scholarly journals Compost as an Option for Sustainable Crop Production at Low Stocking Rates in Organic Farming

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1078
Author(s):  
Christopher Brock ◽  
Meike Oltmanns ◽  
Christoph Matthes ◽  
Ben Schmehe ◽  
Harald Schaaf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Potassium Sulfate ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Compost Application ◽  
Stocking Rates

Mixed-crop-livestock farms offer the best conditions for sustainable nutrient management in organic farming. However, if stocking rates are too low, sustainability might be threatened. Therefore, we studied the development of soil organic matter and nutrients as well as crop yields over the first course of a new long-term field experiment with a mimicked cattle stocking rate of 0.6 LU ha−1, which is the actual average stocking rate for organic farms in Germany. In the experiment, we tested the effects of additional compost application to improve organic matter supply to soils, and further, potassium sulfate fertilization for an improved nutrition of fodder legumes. Compost was made from internal resources of the farm (woody material from hedge-cutting). Soil organic matter and nutrient stocks decreased in the control treatment, even though yield levels, and thus nutrient exports, were comparably low. With compost application, soil organic matter and nutrient exports could be compensated for. At the same time, the yields increased but stayed at a moderate level. Potassium sulfate fertilization further improved N yields. We conclude that compost from internal resources is a viable solution to facilitate sustainable organic crop production at low stocking rates. However, we are aware that this option does not solve the basic problem of open nutrient cycles on the farm gate level.

The intake and production of lactating Merino ewes and their lambs grazed at different stocking rates

1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
JP Langlands
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Milk Consumption ◽  
Total Organic Matter ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
Maintenance Requirement ◽  
Stocking Rates

Grass and milk consumption and liveweight changes of lambs grazed at stocking rates ranging from 9 to 35 sheep/ha were measured during a 105 day lactation. Grass consumption and wool production of their mothers and of similar ewes without lambs were also determined. The forage and total organic matter intakes of the lamb increased with time while milk consumption declined; all three variables were negatively correlated with stocking rate. The intake of the ewe and its liveweight gain were not sensitive to increasing stocking rate, but wool production declined at higher stocking rates. The maintenance requirement of the ewes was estimated to be 218 kJ metabolizable energy/kg liveweight, and the efficiency with which metabolizable energy was utilized for milk production was 66%. Lactation increased the intake of the ewe but reduced its wool production.

Site specific impacts of climate change on crop rotations and their management in Brandenburg/Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt-Christian Kersebaum ◽  
Susanne Schulz ◽  
Evelyn Wallor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Capillary Rise ◽  
Crop Rotations ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Soil Map ◽  
Digital Soil Map

<p>Climate change impact on crop production depends on the cultivated crop and its position within crop rotations and on site conditions, e.g. soils and hydrology, buffering adverse weather situations. We present a regional study across the federal state of Brandenburg/Germany based on gridded climate data and a digital soil map using the HERMES-to-Go model. The aim was to investigate defined crop rotations and common agricultural practices under current and future climate conditions regarding productivity and environmental effects. Two contrasting GCMs (HAD and MPI) were used to generate climate input for modelling for the RCPs 2.6 and 8.5.</p><p>5 different types of crop production were simulated by defining crop rotations over 4-5 years for soil quality rating groups. While one rotation is comprised by the most common crops, another rotation modifies the first one by introducing a legume followed by a more demanding crop. The third rotation intends to produce higher value crops, e.g. potatoes than the first one, while the fourth rotation has its focus on fodder grass and cereal production. Building on this the fifth rotation replaces the fodder grass by alfalfa. All rotations are simulated in shifted phases to ensure that each crop is simulated for each year.</p><p>Sowing, harvest and nitrogen fertilization were derived by algorithms based on soil and climate information to allow self-adaptation to changing climate conditions. The crop rotations are simulated under rainfed and irrigated conditions and with and without the implementation of cover crops to prevent winter fallow.</p><p>We used the digital soil map 1:300.000 for Brandenburg with 99 soil map units. Within the soil map unit, up to three dominant soil types were considered to achieve at least 65% coverage. 276 soil types are defined by their soil profiles including soil organic matter content and texture down to 2 meters. Groundwater levels are estimated using the depth of reduction horizons as constant values over the year, to consider capillary rise depending on soil texture and distance between the root zone and the groundwater table.</p><p>In total each climate scenario contains about 148.000 simulations of 30 years. Beside crop yields we analyse the outputs for trends in soil organic matter, groundwater recharge, nitrogen leaching and the effect on water and nitrogen management using algorithms for automatic management.</p><p>Results indicate that spring crops were more negatively affected by climate change than winter crops especially on soils with low water holding capacity. However, few areas with more loamy soils and potential contribution of capillary rise from a shallow groundwater even benefited from climate change. Irrigation in most cases improved crop yield especially for spring crops. However, further analysis is required to assess if irrigation gains an economic benefit for all crop rotations. Nitrogen leaching can be reduced by implementing winter cover crops. Soil organic matter is assessed to decline for most sites and rotations. Only the rotations with multiyear grass or alfalfa can keep the level, but not on all sites.</p>

scholarly journals Soil bacterial community triggered by organic matter inputs supports a high-yielding pear production

