Does temperate agroforestry reduce nutrient leaching losses compared to cropland monocultures?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Schmidt ◽  
Marife D. Corre ◽  
Xiaohong Duan ◽  
Florian Heinlein ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Alley Cropping ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Nutrient Leaching ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Temperate Agroforestry ◽  
Wide Range

<p>Over the past decades, excessive use of fertilizers in cropland monocultures in combination with a decrease in fertilizer use efficiency, have led to an increase in nutrient leaching losses, especially for nitrate. Consequently, ground water pollution is widespread and starting to be recognized and potentially sanctioned by the European Union. Unfertilized tree rows alternating with crop rows (e.g. alley-cropping agroforestry) are hypothesized to act as a safety net by taking up excess nutrients below the crop-rooting zone. Here, we measured leaching losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) during two growing seasons in agroforestry systems and adjacent monocultures at three sites in Germany, representing a wide range of soil characteristics. Leaching losses of N, P and K were generally lower under agroforestry tree rows at all sites compared to agroforestry crop rows or crop monocultures. Overall, agroforestry reduced nitrate leaching losses by up to 82% compared to monocultures, but showed comparable losses of P and K. Nutrient leaching losses were high in the agroforestry crop rows close to the tree rows where crop productivity is lowest due to resource competition with trees. An adjusted management, e.g. reduced fertilizer inputs close to the tree rows, may counteract these losses. Our results suggest that agroforestry has the potential to reduce nutrient leaching losses through the trees and the application of fertilizer should be reduced in the agroforestry crop row close to the trees. The reduction in nutrient leaching losses in agroforestry indicates an increase in the soil function of water filtration. In order to achieve large-scale implementation of temperate agroforestry, its environmental benefits need to be financially valued for farmers to adapt this widely applicable land use alternative. The presented project, SIGNAL (Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry) is part of the German research initiative BonaRes (Soil as a sustainable resource).</p>

scholarly journals Strategic deployment of riparian buffers and windbreaks in Europe can co-deliver biomass and environmental benefits

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Englund ◽  
Pål Börjesson ◽  
Blas Mola-Yudego ◽  
Göran Berndes ◽  
Ioannis Dimitriou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Riparian Buffers ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Nitrogen Emissions ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Eu Policies

AbstractWithin the scope of the new Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, in coherence with other EU policies, new incentives are developed for farmers to deploy practices that are beneficial for climate, water, soil, air, and biodiversity. Such practices include establishment of multifunctional biomass production systems, designed to reduce environmental impacts while providing biomass for food, feed, bioenergy, and other biobased products. Here, we model three scenarios of large-scale deployment for two such systems, riparian buffers and windbreaks, across over 81,000 landscapes in Europe, and quantify the corresponding areas, biomass output, and environmental benefits. The results show that these systems can effectively reduce nitrogen emissions to water and soil loss by wind erosion, while simultaneously providing substantial environmental co-benefits, having limited negative effects on current agricultural production. This kind of beneficial land-use change using strategic perennialization is important for meeting environmental objectives while advancing towards a sustainable bioeconomy.

Agroforestry: The North American Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah T. Lovell ◽  
Harold E. "Gene" Garrett
Keyword(s):  
Alley Cropping ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Herbaceous Plants ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Specialty Crops ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Trees And Shrubs ◽  
Edible Products

