Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Organic farming as a tool to enhance resilience in production and biodiversity against droughts

Date : 1 January 2019–31 December 2021

Identifiant : 2018-02853_Formas

Présentation
This project investigates the resilience of farms to extreme summer droughts, focusing on the resistance and post-drought recovery of crop production, biodiversity and organisms providing yield-enhancing ecosystem services. In particular, we will study the role of organic farming in mitigating the ecological and agronomic effects of prolonged summer droughts.

To this end, we will (1) test whether organic farming buffered yield losses resulting from the summer drought in 2018, and compare the relative mitigating effect of organic farming with other practices known to influence farm resilience to droughts, (2) study the resilience of organic farms by monitoring the recovery of crop yields, plant diversity and pollinators after the drought, (3) investigate the insurance value of both biodiversity and soil organic matter against summer droughts and whether these values increase with sustained organic management over time. A team with expertise in landscape ecology, agroecology and soil science, with documented experience in cross-disciplinary projects, will pursue these aims using a combination of cross-scale empirical studies from fields to farms and existing data on pre-drought conditions. We will do this in interaction with relevant stakeholders to inform the development of policies to increase the uptake of organic farming and other practices promoting drought-resilience in agricultural landscapes to help designing sustainable agricultural systems.

Coordination : Lund University

Financement : Formas
Budget : 2,994,000 kr

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