scholarly journals Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.1 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Ventrella ◽  
Nino Virzì ◽  
Francesco Intrigliolo ◽  
Massimo Palumbo ◽  
Michele Cambrea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Good Agricultural Practice ◽  
Environmental Effectiveness ◽  
Cross Compliance

Within the Project MO.NA.CO. the Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.2 ‘Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through management of stubble and crop residues’ and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers were evaluated. The monitoring was performed in eight experimental farms of the Council for agricultural research and economics (CREA), distributed throughout Italy and with different soil and climatic conditions. Yield parameters and several components of soil organic matter were evaluated in two contrasting treatments applied to one-year rotation of winter durum wheat and maize: i) incorporation into the soil of crop residues (Factual treatment) and ii) burning or removal of crop residues (Counterfactual treatment). The application of the standard ‘crop residue management’ has showed contrasting results with differences (for yield and soil) between the two treatments resulted almost always non significant. The analysis of economic competitiveness gap showed that the CR incorporation is more expensive than CR burning or removal, but the economic disadvantage can be considered rather small and thus easily compensated by Community aids. Therefore, the soil incorporation of crop residues can be considered a ‘good agricultural practice’ that does not penalize farmers in terms of production and cost and at the same time contributes to the maintenance of fertility and soil biodiversity. On the contrary, the removal and burning of residues result in a low or no-addition of organic matter into the soil. Moreover, burning can contribute to decrease the biodiversity and to increase the risk of air pollution, fires and road accidents.

scholarly journals Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.2 "Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through crop rotation" and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamberto Borrelli ◽  
Roberta Farina ◽  
Paolo Bazzoffi ◽  
Antonio Melchiorre Carroni ◽  
Paola Ruda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Culture Technique ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Environmental Effectiveness ◽  
Lag Times ◽  
Cross Compliance

Within the Project MO.NA.CO was evaluated the Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance standard 2.2 “Maintaining the level of soil organic matter through crop rotation” and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers who support or not the cross-compliance regime. The monitoring was performed in nine experimental farms of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) distributed throughout Italy and with different soil and climatic conditions. Were also evaluated the soil organic matter and some yield parameters, in a cereal monocropping (treatment counterfactual) and a two-year rotation cereal-legume or forage (treatment factual). The two-years application of the standard “crop rotations” has produced contrasting results with regards to the storage of soil organic matter through crop rotation and these were not sufficient to demonstrate a statistically significant effect of treatment in any of the farms considered in monitoring, only in those farms subjected to more years of monitoring was recorded only a slight effect of the standard as a trend. The variations of organic matter in soils in response to changes in the culture technique or in the management of the soil may have long lag times and two years of time are not sufficient to demonstrate the dynamics of SOM associated with the treatment, also in consideration of the large inter annual variability recorded in different monitored sites.

scholarly journals Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 4.2 on biodiversity in set-aside management and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers, part I

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1s) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Mocali ◽  
Silvia Landi ◽  
Arturo Fabiani ◽  
Raimondo Piccolo ◽  
Alessandro Agnelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Soil Microorganisms ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Environmental Effectiveness ◽  
Soil Arthropod ◽  
Arthropod Fauna ◽  
Cross Compliance ◽  
Monitoring Activity

In 2005, the CAP reform introduced the principle of conditionality that enables the access to single payments for farmers only ‘on condition’ that a series of commitments, such as the Statutory Management Requirements (SMR) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC), are respected. In particular, the GAEC Standard 4.2 aims to ensure the proper management of the set-aside fields through specific agronomic practices consisting in mowing or equivalent operations in order to conserve and protect biodiversity. This is considered one of the main environmental challenges of the new CAP. In the present work, we report the results of a monitoring activity aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the Standard 4.2 on soil biodiversity. Monitoring involved both, soil microorganisms and soil arthropod fauna, representing the so-called ‘invisible biodiversity’, a key element for soil fertility and sustainability, as well as the ground-dwelling arthropods. Two different managements of set-aside, with and without mowing, were compared in three different areas in Italy: Caorle (VE), Fagna (FI), and Metaponto (MT). The results showed a slight but significant increase in biodiversity in the plots where mowing was applied.

Changes in soil carbon under long-term maize in monoculture and legume-based rotation

2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G Gregorich ◽  
C F Drury ◽  
J A Baldock
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Natural Abundance ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Soil C

Legume-based cropping systems could help to increase crop productivity and soil organic matter levels, thereby enhancing soil quality, as well as having the additional benefit of sequestering atmospheric C. To evaluate the effects of 35 yr of maize monoculture and legume-based cropping on soil C levels and residue retention, we measured organic C and 13C natural abundance in soils under: fertilized and unfertilized maize (Zea mays L.), both in monoculture and legume-based [maize-oat (Avena sativa L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-alfalfa] rotations; fertilized and unfertilized systems of continuous grass (Poa pratensis L.); and under forest. Solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to chemically characterize the organic matter in plant residues and soils. Soils (70-cm depth) under maize cropping had about 30-40% less C, and those under continuous grass had about 16% less C, than those under adjacent forest. Qualitative differences in crop residues were important in these systems, because quantitative differences in net primary productivity and C inputs in the different agroecosystems did not account for observed differences in total soil C. Cropping sequence (i.e., rotation or monoculture) had a greater effect on soil C levels than application of fertilizer. The difference in soil C levels between rotation and monoculture maize systems was about 20 Mg C ha-1. The effects of fertilization on soil C were small (~6 Mg C ha-1), and differences were observed only in the monoculture system. The NMR results suggest that the chemical composition of organic matter was little affected by the nature of crop residues returned to the soil. The total quantity of maize-derived soil C was different in each system, because the quantity of maize residue returned to the soil was different; hence the maize-derived soil C ranged from 23 Mg ha-1 in the fertilized and 14 Mg ha-1 in the unfertilized monoculture soils (i.e., after 35 maize crops) to 6-7 Mg ha-1 in both the fertilized and unfertilized legume-based rotation soils (i.e., after eight maize crops). The proportion of maize residue C returned to the soil and retained as soil organic C (i.e., Mg maize-derived soil C/Mg maize residue) was about 14% for all maize cropping systems. The quantity of C3-C below the plow layer in legume-based rotation was 40% greater than that in monoculture and about the same as that under either continuous grass or forest. The soil organic matter below the plow layer in soil under the legume-based rotation appeared to be in a more biologically resistant form (i.e., higher aromatic C content) compared with that under monoculture. The retention of maize residue C as soil organic matter was four to five times greater below the plow layer than that within the plow layer. We conclude that residue quality plays a key role in increasing the retention of soil C in agroecosystems and that soils under legume-based rotation tend to be more “preservative” of residue C inputs, particularly from root inputs, than soils under monoculture. Key words: Soil carbon, 13C natural abundance, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, maize cropping, legumes, root carbon