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Xiaomei Ye ◽  
Hangwei Hu ◽  
Jing Du ◽  
Yonglan Xi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Soil Microbiome ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Common Features

Abstract. The roles of microorganisms in enhancing crop production have been demonstrated for a range of cropping systems. Most studies to date, however, have been confined to a limited number of locations, making it difficult to identify general soil biotic and abiotic characteristics underpinning the yield-promotion across various locations. This knowledge gap limits our capacity to harness soil microbiome to improve crop production. Here we used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to investigate the common features of bacterial community composition, ecological networks and physicochemical properties in six yield-invigorating and adjacent yield-debilitating orchards. We found that yield-invigorating soils exhibited higher contents of organic matter than yield-debilitating soils and harboured unique bacterial communities. Greater alpha diversity and higher relative abundances of Planctomycetes and Chloroflexi were observed in yield-debilitating soils. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that yield-invigorating soils displayed a greater number of meta-modules and a higher proportion of negative links to positive links. Chloroflexi was recognized as a keystone taxon in manipulating the interaction of bacterial communities in yield-invigorating soils. Structural equation modelling showed that soil organic matter, beta diversity of bacterial community, and network connector (Chloroflexi) were key factors supporting high-yield pear production. Altogether, we provide evidence that yield-invigorating soils across a range of locations appear to share common features, including accumulation of soil organic matter, higher microbial diversity, enrichment of key taxa like Chloroflexi, and maintaining a competitive network. These findings have implications for science-based guidance for sustainable food production.

Soil organic matter links organic farming to enhanced predator evenness

2020 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 104278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Aldebron ◽  
Matthew S. Jones ◽  
William E. Snyder ◽  
Carmen K. Blubaugh
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Farming

scholarly journals Organic Carbon Decomposition in Soil Amended With Organic Compost From Slaughterhouse Residues

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Magnum de Sousa Pereira ◽  
Julius Blum ◽  
Henrique Antunes de Souza ◽  
Carlos Kenji Taniguchi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Nonlinear Models ◽  
Soil Protection ◽  
K Value ◽  
Carbon Decomposition ◽  
Native Soil ◽  
Compost Application ◽  
Organic Compost ◽  
Native Organic Matter

Decomposition kinetic of applied compost in soil depends on the decomposition rate coefficient (k), environmental conditions and the interactions with soil. However, studies with the aim of determining k values for different materials rarely consider interactions with soil. The objective of the current study was to estimate k value of an organic compost, considering the interactions with the soil. Samples of soil mixed with compost were incubated in hermetic recipients for 126 days and evolved C-CO2 was quantified. Nonlinear models proposed in the present study were fitted to evolved C-CO2 data. Better fitting was found in a model that divided the soil organic matter in four pools (labile and recalcitrant native soil organic matter; protected and unprotected added organic matter), values of k on both native organic matter pools were multiplied by a constant denominated priming (pr) only in the cases where the compost was added to the soil and the amount of C in the protected pool is limited to the soil protection capacity. Organic compost produced using carcasses, sheepfold residues and slaughterhouse residues presented k value equal to 0.01179 day-1 at 31 oC without water stress. Compost application increased in 9.8% the decomposition of the native soil organic matter.

scholarly journals Oxidizable fraction of organic carbon in an Argisol under different land use systems

CERNE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caio Batista Müller ◽  
Oscarlina Lúcia dos Santos Weber ◽  
José Fernando Scaramuzza
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Labile Carbon ◽  
Land Use Systems ◽  
Oxidizable Fraction

The objective of this study was to evaluate carbon input in labile and stable fractions in an ARGISOL of northwestern Brazil under different land use systems. Use systems being evaluated include: forest - MA (reference), agrosilvopasture - TCP (teak, cocoa and pasture); agroforest - TC (teak and cocoa); teak forest at 8 and 5 years - T8 and T5, and pasture - PA. In each system three furrows were made at depths of 0-5 cm, 5-10 cm and 10-20 cm. An area consisting of native vegetation (forest) adjacent to the experiment was sampled and used as control treatment. The use systems MA, T8 and T5 had higher levels of total organic carbon (COT) and the MA system had higher levels of labile carbon (CL) than the other systems, with the exception of TC at a depth of 10-20 cm. In the MA system, COT levels were higher in comparison to use systems TCP, TC and PA while CL levels were higher than the levels observed in use systems TCP and TC. In most cases being analyzed, CL levels were lower than COT levels, therefore this trait can be used as an indicator to assess anthropogenic changes relating to the maintenance or condition of soil organic matter.

Straw removal increases the light fraction and mineralizable C and N compared with moldboard ploughing

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y K Soon
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Light Fraction ◽  
Straw Management ◽  
N Retention ◽  
Cereal Straw ◽  
C And N ◽  
Straw Incorporation

An earlier study indicated that cereal straw may be removed after harvest without affecting crop production, soil organic matter and microbial biomass. Further measurements of early indicators of changes in soil organic matter, viz., the light fraction and mineralizable C and N, confirm that straw removal is superior to straw incorporation with moldboard ploughing, and comparable to straw incorporation by disking, in C and N retention and turnover. Key words: Carbon, light fraction, mineralization, nitrogen, straw management

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document