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from the it's-only-natural-to-question-authority dept.
Around 80 percent of the land area in Europe is used for settlement, agriculture and forestry. In order to increase yields even further than current levels, exploitation is being intensified. Areas are being consolidated in order to cultivate them more efficiently using larger machines. Pesticides and fertilisers are increasingly being used and a larger number of animals being kept on grazing land. "Such measures increase yield but, overall, they also have negative impacts on biodiversity," says UFZ biologist Dr. Michael Beckmann. "This is because even agricultural areas offer fauna and flora a valuable habitat—which is something that is frequently not sufficiently taken into consideration."
Betteridge's law of headlines says no, but is more intensive farming really crowding out native species more than less intensive farming?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by CZB on Saturday April 13 2019, @04:40AM
In some ways industrial ag competes with diverse native plants. One way it doesn't is all the irregular edges. I have edges and whole fields that have gone back to pasture or wilderness because my large tractor can't fit in the tight, irregular turns that a horse and plow could.