Journal or Publishing Institution: German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and Swiss Office for the Environment
Author(s): Tappeser, B., Reichenbecher, W. and Teichmann, H.
Article Type: Report
Record ID: 1969
Abstract: Conservation of biodiversity is high on the agenda of international and national environmental policies though not very present in public awareness. The need to protect biodiversity and stop the loss was acknowledged in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), internationally agreed on in 1992, and underscored by relevant decisions since then. It has been known for some time that intensive high input farming is one of the main drivers of ongoing biodiversity losses in agricultural landscapes. An indicator for such losses is the diversity and abundance of weed flora. Transgenic crops resistant to the herbicides glyphosate (accounting for the great majority) and glufosinate have first been cultivated commercially in the nineties of the last century. Since then, a wealth of information has been collected on use patterns and on impacts of herbicide-resistant (HR) crops. There are concerns that HR crops will help to further intensify farming and may therefore increase pressure on biodiversity. The need to study potential environmental consequences of changes in herbicide usage due to transgenic HR plants has recently been underlined by the Council (of Environment Ministers) of the European Union (EU1). This paper summarizes the lessons that can be learned from the experience up to now.
Keywords: Biodiversity, Conservation, High Input Farming, Biodiversity Loss, Agricultural Landscapes, Transgenic Crops, Herbicides, Glyphosate, Glufosinate, Herbicide-Resistant Crops, Weed Control, Environmental Impacts, Soybean, Weed Susceptability, Integrated Weed Management, Crop Rotation
Citation: Tappeser, B., Reichenbecher, W. and Teichmann, H., 2014. Agronomic and environmental aspects of the cultivation of genetically modified herbicide-resistant plants. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation/Swiss Office for the Environment.