Effect of crop rotations and fertilization on soil organic matter and some biochemical properties of a thick Black Chernozem

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Campbell ◽  
R. P. Zentner ◽  
K. E. Bowren ◽  
L. Townley-Smith ◽  
M. Schnitzer
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Cropping Frequency

The effects of crop rotation and various cultural practices on soil organic matter and some biochemical characteristics of a heavy-textured, Orthic Black Chernozem with a thick A horizon were determined after 31 yr at Melfort, Saskatchewan. Treatments investigated included: fertilization, cropping frequency, green manuring, and inclusion of grass-legume hay crops in predominantly spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) systems. The results showed that neither soil organic C nor N in the top 15 cm of soil, nor hydrolyzable amino acids, nor C mineralized in 14 d at 20 °C were influenced by fertilization. However, the relative molar distribution (RMD) of the amino acids reflected the influence of fertilization and the phase (Rot-yr) of the legume green manure rotation sampled. Some characteristics assessed increased marginally with increasing cropping frequency but differences were less marked than results obtained earlier in a heavy-textured Black Chernozem with a thin A horizon at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. The relationship between soil organic matter or C mineralization versus estimated crop residues, residue C, or residue N returned to the land over the 31-yr period, were not significant in the Melfort soil. This contrasts with our findings for the thin Black soil. We speculate that the lack of soil organic matter response in the Melfort soil was due to its very high organic matter content (about 64 t ha−1C and 6.5 t ha−1N in the top 15 cm). We also hypothesized that the amino acid RMD results, which differed from most of those reported in the literature, may be reflecting the more recent cropping history of the soil. This aspect requires further research into the composition and distribution of the humic materials in this soil. Key words: Amino acids, relative molar distribution, C respiration, green manures, fertilization

scholarly journals Changes in the soil organic matter supply in topsoil and subsoil caused by cereals grown in crop rotations

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 205-210
Author(s):  
Vítězslav Vlček ◽  
Radomíra Střálková ◽  
Jitka Podešvová ◽  
Eduard Pokorný
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Silage Maize ◽  
Cereal Species

The paper evaluates seven years (1993–1999) of Soil organic matter supply monitoring in multifactor field trials conducted by the Agricultural Research Institute in Kroměříž, Czech Republic, (mean annual temperature 8.9 °C, total annual precipitation 599 mm, medium Luvi-Haplic Chernozem). The studied plots were a part of nine-crop rotation: alfalfa the 1st and 2nd year, winter wheat, spring barley, sugar beet, spring barley, winter wheat, silage maize and spring barley. The Soil organic matter supply was measured on four plots: winter wheat after spring barley (var. 1), winter wheat after alfalfa (var. 2), spring barley after winter wheat (var. 3) and spring barley after sugar beet (var. 4). Soil samples were taken from April to July (14–day period) from topsoil (0–30 cm) and subsoil (30–60 cm). The content of Soil organic matter was determined by wet oxidation. Using bulk density, the C content (%) was converted to C supply (t. ha−1). Average yield (t. ha−1) reached 6.54 t/ha (var. 1), 7.47 t/ha (var. 2), 6.52 t/ha (var. 3) and 7.20 t/ha (var. 4). Evaluation of the results was carried out by the analysis of variance and time changes by the second-degree regression analysis. Results demonstrated that Soil organic matter supplies were significantly changed in topsoil. The highest supplies were found in barley after sugar beet (118 t. ha−1), the lowest ones in wheat after alfalfa (111 t. ha−1). As for the cereal species generally, it was documented that in topsoils under barley the supplies were higher than under winter wheat. In subsoil, there were significant differences between wheat after alfalfa (111 t. ha−1) and barley after wheat (104 t. ha−1). As for a difference in the Soil organic matter supply in subsoil according to the cereal species the situation was contrary than in topsoil. Higher supplies were under wheat. Generally (topsoil and subsoil), the highest supply of Soil organic matter was in barley after sugar beet (224 t. ha−1) and similarly in wheat after alfalfa (222 t. ha−1). The smallest supply was in the variant of wheat after barley (217 t. ha−1). In topsoil, the average supply of humus was 114 t. ha−1 and that in subsoil was 107 t. ha−1 the difference being statistically significant.

Impact of Crop Residues on Soil Organic Matter Content and the Production of Late Jute Seed

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 1124-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. A. Alim . ◽  
M. M. Alam . ◽  
S. Khandker . ◽  
S. A. Ahmed . ◽  
Ahsanul Haque . ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Soil Organic Matter Content
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document