Where the causes of environmental change associated with agriculture are understood, usually they can be traced to changes in farm management and land use. These include the use of new or larger quantities of inputs, changes in the farming practices employed, variations in the numbers, distribution and methods of rearing livestock, and alterations in cropping patterns and landscape features. These direct causes of environmental change may include the cessation of previous farm management practices as well as the adoption of new ones. Some can be isolated individually, as in the case of direct impacts arising from the use of a single pesticide. Others are viewed more conveniently as changes in farming systems or new management approaches. The replacement of mixed crop and livestock systems with specialist arable or livestock farms and the displacement of low input dryland agriculture with more intensive irrigated production are examples of changes in farming systems.

fertilizer; organic; term; levels; directive; framework; pollution

Presentation: oral