and efforts are made to maintain as much as possible the natural mechanisms of regulation of matter and energy flows. This results in higher efficiency in terms of use of biological energy (from biological cycles) within the system, lower environmental loading, and less dependence on fossil energy inputs. However, the better biophysical performance of Chinese aquaculture is linked to low labor productivity. This makes it difficult to adopt such an ‘ecologically friendly’ solution in developed countries, such as Italy, where the opportunity cost of labor is high.

Agroecology patterns in Northeastern Italy

Abstract The history of agroecosystem landscapes in northeastern Italy from pre-Roman times to the present day is summarized. Landscape design, crops, weed and animal pest interactions are analyzed historically. Vegetational patterns and invertebrate distribution as affected by hedgerows, river-bank borders and trees plus weed distribution patterns are examined. Trends in agroecosystem management for the future are discussed, including vegetational complexity and minimum and no-tillage.