From monoculture to more diversity

the essentials in brief

• Monoculture describes the cultivation of only one type of plant. It differs from crop rotation and mixed culture. Their disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
• Monocultures are common in agriculture and forestry. Typical examples are spruce forests, palm oil plantations or corn fields.
• Pure cultivation is also often practiced in one's own garden. Because of the numerous negative effects, mixed culture is becoming increasingly important. It can be designed with vegetables and herbs.

What does monoculture mean?

Monoculture is derived from the Greek terms monos for “alone” and cultura for “cultivation” or “care”. It describes a type of cultivation in which a crop plant is grown on an area over several years. This form of management, also known as pure culture, is used in agriculture, forestry and horticulture. The advantages of this method are simplified maintenance and high yields.

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Crop rotation, mixed culture or monoculture?

The opposite of monoculture is mixed culture. This type of cultivation is also known as mixed crop rotation, because according to its definition, different crops are grown simultaneously and one after the other on one area. Although the maintenance effort and harvest logistics are significantly higher than in monocultures, mixed cultivation should compensate for the disadvantages of pure cultivation.

Advantages of mixed culture:

• Synergy : Plants protect each other from pests or provide nutrients
• Shading : higher-growing plants ensure a moist microclimate in the lower area thanks to their leaf mass
• Protection : The soil is continuously protected from being eroded by wind and rain
• Protection : a total crop failure is avoided

The crop rotation is another opposite of the monoculture, in which an area is cultivated with changing crops. Attention is paid to the greatest possible versatility. Cultures that are not compatible with each other are cultivated separately from one another in terms of time and space. While crop rotation can be understood as a field economy, monoculture is a single field economy. Typical crops for crop rotation are rapeseed, beets and potatoes. With these crops, the pest pressure in the pure culture is too high and the harvest can no longer be secured.

Does monoculture bring disadvantages?

The fact that pure economy is still practiced lies in the advantages. This form does not require a vehicle fleet with different special machines, but the same machines can always be used. This routine also extends to marketing structures. Specialized knowledge in the field of a cultivated crop is sufficient to achieve the greatest possible harvest yield.

Negative side of the pure culture:

• no optimal use of light and water
• Synergy effects do not come into play
• increased susceptibility to pests and diseases
• Soil experiences a one-sided nutrient depletion
• more fertilizers and pesticides required

Monoculture in the forest

Nature strives for mixed cultures. No natural forest is home to just one type of plant, rather it is a mosaic of coordinated organisms. Numerous animal species find a habitat in this ecosystem. Mixed forests have a mitigating effect on climate change because they store carbon dioxide over a longer period of time. This diverse space is not only useful from an ecological point of view.

Nevertheless, numerous forests are characterized by monocultures. Spruce and other fast-growing conifers are still grown in pure culture today. They guarantee an optimal supply of paper industries and wood processing plants with the raw material wood.

Problems from the past:

• massive damage from wind break in 2007 and 2018
• extreme spread of the bark beetle from 2016 to 2019
• increasing acidification of the soil by needles, so that liming has to be carried out

background

Monocultures do not bring the desired profit

Studies by the University of Freiburg and the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research have shown that mixed cultures are more productive than pure cultures. Mixed stands with five different species produce around 50 percent more wood than monocultures. This aspect is based on improved synergy effects. The trees that grow at different heights are optimally supplied with light. Different types of root systems ensure an improved use of the available nutrients. Mixed crops prove to be more resistant to pests and cope better with years of drought.

Example Germany

Spruce would not naturally occur at today's locations of spruce forests. It is a type of wood that only occurs naturally at altitudes of 500 meters and forms species-rich, gapped forests. Instead, the locations of the spruce forests would be characterized by mixed forests with a high proportion of beeches.

Due to the numerous problems and the increasing soil degradation, modern forestry is increasingly turning pure cultures into site-compatible mixed cultures. In the past few decades the population of deciduous trees has increased by seven percent and the proportion of conifers has been reduced by four percent. Today, deciduous trees make up about 43 percent of the wooden floor.

Rainforest

In order to meet the high demand for palm oil, a strict monoculture is pursued in the tropical rainforests of Malaysia and Borneo. Oil palms stand side by side in rows on these areas. Numerous animal and plant species are losing their habitat. But the negative consequences for these ecosystems can already be seen in the preparations for cultivation.

Valuable rainforest areas are increasingly being cleared by fire. This measure releases greenhouse gases in large quantities and the soil must then be prepared with artificial fertilizers and pesticides. The extreme rainfall in the tropics ensures that the chemical substances are washed out of the soil and washed into the water. This also pollutes surrounding ecosystems.

Using alternative vegetable oils exacerbates the problem of rainforest destruction. It is more important that no more rainforests are converted into new plantations.

Monoculture in agriculture

Modern farms have specialized in growing fewer crops. This form of cultivation appears to be more attractive for many farmers, as they unite in cooperatives and increase efficiency through joint marketing strategies. The limited availability of arable land and the high demand for certain products at the same time favor monocultures.

