scholarly journals Long-Term Change in the Application Rate of On-Farm Organic Amendments in Japanese Upland Fields

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai LEON ◽  
Kazunori KOHYAMA ◽  
Toshiaki OHKURA ◽  
Yusuke TAKATA ◽  
Hiroshi OBARA
Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1339
Author(s):  
Cassidy M. Buchanan ◽  
James A. Ippolito

Overgrazed rangelands can lead to soil degradation, yet long-term land application of organic amendments (i.e., biosolids) may play a pivotal role in improving degraded rangelands in terms of soil health. However, the long-term effects on soil health properties in response to single or repeated, low to excessive biosolids applications, on semi-arid, overgrazed grasslands have not been quantified. Using the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF), soil physical, biological, chemical, nutrient, and overall soil health indices between biosolids applications (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 21, or 30 Mg ha−1) and application time (single: 1991, repeated: 2002) were determined. Results showed no significant changes in soil physical and nutrient health indices. However, the chemical soil health index was greater when biosolids were applied at rates <30 Mg ha−1 and within the single compared to repeated applications. The biological soil health index was positively affected by increasing biosolids application rates, was overall greater in the repeated as compared to the single application, and was maximized at 30 Mg ha−1. The overall soil health index was maximized at rates <30 Mg ha−1. When all indices were combined, and considering past plant community findings at this site, overall soil health appeared optimized at a biosolids application rate of ~10 Mg ha−1. The use of soil health tools can help determine a targeted organic amendment application rate to overgrazed rangelands so the material provides maximum benefits to soils, plants, animals, and the environment.


2008 ◽  
Vol 146 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. PETERSEN ◽  
P. SØRENSEN

SUMMARYManure production in the most livestock-intensive areas exceeds the crop demand for nutrients and legislative restrictions on application rate cause a shortage of land for manure application. Export of nutrients in the fibrous fraction of separated animal slurry has become an option for sustaining or increasing livestock production in livestock-intensive areas. The nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) losses during on-farm storage of the fibrous fraction, originating from separation of anaerobically digested pig slurry using the non-volatile elements phosphorus (P), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) as internal references, were calculated. In addition, the plant availability of N in fresh and stored fibrous fractions was evaluated in an incubation experiment. The losses of N and C were greater from the heap surface than from the centre, and turning the heap by reloading for transport increased the losses. The proportion of ammonium N, total N and C lost during storage of the fibrous fraction was 0·30–0·90, 0·10–0·55 and 0·35–0·70 of the initial amount, respectively. Storage reduced the plant-available N and the amount of residual organic N, thereby having long-term influence on soil fertility. The plant-available N in fresh fibrous fractions was 0·22–0·52 of total N, but decreased to 0·15–0·38 after storage due to a decrease of the Nammonium:Ntotal ratio during storage. The net mineralization of manure N was negatively related to the Ctotal:Norganic ratio. The fibrous fraction of separated pig slurry may be characterized as a manure with a high potential for loss and a variable value as fertilizer.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rodway ◽  
Karen Gillies ◽  
Astrid Schepman

This study examined whether individual differences in the vividness of visual imagery influenced performance on a novel long-term change detection task. Participants were presented with a sequence of pictures, with each picture and its title displayed for 17  s, and then presented with changed or unchanged versions of those pictures and asked to detect whether the picture had been changed. Cuing the retrieval of the picture's image, by presenting the picture's title before the arrival of the changed picture, facilitated change detection accuracy. This suggests that the retrieval of the picture's representation immunizes it against overwriting by the arrival of the changed picture. The high and low vividness participants did not differ in overall levels of change detection accuracy. However, in replication of Gur and Hilgard (1975) , high vividness participants were significantly more accurate at detecting salient changes to pictures compared to low vividness participants. The results suggest that vivid images are not characterised by a high level of detail and that vivid imagery enhances memory for the salient aspects of a scene but not all of the details of a scene. Possible causes of this difference, and how they may lead to an understanding of individual differences in change detection, are considered.


