Abstract
The aim of this survey was to evaluate the effects of environmentally conscious farming (ECF) on the conservation of biodiversity by comparison with conventional farming (CF) in rice plant fields. In this survey, biodiversity was measured by using environmental indicator organisms. Water beetles, pond frogs (Pelophylax) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae) were more abundant in the ECF fields. However, The abundance of damselflies and web spiders (Tetragnatha) were not clear differences between in the ECF fields and in the CF field. In conclusion, it became clear that higher biodiversity was maintained in the ECF fields than in the CF field. This is the first verification that demonstrates the efficacy of ECF in Shiga Prefecture assessed using indicator organisms.
