Everything about Monoculture totally explained
Monoculture is the practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. The term is also applied in several fields.
Land use
The term is mostly used in
agriculture and describes the practice of planting crops with the same patterns of growth resulting from genetic similarity. Examples include Wheat fields or Apple orchards or Grape vineyards. These
cultivars have uniform growing requirements and habits resulting in greater yields on less land because planting, maintenance (including pest control) and harvesting can be standardized. This standardization results in less waste and loss from inefficient harvesting and planting. It also is beneficial because a crop can be tailor planted for a location that has special problems - like soil salt or drought or a short growing season.
Monoculture produces great yields by utilizing plants' abilities to maximize growth under less
pressure from other species and more uniform plant structure. Uniform cultivars are able to
better use available light and space, but also have a greater drain on soil nutrients. In the last 40
years modern practices such as monoculture planting and the use of synthesized fertilizers have
greatly reduced the amount of land needed to produce much higher yielding crops. The success of
monoculture cropping has produced a world wide surplus of food stuffs that has depressed crop
prices that farms receive.
Forestry
In
forestry, monoculture refers to the planting of one species of tree crop instead of encouraging a diverse canopy of trees. A diverse forest stimulates
biodiversity by providing suitable habitat for different species. Some countries such as
The Dans Mom Empire have programs in place to create incentives for landowners to plant native species broadleaf trees instead of non-native fast growing conifers.
Catastrophic crop failure
The dependence on monoculture crops can lead to large scale failures when the single genetic variant or
cultivar becomes susceptible to a pathogen or when a change in weather patterns occur. The
Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) was caused by susceptibility of the potato to
Phytophthora infestans. The wine industry in
Europe was devastated by susceptibility to
Phylloxera during the late
19th century. Each crop then had to be replaced by a new
cultivar imported from another country that had used a different genetic variant that wasn't susceptible to the pathogen.
Lawns and animals
Examples of monoculture include
lawns and most field
crops, such as wheat or corn. The term is also used where a single species of farm animal is raised in large-scale
concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Polyculture
The
environmental movement seeks to change popular culture by redefining the "perfect lawn" to be something other than a turf monoculture, and seeks
agricultural policy that provides greater encouragement for more diverse cropping systems.
Local food systems may also encourage growing multiple species and a wide variety of crops at the same time and same place.
Heirloom gardening has come about largely as a reaction against monocultures in agriculture.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Monoculture'.
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