Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture

T. Gomiero¹, M. G. Paoletti,¹ and D. Pimentel²

Conclusions
Organic agriculture aims at maintaining the long term sustainability of the agroecosystem as a whole, preserving and improving soil quality, minimizing energy and water use, preserving biodiversity, guaranteeing good quality and safe food products to consumers.

The overall environmental impacts of organic agriculture are, in most cases, better or much better than those of conventional agricultural practices. Such superior performances are also reported in reviews such as FAO(2002), Lotter (2003), and Kasperczyk and Knickel (2006), and for long-term monitoring trials such as Reganold et al. (1987), Paoletti et al. (1993), Matson et al. (1997), Drinkwater et al. (1998), M¨ader et al. (2002), Pimentel et al. (2005), Badgley et al. (2007).

However, it has to be pointed out that in some cases the performances of organic farming can vary according to specific crop species and crop patterns and in relation to the environmental context where agricultural activity is performed.

From the present review we can reach the following conclusions:

Energy efficiency and energy savings: Organic agriculture performs much better than conventional concerning energy efficiency (output/input). Generally, however, conventional crop production has the highest total net energy production per unit of cropped land (in some trials the figures were comparable).
CO2 and GHGs abatement: Organic agriculture represents an important option to supply a carbon sink and GHGs abatement. Soil, however, has a limit to carbon sink. Long-term solutions concerning CO2 emissions for the global society should be searched for in new energy conservation techniques and strategies.

Properly managed, organic agriculture represents an interesting option to reduce energy consumption, CO2 and other GHG emissions, as well as to preserve soil health and biodiversity. To carry on extensive long-term trials for diverse crops in diverse areas is of fundamental importance to understand the potential of organic farming as well as to improve farming techniques in general.

Investing in organic farming research will help to gain knowledge and experience about best practices for agroecosystem management. Although “organic certification” cannot apply to a farm which uses synthetic fertilisers or even small amount of chemical pesticides, we should recognise the benefits of keeping the use of chemicals at a minimum.

Source
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences (2008) 27: 239 — 254

Author Locations and Affiliations
(1) Lab. of Agroecology and Ethnobiology, Department of Biology, 35121 Padua University, Italy
(2) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

en français

Posted January 2009


	Organic Sci. Cluster	About Us	Top 10	Français
	British Columbia	Alberta	Saskatchewan	Manitoba
	Ontario	Québec	Atlantic	Donate
Research Extension Courses Consumers -------------------------- Virtual Tours Student & Job Opportunities News Articles Standards -------------------------- Market Information Events Issues Animal Welfare Strategic Plans -------------------------- Links Award-winners Site Map	Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture T. Gomiero¹, M. G. Paoletti,¹ and D. Pimentel² *Conclusions* Organic agriculture aims at maintaining the long term sustainability of the agroecosystem as a whole, preserving and improving soil quality, minimizing energy and water use, preserving biodiversity, guaranteeing good quality and safe food products to consumers. The overall environmental impacts of organic agriculture are, in most cases, better or much better than those of conventional agricultural practices. Such superior performances are also reported in reviews such as FAO(2002), Lotter (2003), and Kasperczyk and Knickel (2006), and for long-term monitoring trials such as Reganold et al. (1987), Paoletti et al. (1993), Matson et al. (1997), Drinkwater et al. (1998), M¨ader et al. (2002), Pimentel et al. (2005), Badgley et al. (2007). However, it has to be pointed out that in some cases the performances of organic farming can vary according to specific crop species and crop patterns and in relation to the environmental context where agricultural activity is performed. From the present review we can reach the following conclusions: *Energy efficiency and energy savings: Organic agriculture performs much better than conventional concerning energy efficiency (output/input). Generally, however, conventional crop production has the highest total net energy production per unit of cropped land (in some trials the figures were comparable). CO2 and GHGs abatement: Organic agriculture represents an important option to supply a carbon sink and GHGs abatement. Soil, however, has a limit to carbon sink. Long-term solutions concerning CO2 emissions for the global society should be searched for in new energy conservation techniques and strategies. Properly managed, organic agriculture represents an interesting option to reduce energy consumption, CO2 and other GHG emissions, as well as to preserve soil health and biodiversity. To carry on extensive long-term trials for diverse crops in diverse areas is of fundamental importance to understand the potential of organic farming as well as to improve farming techniques in general. Investing in organic farming research will help to gain knowledge and experience about best practices for agroecosystem management. Although “organic certification” cannot apply to a farm which uses synthetic fertilisers or even small amount of chemical pesticides, we should recognise the benefits of keeping the use of chemicals at a minimum. Source* Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences (2008) 27: 239 — 254 *Author Locations and Affiliations* (1) Lab. of Agroecology and Ethnobiology, Department of Biology, 35121 Padua University, Italy (2) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA en français Posted January 2009
Top

Energy and Environmental Issues in Organic and Conventional Agriculture

Top