Study

Agroecological farming practices promote bats

  • Published source details Olimpi E.M. & Philpott S.M. (2018) Agroecological farming practices promote bats. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 265, 282-291.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Use organic farming instead of conventional farming

Action Link
Bat Conservation
  1. Use organic farming instead of conventional farming

    A replicated, paired sites study in 2014 at 18 pairs of farms in California, USA (Olimpi & Philpott 2018) found that organic farms had similar bat activity, species richness, diversity, and species composition to conventional farms. Overall bat activity did not differ significantly between organic (average 45 bat passes/night) and conventional farms (average 40 bat passes/night). The same was true for the activity of bat species adapted to cluttered habitats (organic: average 10 bat passes/night; conventional: 4 bat passes/night) and open habitats (organic: average 31 bat passes/night; conventional: 33 bat passes/night). Bat species richness, bat diversity and species composition also did not differ significantly between organic and conventional farms (data reported as statistical indices). Eleven bat species were recorded in total (see original paper for data for individual species). Each of 18 pairs of fields in certified organic farms and conventional farms was surveyed simultaneously with one bat detector/field for 6–7 nights in June–September 2014.

    (Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)

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