Technology▼Solutions GM crop study produces major database ral Affairs. It can be found at www. farmscale.org.uk. The database arose from trials that concluded that three out of four tested GM herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops were more detrimental to wildlife than their conventional equivalents. However, the differences arose because of the ways farmers used herbicides, not from any genetic
JOE PERRY
British researchers have compiled the world’s most extensive database on wildlife in arable fields as part of a just-completed major study of genetically modified (GM) crops. The researchers say that for the first time, they have statistically useful information on animal and plant numbers and how different species interact. “This database will help researchers track and forecast the effects of any major future change in conventional agricultural practice, in the U.K. and overseas,” explains Rothamsted Research’s Joe Perry, who was responsible for statistical analysis of the results. “It will help governments to decide agricultural policies and ecologists to work out the best systems to protect and encourage wildlife.” In the past, changes in ag ricultural practices in the United Kingdom, such as moving from spring-sown to winter-sown crops or cutting down hedgerows between fields, have had huge effects on farmland wildlife. But these changes have never been regulated, and their effects are difficult to measure, says Perry. “There is nothing comparable in Europe to the dataset that has now been collected across a wide geographical range across the U.K., covering a range of levels of farming intensity,” says Alastair Burn, a pesticides specialist with English Nature, a government agency that promotes wildlife conservation. He adds that in the short- to medium-term, the database will help researchers calculate what types and quantities of data they need to assess more fully the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity within crops. At present, this is only partially assessed during pesticide regulatory processes, if at all. The database is managed by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at the Lancaster Environment Centre and is paid for by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Ru-
beet and spring-sown oilseed rape was worse for wildlife than planting their conventional equivalents because the heavy applications of herbicides reduced biodiversity in the fields (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 425A–426A). The reverse was true for maize, partly because farmers used the highly effective herbicide atrazine on the conventional crop. Even with a 1994 EU ban on atrazine, the researchers still expect GMHT maize to be better for wildlife than conven-
Thanks to a major study of the environmental effects of genetically modified crops, British scientists now have the world’s most extensive database on wildlife—including weeds, insects, and birds—in arable fields.
modification. To reach that conclusion, the team tracked the seeds that the weeds produced (seed rain) and the seeds that were left in the soil (seed bank). This was done before, during, and after the crops were grown and harvested. The researchers also monitored insects and other small creatures, including bees, butterflies, springtails, shield bugs, beetles, and spiders. The GM trials lasted 5 years, cost $9 million, and focused on beet, maize, and spring- and winter-sown oilseed rape. In October 2003, the team reported that growing GMHT
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tional regimens. In March, results for the fourth crop, GMHT wintersown oilseed rape, also showed that those crop fields had fewer flowering weeds, which are especially beneficial for bees, butterflies, and birds (Proc. Roy. Soc. B 2005, 272, 463–474). None of the GM crops will be grown in the United Kingdom in the near future. The British government decided last year to oppose cultivating GMHT spring-sown oilseed rape and beet if they were grown under conditions as described in this study, and the producer withdrew GMHT maize from the market. —MARIA BURKE © 2005 American Chemical Society