Agroforestry has a long, rich history that is rooted in activities practiced by indigenous communities around the world. Native peoples were known to gather fruits, nuts, and understory herbs from the forest, based on their deep ecological knowledge of the natural system, and they often cultivated preferred species. For modern applications, agroforestry can be defined as the intentional integration of trees and shrubs with crops or livestock to create a multifunctional system with a wide range of benefits. In temperate regions, agroforestry is characterized by six key practices: (1) alley cropping—planting rows of trees with a companion crop grown between the rows; (2) forest farming—growing high-value specialty crops in the shaded forest understory; (3) riparian buffers—protecting water resources such as streams with a zone of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants; (4) silvopasture—combining trees, forage, and livestock for multiple products; (5) windbreaks—planting rows of trees and shrubs to protect crops or livestock from wind and to reduce soil erosion; and (6) urban food forests—integrating trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that provide edible products for the good of the community. The environmental benefits of agroforestry have been widely studied and continue to be a source of great interest. Most recently, the potential for agroforestry to contribute to climate change adaption and mitigation is being explored. While the science of agroforestry has been influenced to a great extent by the field of ecology and related disciplines, social science dimensions are increasingly captured through the study of adoption behaviors, preferences, and cultural benefits. The investigation of the role of economic and policy drivers is critical to understanding strategies to motivate landowners to adopt these practices at a level that would expand agroforestry into the mainstream. Landscape-level planning and design could provide a vision and a pathway for a broader transformation to a system that encourages perennial habitats including specialty crops that supply edible products. Such a strategy could place agroforestry more directly into the growing call to support regional food systems and positive human health outcomes. This article focuses on the trends and directions in agroforestry research primarily in North America, with emphasis on developments in the early 21st century.

scholarly journals Linking an economic model for European agriculture with a mechanistic model to estimate nitrogen and carbon losses from arable soils in Europe

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Leip ◽  
G. Marchi ◽  
R. Koeble ◽  
M. Kempen ◽  
W. Britz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Model ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Nitrogen Budget ◽  
Environmental Response ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Arable Soils ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. A comprehensive assessment of policy impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils requires careful consideration of both socio-economic aspects and the environmental heterogeneity of the landscape. We developed a modelling framework that links the large-scale economic model for agriculture CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact assessment) with the biogeochemistry model DNDC (DeNitrification DeComposition) to simulate GHG fluxes, carbon stock changes and the nitrogen budget of agricultural soils in Europe. The framework allows the ex-ante simulation of agricultural or agri-environmental policy impacts on a wide range of environmental problems such as climate change (GHG emissions), air pollution and groundwater pollution. Those environmental impacts can be analyzed in the context of economic and social indicators as calculated by the economic model. The methodology consists of four steps: (i) definition of appropriate calculation units that can be considered as homogeneous in terms of economic behaviour and environmental response; (ii) downscaling of regional agricultural statistics and farm management information from a CAPRI simulation run into the spatial calculation units; (iii) designing environmental model scenarios and model runs; and finally (iv) aggregating results for interpretation. We show the first results of the nitrogen budget in croplands in fourteen countries of the European Union and discuss possibilities to improve the detailed assessment of nitrogen and carbon fluxes from European arable soils.

scholarly journals RADAR-Base: Open Source Mobile Health Platform for Collecting, Monitoring, and Analyzing Data Using Sensors, Wearables, and Mobile Devices

10.2196/11734 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e11734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yatharth Ranjan ◽  
Zulqarnain Rashid ◽  
Callum Stewart ◽  
Pauline Conde ◽  
Mark Begale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Streaming Data ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Remote Assessment

Background With a wide range of use cases in both research and clinical domains, collecting continuous mobile health (mHealth) streaming data from multiple sources in a secure, highly scalable, and extensible platform is of high interest to the open source mHealth community. The European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse-Central Nervous System (RADAR-CNS) program is an exemplary project with the requirements to support the collection of high-resolution data at scale; as such, the Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse (RADAR)-base platform is designed to meet these needs and additionally facilitate a new generation of mHealth projects in this nascent field. Objective Wide-bandwidth networks, smartphone penetrance, and wearable sensors offer new possibilities for collecting near-real-time high-resolution datasets from large numbers of participants. The aim of this study was to build a platform that would cater for large-scale data collection for remote monitoring initiatives. Key criteria are around scalability, extensibility, security, and privacy. Methods RADAR-base is developed as a modular application; the backend is built on a backbone of the highly successful Confluent/Apache Kafka framework for streaming data. To facilitate scaling and ease of deployment, we use Docker containers to package the components of the platform. RADAR-base provides 2 main mobile apps for data collection, a Passive App and an Active App. Other third-Party Apps and sensors are easily integrated into the platform. Management user interfaces to support data collection and enrolment are also provided. Results General principles of the platform components and design of RADAR-base are presented here, with examples of the types of data currently being collected from devices used in RADAR-CNS projects: Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Depression cohorts. Conclusions RADAR-base is a fully functional, remote data collection platform built around Confluent/Apache Kafka and provides off-the-shelf components for projects interested in collecting mHealth datasets at scale.

