University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Figure 6 - Impacts of agricultural practices on biodiversity
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Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) 88 can sometimes have positive impacts on
biodiversity but most of the times agricultural practices decrease it. This relation is
generally inverse.
GMO use can be considered as an agricultural practice. The impacts of GMO on
biodiversity can therefore be introduced here.
Agricultural Practices – Greenhouse Gases Emissions
Agricultural practices can also influence GHG emissions (see figure 7). For example,
use of fertilisers will increase N2O emissions. However Good Agricultural Practices
can decrease GHG emissions. Agricultural practices are crop- and region-specific
according to climate, soil quality or level of mechanisation. Depending on these
factors, agricultural practices effects on GHG emissions balance can be either
positive or negative. Nevertheless, as agricultural activity (machinery work,
fertilisers and pesticides application…) is expected to increase in the future, due
(partly) to bioenergy demand, GHG emissions are also supposed to increase. There is
a correlation between these externalities.
37 GAP are described by cross-compliance rules (EC 2003) of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).