Abstract
Increases in population require the generation of new farmlands to supplement existing ones. Organic farming is a type of agricultural farming that produces food without the use of any chemical fertilizers. Organic farming also maintains biodiversity and reduces the environmental pollution of water, air, and soil. The most common environmental problems in the cultivation of land include the mismanagement of manure applications, pesticide leaching, and heavy metal accumulation. Thus, organic farming practices help to protect against nutrient leaching, water runoff, and soil erosion. However, without the proper management, organic farming practices also lead to the same environmental issues as conventional farming does. This chapter reviews the ways that organic farming protects water quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anh, P. T. (2010). Water pollution by intensive brackish shrimp farming in south-east Vietnam: Causes and options for control. Agricultural Water Management, 97(6), 872–882.
Anonymous. (2002). IFOAM basic standards for organic production and processing. Victoria: International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). 68 pp. http://www.ifoam.org/standard/norms/ibs/pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2004.
Conacher, J., & Conacher, A. (1998). Organic farming and the environment, with particular reference to Australia: A review. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 16, 145–171.
Drinkwater, L. E., Wagoner, P., & Sarrantonio, M. (1998). Legume-based cropping systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses. Nature, 396, 262–265.
Dufour, R. (2000). Farmscaping To Enhance Biological Control (Pest Management Systems Guide). Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA). pp. 1–8.
Dufour, R. (2001). Biointensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Fundamentals of Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.atta.ncat.org/atta-pub/ipm.html (HTML). http://www.atta.ncat.org/atta-pub/PDF/ipm.pdf (pdf).
Granstedt, A., & L-Baeckstrom, G. (2000). Studies of the proceeding crop effect of ley in ecological agriculture. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 15(2), 68–78.
IFST Public Affairs and Technical & Legislative Committees. (2001). IFST: Current hot topics. Organic food. Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK). Accessed at: http://www.ifst.org/hottop24.htm
Lampkin, N. (1990). Organic farming. Ipswich: Farming Press. 701 pp.
Le Guillou, G., & Scharpe, A. (2001). Organic farming: Guide to community rules. Luxembourg: European Commission. 28 pp.
Mannion, A. M. (1995). Agriculture and environmental change: Temporal and spatial dimensions. Chichester: Wiley. 40S pp.
Mikkelsen, R. L. (2000). Nutrient management for organic farming: A case study. Journal of Natural Resources Life Science Education, 29, 88–92.
National Organic Program. (2000). Soil fertility and crop nutrient management practice standard, Section 205.203. In: National organic program final rule. December 21. Accessed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/nop2000/nop2/finalrulepages/finalrulemap.htm
National Organic Program. (2002a). Production and handling. Subpart C—Organic crop, wild crop, livestock, and handling requirements. Crop production. Accessed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/nop2000/Final%20Rule/preamble/pre-prodhandling.htm
National Organic Program. (2002b). National list of allowed and prohibited substances. Subpart 205.600 Evaluation criteria for allowed and prohibited substances, methods, and ingredients. National organic program final rule. Accessed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/nop2000/Final%20Rule/regtext/reg-natlist.htm
Scofield, A. (1986). Organic farming – The origin of the name. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 4, 1–5.
Stehman, S. M., Rossiter, C., McDonough, P., & Wade, S. (1996). Potential pathogens in manure. In J. S. Popow (Ed.), Animal agriculture and the environment: Nutrients, pathogens, and community relations. Ithaca: Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service.
Stolze, M., Piorr, A., Haring, A., & Dabbert, S. (2000). The environmental impacts of organic farming in Europe. Organic farming in europe: Economics and policy (Vol. 6, p. 127). Stuttgart: University of Hohenheim.
Trewavas, A. (2004). A critical assessment of organic farming-and-food assertions with particular respect to the UK and the potential environmental benefits of no-till agriculture. Crop Protection, 23(9), 757–781.
Wander, M. M., Traina, S. J., Stinner, B. R., & Peters, S. E. (1994). Organic and conventional management effects on biologically active soil organic matter pools. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 58, 1130–1139.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sivaranjani, S., Rakshit, A. (2019). Organic Farming in Protecting Water Quality. In: Sarath Chandran, C., Thomas, S., Unni, M. (eds) Organic Farming. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04657-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04657-6_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04656-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04657-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)