scholarly journals Herbicide weed control increases nutrient leaching compared to mechanical weeding in a large-scale oil palm plantation

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 5243-5262
Author(s):  
Greta Formaglio ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp ◽  
Xiaohong Duan ◽  
Aiyen Tjoa ◽  
Marife D. Corre
Keyword(s):  
Oil Palm ◽  
Plant Uptake ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nutrient Leaching ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Fertilization Rates ◽  
Oil Palm Plantation ◽  
Four Blocks

Abstract. Nutrient leaching in intensively managed oil palm plantations can diminish soil fertility and water quality. There is a need to reduce this environmental footprint without sacrificing yield. In a large-scale oil palm plantation in Acrisol soil, we quantified nutrient leaching using a full factorial experiment with two fertilization rates (260 kg N, 50 kg P, and 220 kg K ha−1 yr−1 as conventional practice and 136 kg N, 17 kg P, and 187 kg K ha−1 yr−1, equal to harvest export, as reduced management) and two weeding methods (conventional herbicide application and mechanical weeding as reduced management) replicated in four blocks. Over the course of 1 year, we collected monthly soil pore water at 1.5 m depth in three distinct management zones: palm circle, inter-row, and frond-stacked area. Nutrient leaching in the palm circle was low due to low solute concentrations and small drainage fluxes, probably resulting from large plant uptake. In contrast, nitrate and aluminum leaching losses were high in the inter-row due to the high concentrations and large drainage fluxes, possibly resulting from low plant uptake and low pH. In the frond-stacked area, base cation leaching was high, presumably from frond litter decomposition, but N leaching was low. Mechanical weeding reduced leaching losses of base cations compared to the conventional herbicide weeding probably because herbicides decreased ground vegetation and thus reduced soil nutrient retention. Reduced fertilization rates diminished the nitrate leaching losses. Leaching of total nitrogen in the mechanical weeding with reduced fertilization treatment (32±6 kg N ha−1 yr−1) was less than half of the conventional management (74±20 kg N ha−1 yr−1), whereas yields were not affected by these treatments. Our findings suggest that mechanical weeding and reduced fertilization should be included in the program by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture for precision farming (e.g., variable rates with plantation age), particularly for large-scale oil palm plantations. We further suggest including mechanical weeding and reduced fertilization in science-based policy recommendations, such as those endorsed by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil association.

scholarly journals Relative Abundances of Species or Sequence Variants Can Be Misleading: Soil Fungal Communities as an Example

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 589
Author(s):  
Lukas Beule ◽  
Markus Arndt ◽  
Petr Karlovsky
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Soil Fungi ◽  
Alley Cropping ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Sequence Variants ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Temperate Agroforestry ◽  
Relative Abundances

Plant production systems that are more sustainable than conventional monoculture croplands are the vision of future agriculture. With numerous environmental benefits, agroforestry is among the most promising alternatives. Although soil fungi are key drivers of plant productivity and ecosystem processes, investigations of these microorganisms in temperate agroforestry systems are scarce, leaving our understanding of agricultural systems under agroforestry practice incomplete. Here, we assessed the composition and diversity of the soil fungal community as well as the frequency (relative abundance) of fungal groups in three paired temperate poplar-based alley cropping (agroforestry) and monoculture cropland systems by amplicon sequencing. Analysis of microbiomes using relative abundances of species or sequence variants obtained from amplicon sequencing ignores microbial population size, which results in several problems. For example, species stimulated by environmental parameters may appear unaffected or suppressed in amplicon counts. Therefore, we determined absolute abundances of selected fungal groups as well as total fungal population size by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Tree rows strongly affected the community composition and increased the population size and species richness of soil fungi. Furthermore, ectomycorrhiza were strongly promoted by the tree rows. We speculate that mycorrhiza improved the nutrient acquisition in unfertilized tree rows, thereby contributing to the total productivity of the system. Comparison of relative and absolute abundances revealed dramatic discrepancies, highlighting that amplicon sequencing alone cannot adequately assess population size and dynamics. The results of our study highlight the necessity of combining frequency data based on amplicon sequencing with absolute quantification.

