Organic Versus Conventional Farm Ecology Data From 48 UK Sites, 2006-2010

2006-2010 ecology data from 48 paired organic and conventional farms in England, assessing impacts of farm management, crop type, and landscape-scale factors. The study includes data on birds, insect pollinators, earthworms, plants, and other taxa using a multiscale sampling design across 16 paired field sites.

Use Cases

• Compare bird and pollinator (bumblebees, hoverflies, solitary bees) abundance between organic and conventional farm management regimes.
• Analyze earthworm and epigeal arthropod populations across different crop types (arable cereal vs. permanent pasture).
• Model the impact of landscape-scale organic land fraction on aphid and natural enemy communities.
• Assess plant community composition in field margins versus field centers under differing management practices.

Strengths

• Multiscale sampling design assessing four distinct factors: location-within-field, crop type, farm management, and landscape-scale management.
• Data covers a wide range of taxa including birds, multiple insect pollinator groups, earthworms, plants, and soil arthropods.
• Study includes 48 farms with 21 organic and 27 conventional operations, providing a paired comparison structure.

Limitations

• Sample is geographically limited to two regions in England where organic farming had a 'strong' local presence, reducing national representativeness.
• Farm size ranged from 40 to 3000 acres, with most between 100-1000 acres, potentially underrepresenting very small or very large operations.
• Data collection occurred in 2006-2007, making the findings potentially less reflective of current agricultural practices and ecological conditions.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre, part of the NERC Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme.

Collection Method

Field sampling and farmer interviews across 16 paired field sites; organic farms identified via certification body lists, conventional farms via telephone listings.

Time Range

2006-2010

Freshness

null

Geography

Two study sites in England: the English Midlands and southern England.