Editing Monoculture (section)

== Agriculture ==
Agricultural monocultures refer to the practice of planting one crop species in a field.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Connor|first1=David J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2eh7vyvuscC&q=crop+ecology+loomis+connor|title=Crop Ecology: Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems|last2=Loomis|first2=Robert S.|last3=Cassman|first3=Kenneth G.|date=2011-04-28|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-139-50032-6|language=en}}</ref> Monoculture is widely used in [[intensive farming]] and in [[organic farming]]. In crop monocultures, each plant in a field has the same standardized planting, maintenance, and harvesting requirements resulting in greater yields and lower costs. When a crop is matched to its well-managed environment, a monoculture can produce higher yields than a polyculture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cardinale |first1=Bradley J. |last2=Matulich |first2=Kristin L. |last3=Hooper |first3=David U. |last4=Byrnes |first4=Jarrett E. |last5=Duffy |first5=Emmett |last6=Gamfeldt |first6=Lars |last7=Balvanera |first7=Patricia |last8=O’Connor |first8=Mary I. |last9=Gonzalez |first9=Andrew |date=2011-03-01 |title=The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems |journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] |volume=98 |issue=3 |pages=572–592 |doi=10.3732/ajb.1000364 |issn=0002-9122 |pmid=21613148 |s2cid=10801536 |hdl-access=free |hdl=2027.42/141994}}</ref> Modern practices such as monoculture planting and the use of synthesized [[fertilizer]]s have reduced the amount of additional land needed to produce food,<ref name="MillerSpoolman2008">{{cite book |author1=G. Tyler Miller |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gC9Dy1YWfkC&pg=PA279 |title=Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions |author2=Scott Spoolman |date=24 September 2008 |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |isbn=978-0-495-55671-8 |page=279}}</ref> called [[land sparing]].  
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Diversity of crops in space and time; monocultures and polycultures, and rotations of both.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|title = Ecological Theories, Meta-Analysis, and the Benefits of Monocultures|url = http://csanr.wsu.edu/theories-meta-analysis-monocultures/|access-date = 2015-09-18}}</ref>
! rowspan="3" colspan="3" |
! colspan="3" |Diversity in time
|-
! rowspan="2" |Low
! colspan="2" |Higher
|-
|Cyclic
|Dynamic (non-cyclic)
|-
| rowspan="2" |'''Diversity in space'''
|'''Low'''
|Monoculture, one species in a field
|Continuous
monoculture,

monocropping
|Crop rotation
(rotation of monocultures)
|Sequence of monocultures
|-
|'''Higher'''
|Polyculture, two or more species 
intermingled in a field (intercropping)
|Continuous 
polyculture
|Rotation of polycultures
|Sequence of polycultures

|}

Note that the distinction between monoculture and [[polyculture]] is not the same as between monocropping and intercropping. The first two describe diversity in ''space'', as does intercropping. Monocropping and crop rotation describe diversity over ''time''.