scholarly journals Linking an economic model for European agriculture with a mechanistic model to estimate nitrogen losses from cropland soil in Europe

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2215-2278 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Leip ◽  
G. Marchi ◽  
R. Koeble ◽  
M. Kempen ◽  
W. Britz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Nitrogen Budget ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract. For the comprehensive assessment of the policy impact on greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils both socio-economic aspects and the environmental heterogeneity of the landscape are important factors that must be considered. We developed a modelling framework that links the large-scale economic model for agriculture CAPRI with the bio-geochemistry model DNDC to simulate greenhouse gas fluxes, carbon stock changes and the nitrogen budget of agricultural soils in Europe. The framework allows the ex-ante simulation of agricultural or agri-environmental policy impacts on wide range of environmental problems such as climate change (greenhouse gas emissions), air pollution and groundwater pollution. Those environmental impacts can be analysed in the context of economic and social indicators as calculated by the economic model. The methodology consists in four steps (i) the definition of appropriate calculation units that can be considered as homogeneous in terms of economic behaviour and environmental response; (ii) downscaling of regional agricultural statistics and farm management information from a CAPRI simulation run into the spatial calculation units; (iii) setting up of environmental model scenarios and model runs; and finally (iv) aggregating results for interpretation. We show first results of the nitrogen budget in cropland for the area of fourteen countries of the European Union. These results, in terms of estimated nitrogen fluxes, must still be considered as illustrative as needs for improvements in input data (e.g. the soil map) and management data (yield estimates) have been identified and will be the focus of future work. Nevertheless, we highlight inter-dependencies between farmer's choices of land uses and the environmental impact of different cultivation systems.

Runoff and sediment yield of tilled and spontaneous grass-covered olive groves grown on sloping land

Soil Research ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 542 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Palese ◽  
J. Ringersma ◽  
J. E. M. Baartman ◽  
P. Peters ◽  
C. Xiloyannis
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Total Runoff ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Olive Groves

Soil erosion in olive groves is a widespread phenomenon in the Mediterranean Basin. Many studies have investigated the effects of tillage and herbaceous ground cover (spontaneous or seeded) in their effectiveness to reduce soil erosion in a wide range of Mediterranean sites under different pedoclimatic and topographic conditions. The present study was performed in Ferrandina, southern Italy: a small drip-type rainfall simulator was used on square microplots (0.25 × 0.25 m) to evaluate the propensity to erosion of a steep rain-fed olive grove (mean slope ~10%) with a sandy loam soil by measuring runoff and sediment load under extreme rain events. Two types of soil management were compared: (1) spontaneous grasses as ground cover (GC) providing a maximum ground cover close to 100%; and (2) tillage (T). In the tillage treatment, a further distinction was made between runoff and sediment produced 1 day (T1) and 10 days (T2) after tillage in order to assess the temporal evolution of tillage effects. The results show that GC reduced surface runoff to approximately one-third and soil losses to zero compared with T1. T2 microplots, tested 10 days after tillage, produced only one-tenth the sediment compared with T1 microplots that were subjected to rainfall simulations 1 day after tillage. Total runoff between the two tilled microplots was similar, although runoff on T1 microplots increased steadily over time whereas runoff on T2 microplots remained stable over the duration of simulations. Such findings may be useful to direct and strengthen the policy towards measures to prevent further soil degradation, as clearly requested by the European Union via the cross-compliance concept. A further economic recognition to the olive growers for the achievable environmental benefits could convince them to a shift towards alternative soil management strategies.