Author(s):  
J.S. Clark

Agroforests and woodlots offer Northland hill country farmers investment and diversification opportunities. Agroforests have less effect on the "whole farm" financial position than woodlots, especially where a progressive planting regime is adopted and where no further borrowing is required. Establishment and tending costs for agro-forests are lower, and returns come much sooner. The proven opportunity for continued grazing under trees established in this manner, apart from a short post-planting period, further enhances the agroforesty option. Even where there is reluctance on a farmer's part to plant trees on high fertility land, the expected financial returns from agroforests on low and medium fertility land will increase the overall long-term profitability and flexibility of the whole farming operation. Woodlots may be more appropriate on low fertility areas where weed reversion is likely. Joint ventures may be worth considering where farm finances are a limited factor. Keywords: On-farm forestry development, Northland hill country, agroforestry, woodlots, diversification, joint ventures, progressive planting regimes, grazing availability.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.W. Bourdôt ◽  
S. Jackman ◽  
D.J. Saville

Flupropanate (sodium 2,2,3,3 tetrafluoropropanate), a slow-acting lipid bio- synthesis-inhibiting herbicide, was recently registered in New Zealand as Taskforce (745 g/L flupropanate as the sodium salt) for the selective and long-term control of Nassella trichotoma (nassella tussock) in pastures. In five dose-response experiments in permanent hill pastures in Canterbury, conducted between 2012 and 2016, we measured the efficacy of the herbicide against established plants of N. trichotoma and its residual activity against recruiting seedlings. Mortality, as an average across the five sites, was 93% 1.5 years after applying 1.49 kg flupropanate/ha (the label-recommended rate), and 100% at 2.98 kg/ha. This indicates that an application rate higher than the label rate will be necessary for complete control of a N. trichotoma infestation. The presence of 1,000 and 6,250 visible seedlings of N. trichotoma/ha in the autumn 3.2 and 2.1 years after applying 1.49 kg flupropanate/ha (at a Greta Valley and Scargill site respectively) indicates that the herbicide’s soil residues had decayed within 12 months to a concentration lower than necessary to kill the germinating seedlings of N. trichotoma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
K B SAXENA ◽  
A K CHOUDHARY ◽  
RAFAT K SULTANA

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] is a favourite crop of rain-fed farmers due to its high food value, drought tolerance and various soil improving properties. The productivity enhancement of this crop has been a long-term goal at the national level but with a little success. In this context, the advent of hybrid breeding technology with over 30% on-farm yield advantages has provided a much-needed breakthrough. The hybrids in pigeonpea were bred using a stable CMS system and natural out-crossing. It is believed that the adoption of locally adapted hybrids would contribute significantly towards both family income and nutrition.


Author(s):  
Walter Pohl

When the Gothic War began in Italy in 535, the country still conserved many features of classical culture and late antique administration. Much of that was lost in the political upheavals of the following decades. Building on Chris Wickham’s work, this contribution sketches an integrated perspective of these changes, attempting to relate the contingency of events to the logic of long-term change, discussing political options in relation to military and economic means, and asking in what ways the erosion of consensus may be understood in a cultural and religious context. What was the role of military entrepreneurs of more or less barbarian or Roman extraction in the distribution or destruction of resources? How did Christianity contribute to the transformation of ancient society? The old model of barbarian invasions can contribute little to understanding this complex process. It is remarkable that for two generations, all political strategies in Italy ultimately failed.


Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 341 (6150) ◽  
pp. 1085-1089 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. D. Graven ◽  
R. F. Keeling ◽  
S. C. Piper ◽  
P. K. Patra ◽  
B. B. Stephens ◽  
...  

Seasonal variations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Northern Hemisphere have increased since the 1950s, but sparse observations have prevented a clear assessment of the patterns of long-term change and the underlying mechanisms. We compare recent aircraft-based observations of CO2 above the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans to earlier data from 1958 to 1961 and find that the seasonal amplitude at altitudes of 3 to 6 km increased by 50% for 45° to 90°N but by less than 25% for 10° to 45°N. An increase of 30 to 60% in the seasonal exchange of CO2 by northern extratropical land ecosystems, focused on boreal forests, is implicated, substantially more than simulated by current land ecosystem models. The observations appear to signal large ecological changes in northern forests and a major shift in the global carbon cycle.


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