INTEGRATED FARMING METHODS AND THEIR IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY OF THE LANDSCAPE

During the last century, the changing forms of agriculture drastically influenced many native plant and animal populations. In the efforts to reduce these negative impacts on biodiversity, a number of agricultural enterprises began farming in a more environmentally friendly ways; in addition to conventional farm management, new forms of integrated and organic farming appeared, the latter having a tradition of only a few years. These new approaches have a number of variations, one of which is termed integrated farming. It exerts less pressure on the given environment, and, together with organic agriculture, plays an important role in the efforts to renew long lost cultures. Support for integrated farming can be one of the intermediate stages between organic farming and agri-environmental programmes that very often complement one another. Despite the organic farming may have a negative impact on crop yields and considers individual approaches to problematic sites as well as applications of locally specific rules, a number of studies have confirmed that this kind of farming positively influences biodiversity of a given area. This review highlights importance of integrated farming and calls for its larger use in agricultural practice.