Strategy For Farming Vs. Wildlife Studied September 2, 2011 by
UPI - United Press International, Inc. CAMBRIDGE, England, Sept.
1 (UPI) — Separating habitats from farmland could save species
more effectively than trying to grow crops and conserve nature
on the same land, British researchers say. The separation may be
the best way to meet increased food demand with the least impact
on wild species, researchers at the University of Cambridge and
the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said in a release
Thursday. The researchers collected information on more than 600
species in southwest Ghana and northern India, where demand for
agricultural land is putting increasing pressure on wild
species. “Farmland with some retained natural vegetation had
more species of birds and trees than high-yielding monocultures
of oil palm, rice or wheat but produced far less food energy and
profit per hectare,” said lead author Dr Ben Phalan from the
University of Cambridge. “As well as requiring more land to
produce the sam