Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in an Organic Farmscape in Yolo County
Biodiversity is a key aspect of organic farm management, not only for crop production practices, but for the entire farmscape, e.g., crop fields, riparian corridors, hedgerows, detention ponds, and ditches. At an organic farm in California's Central Valley, the ecological and agricultural contribution of various habitats of the farmscape was assessed by:
inventorying the plant biodiversity and the associated belowground composition of microbial, nematode, and earthworm communities
determining key ecosystem functions, such as crop production, nutrient cycling and water quality associated with these habitat types and
identifying best management practices used on the farm and their contribution to soil and water quality
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Smukler, S.M., S. Sánchez-Moreno, S.J. Fonte, H. Ferris, K. Klonsky, A.T. O'Geen, K.M. Scow, K.L. Steenwerth, and L.E. Jackson. 2010. Biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions in an organic farmscape. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 139:80-97.Smukler et al. 2010
Sánchez-Moreno, S., S. Smukler, H. Ferris, and L.E. Jackson. 2007. Nematode diversity, food web condition, and chemical and physical properties in different soil habitats of an organic farm. Biology and Fertility of Soils 59:341–63. Sanchez-Moreno, Smukler, Ferris, Jackson 07