Characteristics of permaculture farms (#journal)

Permaculture farmers consistently cultivate perennials, crop diversity, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation

 This study characterized plant communities on ten applied permaculture farms and found that independent adopters consistently implemented predominately perennial species (73% of species richness), polycultures (mean 42 crop species per site), and zone design. These practices resulted in commercial farms characterized by perennialization, crop diversification, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation. Grassroots adopters were remarkably consistent in their interpretation and application of an unregulated agricultural model suggesting that such movements may exert considerable influence over local agroecological transitions.