scholarly journals Herbicide weed control increases nutrient leaching as compared to mechanical weeding in a large-scale oil palm plantation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Formaglio ◽  
Edzo Veldkamp ◽  
Xiaohong Duan ◽  
Aiyen Tjoa ◽  
Marife D. Corre
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Plant Uptake ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Nutrient Leaching ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Cation Leaching ◽  
Fertilization Rates ◽  
Oil Palm Plantation

Abstract. Nutrient leaching in intensively managed oil palm plantations can diminish soil fertility and water quality. There is a need to reduce this environmental footprint without sacrificing yield. We quantified nutrient leaching in a large-scale oil palm plantation on Acrisol soil with factorial treatment combinations of two fertilization rates (260 N, 50 P, 220 K kg ha−1 yr−1 as conventional practice, and 136 N, 17 P, 187 K kg ha−1 yr−1, equal to harvest export, as reduced management) and two weeding methods (conventional herbicide, and mechanical weeding as reduced management). Each of the four treatment combinations was represented by a 2500 m2 plot, replicated in four blocks. In each plot, soil-pore water was collected monthly at 1.5 m depth for one year in three management zones: palm circle, inter-row, and frond-stacked area. In the palm circle, nutrient leaching was low due to low solute concentrations and small drainage fluxes, resulting from large plant uptake. Conversely, in the inter-row, nitrate and aluminum leaching losses were high due to their high concentrations, large drainage fluxes, low plant uptake, and acidic pH. In the frond-stacked area, base cation leaching was high, presumably from frond litter decomposition, but N leaching was low. Mechanical weeding, even with conventional high fertilization rates, reduced leaching losses of all nutrients. Mechanical weeding with reduced fertilization had the lowest N and base cation leaching whereas its yield and economic gross margin remain comparable with the conventional management practices. Herbicide weed control decreased ground vegetation, and thereby reduced efficiency of soil nutrient retention. Our findings signified that mechanical weeding and reduced fertilization should be included in the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture program for precision farming (e.g. variable rates with plantation age), particularly for large-scale plantations, and in the science-based policy recommendations, such as those endorsed by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil association.

scholarly journals Banks, Digital Banking Initiatives and the Financial Safety Net: Theory and Analytical Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Lumpkin ◽  
Sebastian Schich
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Range Of Functions ◽  
Financial Safety Net

This report presents an analytical framework for exploring the implications of Fintech innovations for incumbent banks and for provision of the financial safety net. The focus is on “digital banking initiatives”, that is, on Fintech initiatives that provide retail financial services akin to those traditionally provided by banks. Banks perform a wide range of functions for individual and institutional customers that help facilitate large-scale economic activity. In fact, in most economies the system of financial intermediation centres on banks and relies on their core products and services for financing of the economy and the maintenance of liquidity. On account of the central role banks play in the financial system, along with concerns about potential systemic instability linked to the riskiness of their activities, these institutions have long been regarded as “special”, as reflected in their prudential regulation and coverage under the various provisions of the financial safety net. Recent developments raise questions about the special status of banks. Two sets of questions are addressed herein: To what extent do new digital banking initiatives change the role that incumbent banks play in the financial system and the way that they perform their functions? To what extent are some of the new digital banking initiatives securing the benefits of the financial safety net without paying the commensurate price? To help address these questions the report first revisits the literature on core functions of the financial system to provide a framework for analysing recent developments. Particular attention is paid in this context to banks and their products and services. The “special” role of banks is discussed, which links to the provisions of the traditional safety net. These overview sections are followed by evidence on Fintech innovations that overlap the core banking products. Based on an examination of the characteristics of these new initiatives, the study then touches on the issue of whether banks are still special and whether some of these initiatives are or should be covered by financial safety net provisions.

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