=== Environmental impacts ===
Monocultures of perennials, such as African [[palm oil]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Leech|first=Garry|year=2009|title=The Oil Palm Industry: A Blight on Afro-Colombia|journal=[[NACLA Report on the Americas]]|volume=42|issue=4|pages=30–34|doi=10.1080/10714839.2009.11725459|s2cid=157642907}}</ref> sugarcane,<ref name="link.springer.com">{{Cite journal|last1=Tayyab|first1=Muhammad|last2=Yang|first2=Ziqi|last3=Zhang|first3=Caifang|last4=Islam|first4=Waqar|last5=Lin|first5=Wenxiong|last6=Zhang|first6=Hua|date=2021-04-26|title=Sugarcane monoculture drives microbial community composition, activity and abundance of agricultural-related microorganisms|journal=[[Environmental Science and Pollution Research]]|language=en|volume=28|issue=35|pages=48080–48096|doi=10.1007/s11356-021-14033-y|issn=0944-1344|pmid=33904129|bibcode=2021ESPR...2848080T |s2cid=233403664}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Correa-García|first=Esteban|date=Summer 2018|title=Territorial transformations produced by the sugarcane agroindustry in the ethnic communities of López Adentro and El Tiple, Colombia|journal=[[Land Use Policy]]|volume=76|pages=847–860|doi=10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.03.026|bibcode=2018LUPol..76..847C |s2cid=51932235}}</ref> tea<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Arafat|first1=Yasir|last2=Ud Din|first2=Israr|last3=Tayyab|first3=Muhammad|last4=Jiang|first4=Yuhang|last5=Chen|first5=Ting|last6=Cai|first6=Zhaoying|last7=Zhao|first7=Hanyu|last8=Lin|first8=Xiangmin|last9=Lin|first9=Wenxiong|last10=Lin|first10=Sheng|date=2020|title=Soil Sickness in Aged Tea Plantation Is Associated With a Shift in Microbial Communities as a Result of Plant Polyphenol Accumulation in the Tea Gardens|journal=[[Frontiers in Plant Science]]|language=English|volume=11|page=601|doi=10.3389/fpls.2020.00601|issn=1664-462X|pmc=7270330|pmid=32547573|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Arafat|first1=Yasir|last2=Tayyab|first2=Muhammad|last3=Khan|first3=Muhammad Umar|last4=Chen|first4=Ting|last5=Amjad|first5=Hira|last6=Awais|first6=Saadia|last7=Lin|first7=Xiangmin|last8=Lin|first8=Wenxiong|last9=Lin|first9=Sheng|date=August 2019|title=Long-Term Monoculture Negatively Regulates Fungal Community Composition and Abundance of Tea Orchards|journal=[[Agronomy (journal)|Agronomy]]|language=en|volume=9|issue=8|pages=466|doi=10.3390/agronomy9080466|doi-access=free}}</ref> and pines,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cordero|first=Adolfo|title=Large scale eucalypt plantations associated to increased fire risk|journal=PeerJ Preprints|doi=10.7287/peerj.preprints.3348v1|doi-access=free}}</ref> can change soil chemistry leading to [[soil acidification]], [[Soil retrogression and degradation|degradation]], and [[Soil borne pathogen|soil-borne diseases]], ultimately having a negative impact on agricultural productivity and sustainability.<ref name="link.springer.com" /> The use of unregulated irrigation practices on popular monocultures, such as soy, can also lead to erosion and water loss.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last1=Russo Lopes |first1=Gabriela |last2=Bastos Lima |first2=Mairon G. |last3=Reis |first3=Tiago N. P. dos |date=2021-03-01 |title=Maldevelopment revisited: Inclusiveness and social impacts of soy expansion over Brazil's Cerrado in Matopiba |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0305750X20304435 |journal=World Development |volume=139 |pages=105316 |doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105316 |issn=0305-750X}}</ref> As soil health declines, use of synthetic fertilizers on monocultural fields increases, often having negative implications on human health via chemical run-off.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="duffy">{{cite journal |last=Duffy |first=J. E. |year=2009 |title=Why biodiversity is important to the functioning of real-world ecosystems |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/1747 |journal=[[Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment]] |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=437–444 |bibcode=2009FrEE....7..437D |doi=10.1890/070195}}</ref>

In addition to soil depletion, monocultures can cause significant reductions in biodiversity due to unavailability of resources, native species displacement, and loss of genetic variation.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Tetreault |first1=Darcy |last2=McCulligh |first2=Cindy |last3=Lucio |first3=Carlos |date=2020 |title=Distilling agro-extractivism: Agave and tequila production in Mexico |journal=Journal of Agrarian Change |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=219–241 |doi=10.1111/joac.12402 |issn=1471-0358|doi-access=free }}</ref> Following large-scale oil palm plantations in Latin America, research has revealed extensive declines in mammal, bird, amphibian, and pollinator diversity, particularly in Colombia and Brazil.<ref name=":9" />

Due to insufficient biodiversity and population balance, monocultures are associated with higher rates of disease and pest outbreaks.<ref name="duffy" /><ref name=":10" /> In response, pesticides are widely applied to agricultural fields, further harming insect and pollinator diversity<ref name=":4" /> and human health.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=The United Republic of Soybeans: take two |url=https://grain.org/en/article/4749-the-united-republic-of-soybeans-take-two |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=grain.org |language=en}}</ref> Increasing rotations of crop monocultures or using alternatives agricultural practices can help mitigate the risk of disease and attack.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last=Bullock|first=D. G.|date=January 1992|title=Crop rotation|journal=[[Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences]]|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|pages=309–326|doi=10.1080/07352689209382349|bibcode=1992CRvPS..11..309B |issn=0735-2689}}</ref>

=== Social impacts ===
Environmental consequences of monocultural farming have notable social impacts, commonly concentrated to the reduction of small-scale farmers<ref name=":8" /> and pesticide-related health issues.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":11" /> Monoculture is contradictive to several primitive, more sustainable farming practices utilized by small-scale farmers.<ref name=":8" /> Following pest outbreaks, over 600 million liters of pesticides are sprayed annually, contaminating nearby small-scale farming and causing communal health decline.<ref name=":11" /> Research has revealed increased prevalence of pesticide-related disorders, diseases, and cancers affecting the human neurological, gastrointestinal, skin, and respiratory systems.<ref name=":11" />