utilization of natural farm resources for promoting high energy efficiency in low-input organic farming利用自然农业资源促进高能源效率在低投入的有机农业.pdfVIP

Energies 2011, 4, 804-817; doi:10.3390/en4050804 OPEN ACCESS energies ISSN 1996-1073 /journal/energies Review Utilization of Natural Farm Resources for Promoting High Energy Efficiency in Low-Input Organic Farming Veronica Arthurson * and Lotta Jäderlund Uppsala Biocenter, Department of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden; E-Mail: Lotta.Jaderlund@slu.se * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: Veronica.Arthurson@slu.se; Tel.: +46-18-67-3212; Fax: +46-18-67-3393. Received: 15 February 2011; in revised form: 10 March 2011 / Accepted: 9 May 2011 / Published: 12 May 2011 Abstract: Both organic and conventional farming processes require energy input in the form of diesel fuel for farming equipment, animal feed, and fertilizer compounds. The most significant difference between the two methods is the use in conventional farming of mineral fertilizers and pesticides that are minimally employed in organic management. It is argued that organic farming is more environmentally friendly, given that synthetic fertilizers mainly used at conventional farms are replaced with animal manure and cover crops. Nutrient uptake by plants is additionally enhanced by the effective use of rhizobia and other types of plant growth-promoting bacteria, in combination with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This article aims to compare the amounts and/or types of energy and nutrients required for both fa