	Typical growing areas	method	Effects	Problems
soy	Asia, South America	extensive deforestation	Biodiversity is declining	increased demand encourages the use of genetically modified plants
Bananas	South America, India	Slash-and-burn tropical rainforests	Habitat destruction, relocation of villages	Fungal disease is destroying stocks worldwide
Corn	Germany	Cultivation on arable land and meadows	Corning of the landscape	increasing butterfly deaths
cotton	USA, India, China	Cultivation on agricultural land, additional land through deforestation	increased demand leads to intensification of production	extreme water loss

Consequences of the pure agricultural culture

If the same plant species are grown over and over again in one area, pests and pathogens will find better living conditions. The plants are more prone to root infections. They can no longer optimally absorb nutrients from the soil, so that their growth is negatively affected. This encourages the development of weeds, many of which are difficult to control. Farmers need to respond to these phenomena. They use pesticides to control pests and kill weeds. Additional fertilizers are applied so that the crops grow better.

A look at history

From a historical perspective, wet rice cultivation in Asia is the most widespread form of agricultural monoculture. From a biology point of view, rice is actually not an aquatic plant. But around 3,000 BC BC people realized that this cultivation method suppressed pests and weeds. Through breeding over centuries, rice has developed into a water-friendly plant. The roots form a special ventilation system so that the plants can cope with higher water levels.

Problems

To produce one kilogram of rice, between 3,000 and 5,000 liters of water are required. Due to the massive effects on the water table, wet rice cultivation is prohibited in the Beijing area. Algae are more likely to form in standing water. Therefore the water in the plantations has to be constantly moving.

Excessive flow velocities cause the soil to be eroded. The constant flooding of the fields creates an oxygen-free environment in the soil. Organisms live here that produce methane as part of metabolic processes. Around 25 percent of global methane production can be traced back to wet rice cultivation.

Monoculture in your own garden

Pure culture is common practice in the home garden. Often only one type of plant is planted in a bed. In the worst case, potatoes will grow in the same place for many years. As a result, garden owners expect less maintenance, because the bed is harvested at one point in the year. It is sufficient to acquire special knowledge about this plant and a few devices enable the greatest possible efficiency when working. The basic principle of a near-natural garden, however, is mixed culture.

More quality through mixed culture:

• different types of plants ensure a natural balance
• Pests and beneficial insects keep each other in check
• The splendor of flowers extends over different seasons

Companion plants in the bed

Take a closer look at the supposed weeds on the potato bed. Many of them have a valuable use and ensure that the bed turns into a functioning ecosystem. Flowering plants attract butterflies or insects, whose caterpillars feed on harmful insects. Intensely fragrant herbs scare away pests with their essential oils. Legumes act as natural fertilizers because they bind atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.

Tips

Pay special attention to chickweed, clover, or nettles. These plants improve the bedding habitat and are also edible.

Well thought-out combinations

Strawberries thrive next to chives. This herb is rich in essential oils that prevent gray mold on strawberries. Borage ensures better pollination because the flowers attract wild bees, bumblebees and insects.

The deep-rooted Swiss chard goes perfectly with radicchio, radishes or chervil. These plants cover their water needs from the upper soil layers. If you don't feel like singulating carrots after sowing, you should mix the seeds with seeds of black cumin and chamomile. The coarse seeds ensure that the root vegetables are not sown too densely.

Tips

Create a mixed culture table. This way you can keep track of things all year round and grow effective crop rotations.

frequently asked Questions

What are the economic risks of a monoculture?

When a farm embarks on a monoculture, it becomes heavily dependent on the market and the prevailing prices. On the one hand, not growing other crops can generate high returns. If unpredictable catastrophes occur, in the worst case scenario economic bankruptcy occurs. At the national level, the supply of agriculturally produced products is severely reduced. Many countries are dependent on the demand for a product. You achieve a large share of total exports with products that have their origin in monocultures:

• Mauritius: Sugar and rum account for up to 90 percent
• Cuba: Generated up to 83 percent from cane sugar
• Ghana: Cocoa makes up 76 percent
• Colombia: 66 percent of all export earnings come from coffee

What are the ecological consequences of the pure culture?

The one-sided cultivation has a negative impact on the soil fauna and humus content. The nutrient balance of the soil is unbalanced and weeds as well as pests and pathogens find optimal living conditions. Even before the harvest begins, pests can destroy up to 50 percent of the yield. In a monotonous plant population, the diversity of animals decreases, so that the natural antagonists of harmful insects are missing. Monocultures lead to increased soil erosion.

Where are monocultures typical?

In Central Europe, monocultures are characteristic of wine and fruit growing companies or pure grassland farms. Germany is dominated by pure cultures in those areas in which large-scale land consolidations have been carried out. Maize, rapeseed or grain crops in their pure form are common in agricultural regions. In forestry, the trend over the last few decades has increasingly been towards mixed forms.

What are the basic considerations of a mixed culture?

It does not make sense to put crops from one family in the immediate vicinity. The crops are often affected by the same pests and diseases. With this variant, which falls under the cultivation form of mixed culture, the positive aspects cannot develop. The more different the plants are, the better the distribution of tasks and the better the ecosystem will develop. Shallow-rooters and taprooters make optimal use of the resources in a bed, because their root systems are active in different soil horizons.

Which mixed cultures have proven themselves?

Even the Maya grew pumpkins in the direct vicinity of corn and beans. But cabbage also proves to be a good substitute for the pumpkin in this mixture. Lentils thrive in a grain bed, because here you will find a good support. Carrots benefit from the neighborhood through onions, because they prevent pests. Different types of leafy and pick salads also get along well with each other.