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Ecological impact of wheat and spelt production under industrial and alternative farming systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2011

Martina Bavec ,
Michael Narodoslawsky ,
Franc Bavec  and
Matjaž Turinek
Martina Bavec
Affiliation:
Institute for Organic Farming, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola 10, SI-2311 Hoče, Slovenia.
Michael Narodoslawsky
Affiliation:
Institute for Resource Efficient and Sustainable Systems, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 21 B, A-8010 Graz, Austria.
Franc Bavec
Affiliation:
Institute for Organic Farming, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola 10, SI-2311 Hoče, Slovenia.
Matjaž Turinek*
Affiliation:
Institute for Organic Farming, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor, Pivola 10, SI-2311 Hoče, Slovenia.
*
*Corresponding author: matjaz.turinek@uni-mb.si
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Abstract

The Industrial Revolution and intensification of agriculture have, in some cases, led to economic activities that profoundly influenced the ecosystem to the point where environmental stability and geographic political security are jeopardized. The uncertainty about oil reserves, rising energy prices and the threat of harmful climate change effects has intensified the search for alternative farming systems that reduce negative environmental impact. This study reports the ecological impact of conventional (CON), integrated (INT), organic (ORG) and biodynamic (BD) farming systems calculated from data collected in a field trial at Maribor, Slovenia, and interpreted using the SPIonExcel tool. This tool is a member of the ecological footprint family and describes the area necessary to embed a human activity sustainably into the ecosphere. Three-year results show a markedly reduced ecological footprint of the ORG and BD systems in production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Antonius’) and spelt (Triticum spelta L. ‘Ebners rotkorn’), mainly due to the absence of external production factors. When yields were also considered, the ORG and BD systems again had a reduced overall footprint per product unit and increased ecological efficiency of production. Thus, ORG and BD farming systems present viable alternatives for reducing the impact of agriculture on environmental degradation and climate change. Nevertheless, room for improvement exists in the area of machinery use in all systems studied and yield improvement in the ORG farming system.

Keywords

production systemsorganic farmingbiodynamic farmingecological footprintSPIecological efficiency of production
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 242 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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