Intensive farming's impact on biodiversity
Intensive farming has had a serious impact on biodiversity and the landscape:
- Use of pesticides and fertilisers destroyed weeds and arable flowers which sustained birds and insect life.
- Heavy use of fertilisers polluted streams and rivers with excess nutrients.
- Removal of hedgerows to make larger fields reduced the availability of wildlife habitats.
- The practice of sowing crops in autumn or winter meant that there was less residual stubble and seeds in the fields on which overwintering birds could feed. There has since been a rapid loss of wildlife habitats for once common birds such as lapwing, skylarks and grey partridge. Farmland bird populations fell by 43 per cent between 1970 and 2003, and woodland bird populations by 11 per cent.
- Mixed farms (such as Hill Farm) with both livestock and arable farming were displaced by farms specialising in just one type of farming, giving the countryside a more uniform appearance. In Oxfordshire, 70% of agricultural land is now used for arable farming .
