Monocultures: definition, disadvantages and potential advantages

Introduction

Monocultures are commonplace today. Anyone driving along a motorway from one city to another will see them everywhere, whether fields of maize or rapeseed, or spruce plantations. But what exactly is a monoculture, by definition, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this way of farming? In this article, we take a closer look and introduce some of the benefits of biodiverse farming—the alternative to monoculture.

Contents

1. What is a monoculture?
   1. Definition of a monoculture
2. Advantages of monoculture
3. Disadvantages of monoculture
4. An alternative: permaculture
5. Conclusion

What is a monoculture?

Monocultures originally arose out of necessity. They were introduced to meet increased demand for food. For example, ever larger quantities of grain had to be grown as a staple food. 

They became increasingly common with industrialisation. Although monocultures have certain advantages and can often help farmers improve yields, this form of cultivation causes significant local damage as well as far-reaching global harm.

1.1. Definition of a monoculture

The word ‘monoculture’ combines ‘monos’ (Greek for ‘alone’) and ‘cultura’ (Latin for ‘cultivation’ or ‘care’).

By definition, a ‘monoculture’ means growing just one plant species on the same agricultural land year after year. In forestry, this is often spruce. In food farming, it may be maize or different grains such as rye and wheat. Among the best-known crops from abroad are coffee, bananas, avocados and tea.

2. Advantages of monoculture

The definition of monoculture may not sound particularly worrying at first, and this method of cultivation does indeed have some advantages.

One advantage of growing crops in monocultures is that the knowledge needed to grow a particular plant can be acquired very quickly. The machinery needed to tend and harvest the crop does not have to be particularly versatile, either. In addition, monoculture crops can fetch better prices when sold in larger quantities. In some areas, it has also become clear that, under optimal local climate conditions, a particular crop variety grows especially well in certain soils.

3. Disadvantages of monoculture

However, the definition of monoculture alone does little to reveal the full extent of its varied and far-reaching disadvantages.

Monocultures damage the soil, deprive animals of their habitats and are far more often uneconomic than profitable. They also require huge amounts of water. We have summarised the eight main disadvantages of monoculture below.

1. Crops grown in monocultures are more vulnerable to pests and diseases. This requires increased use of pesticides and chemicals.
2. Pesticides are extremely harmful to wildlife, the environment and people, because some are washed away by rain and end up in local waterways.
3. Monocultures lack the biological diversity of microorganisms that break down dead organic matter and release the nutrients it contains. As a result, relatively few nutrients are available to the plants. To address this, farmers have to fertilise their land. Because monocultures severely disrupt soil chemistry, huge amounts of fertiliser are needed—which creates a problem.
4. Monocultures use up large amounts of specific nutrients. This causes nutrient depletion in the soil, which in turn means that new land has to be brought into cultivation → clearing virgin forests for new farmland.
5. Healthy habitats are home to many vertebrate, plant and tree species, insect species, thousands of invertebrates and other life forms such as fungi and bacteria. This diversity helps protect the system, as every species provides different environmental benefits. Monocultures lack this diversity. This throws the ecosystem out of balance and makes it vulnerable to issues such as overpopulation.
6. Ground cover helps reduce the rate of water evaporation. This keeps the soil moist and gives plants more time to draw water up through their roots. Monocultures do not use ground cover. A lot of water evaporates from the soil before the plants can use it. As a result, farmers have to use much larger amounts of water than they traditionally would.
7. Soil drying changes drainage patterns. This can leave local streams, rivers or wetlands dry. It not only destroys habitats but also makes these areas inhospitable for local wildlife.
8. Machines are generally better at harvesting large quantities of a single crop, while people are better at harvesting many different kinds. Monoculture farms use machinery and therefore need a lot of fossil fuels. Tractors, for example, also compact the soil, resulting in poorer aeration and water infiltration.

4. An alternative: permaculture

The many disadvantages of monocultures point to strong reasons for growing crops in biodiverse mixed systems, also known as permaculture. Permaculture has far more advantages and fewer disadvantages than monoculture. We have summarised some of them here. If you would like to learn more about permaculture compared with monoculture, we recommend our article ‘What does organic farming mean?’.

1. Plant diversity reduces pests: biodiversity improves natural defences against pests, which can reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture.
2. Greater resilience boosts plant productivity: Plant families in species-rich meadows use much less energy to defend themselves against insects. These findings were also reached by an international research team led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig University and Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU), which investigated how greater plant diversity can reduce the negative effects of plant pests. 
3. Biological pest control using natural predators: Plant diversity has the advantage that, compared with monocultures, it supports more plant-eating insects—but also more natural predators. This natural form of pest control helps reduce the use of chemical insecticides in agriculture.
4. Making full use of soil nutrients: Since each plant species uses different nutrients differently, the soil is used in a more balanced way than in monocultures. In addition, some plants also return nutrients to the soil by binding atmospheric nitrogen.
5. Species formation: Biodiversity means genetic diversity. This enables populations to adapt to their environment through mutation and natural selection. Over time, new species can emerge. How well a plant thrives depends on its genes and, to a large extent, on the habitat in which it grows.
6. It is possible to promote biodiversity and still achieve good yields—a University of Zurich study shows that healthy plant communities can even produce higher yields. Professor Hans Pretzsch of the Chair of Forest Growth and Yield Science at the Technical University of Munich also considers the idea of ‘higher yields from monoculture’ to be a misconception. He points to the costs of monoculture and losses that are more than twice as high as the global investment needed to preserve biodiversity.

5. Conclusion

Although monoculture does not receive as much media attention as other ‘environmental issues’, that does not mean it should be ignored.

Monocultures have their advantages. Over the long term, however, the disadvantages outweigh them—and the consequences can be serious. If this farming practice is not changed in the coming years, irreversible damage is likely to occur. Biodiversity loss affects ecosystems and the services they provide, which people depend on.

There are ways to counteract this. Farmers, associations, policymakers and each of us simply need to use them consistently. This could bring many improvements in a short time, both for biodiversity and for farmers’ incomes.

What can you do as an individual to address the problems caused by monoculture farming? One of the best ways is to buy food grown using permaculture. Instead of discount-store green or black tea, you could choose green guayusa tea or black guayusa tea. Instead of cheap coffee, you could choose single-origin coffee from a small roaster or our guayusa coffee blend.