How Sustainable Agriculture Promotes Biodiversity
Biodiversity: The Foundation of Healthy Agriculture
Biodiversity means that many different plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms live in a landscape. Each species plays an important role: bees and butterflies pollinate plants, birds and beneficial insects like ladybugs keep pests in check, and soil organisms like earthworms ensure fertile soils. If diversity is lost, these natural cycles become unbalanced – with consequences for harvests, the environment, and food security.
Why is biodiversity in agriculture under threat?
Monocultures and intensive farming: When only one crop grows on large areas, many animals and wild plants lose their habitats.
Use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers: These substances kill not only pests but also many beneficial insects and soil organisms.
Lack of habitats: Hedges, flower strips, wetlands, and other refuges are often missing – but nature needs a counterpart for every pest, such as birds or ladybugs. These natural helpers disappear when their habitats are lost.
What does sustainable agriculture do differently?
Sustainable agriculture works with nature, not against it. It deliberately creates habitats, promotes beneficial organisms, and uses diverse cultivation methods:
Flower meadows and strips: Provide food and habitat for bees, butterflies, and other insects – promoting pollination and natural pest control.
Mixed crops and undersowing: Different plants grow together in one field. This attracts various animals, keeps pests in balance, and improves soil health.
Hedges, field margins, and shrubs: Offer shelter and nesting sites for birds, hedgehogs, and many other animals.
No chemical-synthetic pesticides and fertilizers: Instead, compost, manure, and legumes like clover or beans are used to improve soil and support beneficial insects.
Unproductive areas (“Eh-da” areas): Embankments, field edges, or fallow land are preserved as habitats and not cultivated.
Important: Nature has a counterpart for every pest. For these natural enemies to be effective, they need refuges and habitats, which sustainable agriculture specifically creates and maintains.
Climate Protection: Storing CO₂ and Reducing Emissions
Sustainable agriculture not only protects biodiversity but also actively helps with climate protection:
Soils as CO₂ storage: Building up humus, cover crops, and reduced tillage store more carbon in the soil and remove it from the atmosphere.
Agroforestry: Trees on fields additionally store CO₂, protect against erosion, and provide habitats for many species.
Lower emissions: Avoiding intensive tillage and synthetic fertilizers reduces the release of CO₂ and nitrous oxide.
Renewable energy: Using solar and wind energy on farms further reduces the CO₂ footprint.
Studies show that regenerative and sustainable methods can reduce a farm’s CO₂ emissions by up to 15%, while yields increase at the same time. Agriculture can thus become an important part of the solution instead of the problem.
Benefits for Nature, Farmers, and the Climate
For nature:
More biodiversity: More birds, insects, flowers, and other animals.
Healthy soils: Earthworms and microorganisms ensure fertile, loose soil.
Better pollination: More bees and butterflies mean higher yields of fruit and vegetables.
Fewer pests: Natural enemies like ladybugs and birds regulate pests – without chemicals.
For farmers:
Lower costs for chemicals: Avoiding expensive pesticides and fertilizers saves money.
More stable and often higher yields: Healthy soils and natural pollination ensure reliable harvests – even in extreme weather.
New sources of income: Sustainably produced products often fetch better prices, and direct marketing or eco-labels create additional sales opportunities.
More resilience: Diverse farms are more resistant to pests, diseases, and climate fluctuations.
Long-term security: Working with nature allows farms to be run sustainably and for the future.
For the climate:
CO₂ storage: Sustainable agriculture actively stores CO₂ in soil and plants instead of releasing it.
Fewer greenhouse gases: Targeted measures significantly reduce emissions of CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Contribution to climate neutrality: Agriculture can thus make an important contribution to achieving climate goals.
Conclusion
Sustainable agriculture is a win for everyone: it makes fields and landscapes more colorful, lively, and healthy – for animals, plants, people, and the climate. At the same time, farmers benefit: they save costs, achieve stable yields, and secure the future of their farms. Those who create habitats for beneficial insects and wildlife use natural cycles, need less chemistry, and actively help protect the climate. This creates agriculture that preserves biodiversity, stores CO₂, and is economically successful.
Author: Francesco del Orbe
