• Authors:
    • Katterer, T.
    • Oborn, I.
    • Sundberg, C.
    • Tidaker, P.
    • Bergkvist, G.
  • Source: Agricultural Systems
  • Volume: 129
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: Rotational perennial grass/clover has multiple effects in cropping systems dominated by cereals. This study evaluated the environmental impact of rotational grass/clover ley for anaerobic digestion in a cereal-dominated grain production system in Sweden. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to compare two scenarios: (i) a cropping system including only spring barley and winter wheat; and (ii) a cropping system including 2-year grass/clover ley in combination with spring barley and winter wheat. The functional unit was one tonne of grain. The two main functions of the grass/clover crop were to provide feedstock for biogas production and to act as an organic fertiliser for allocation among the cereal crops in the rotation. Special consideration was given to nitrogen (N) management and the rotational effects of the grass/clover ley. In total, 73% of the N requirement of cereals in the ley scenario was met through symbiotic N fixation. Replacing diesel with biogas and mineral fertiliser with digested grass/clover biomass (digestate) reduced the use of fossil fuels substantially, from 1480 MJ per tonne in the reference scenario to -2900 MJ per tonne in the ley scenario. Potential eutrophication per tonne grain increased in the ley scenario, mainly owing to significantly higher ammonia emissions from spreading digestate and the larger area required for producing the same amount of grain. Potential acidification also increased when N mineral fertiliser was replaced by digestate. Crops relying on symbiotic N fixation are a promising feedstock for reducing the use of non-renewable energy in the production chain of farm-based bioenergy, but careful handling of the N-rich digestate is required. Replacing cereals intended for feed or food with bioenergy crops leads to indirect land use changes (iLUC) when the displaced crops must be produced elsewhere and the benefits obtained when biofuels replace fossil fuels may thereby be outweighed. In this study, the iLUC factor assumed had a critical effect on global warming potential in the ley scenario. However, carbon sequestration and the higher yield potential of subsequent cereal crops can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from iLUC to a varying extent. We recommend that crop sequences rather than single crops be considered when evaluating the environmental impact of production systems that include perennial legumes for food, feed and bioenergy.
  • Authors:
    • Sainju, U. M.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 106
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: To determine farm C credit and reduce global warming potential, information is needed on the effect of management practices on soil C storage. The effects of tillage, cropping sequence, and N fertilization were evaluated on dryland crop biomass, surface residue C, and soil organic carbon (SOC) at the 0- to 120-cm depth in a Williams loam (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid, Typic Argiustolls) and their relationships with grain yields from 2006 to 2011 in eastern Montana. Treatments were no-till continuous malt barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) (NTCB), no-till malt barley-pea ( Pisum sativum L.) (NTB-P), no-till malt barley-fallow (NTB-F), and conventional till malt barley-fallow (CTB-F), each with 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha -1. Annualized crop grain and biomass yields, surface residue amount, and C contents were greater in NTB-P and NTCB than CTB-F and NTB-F and increased with increased N rates. At 0 to 5 and 5 to 10 cm, SOC was greater in NTB-P than CTB-F or NTCB with 40 kg N ha -1 and at 10 to 30 and 0 to 120 cm was greater in NTB-P than NTCB with 120 kg N ha -1. Surface residue C and SOC were related with grain yield and C content ( R2=0.21-0.55, P≤0.10, n=16). Greater amount of crop residue returned to the soil and turnover rate probably increased surface residue C, soil C storage, and crop yields in NTB-P with 40 and 120 kg N ha -1 than the other treatments. Soil organic matter and crop yields can be enhanced by using NTB-P with 40 kg N ha -1.
  • Authors:
    • Chang, S. X.
    • Zeng, D. H.
    • Wu, F. P.
    • Hu, Y. L.
  • Source: BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
  • Volume: 50
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: Application of crop residues and its biochar produced through slow pyrolysis can potentially increase carbon (C) sequestration in agricultural production systems. The impact of crop residue and its biochar addition on greenhouse gas emission rates and the associated changes of soil gross N transformation rates in agricultural soils are poorly understood. We evaluated the effect of wheat straw and its biochar applied to a Black Chernozemic soil planted to barley, two growing seasons or 15 months (at the full-bloom stage of barley in the second growing season) after their field application, on CO 2 and N 2O emission rates, soil inorganic N and soil gross N transformation rates in a laboratory incubation experiment. Gross N transformation rates were studied using the 15N isotope pool dilution method. The field experiment included four treatments: control, addition of wheat straw (30 t ha -1), addition of biochar pyrolyzed from wheat straw (20 t ha -1), and addition of wheat straw plus its biochar (30 t ha -1 wheat straw+20 t ha -1 biochar). Fifteen months after their application, wheat straw and its biochar addition increased soil total organic C concentrations ( p=0.039 and <0.001, respectively) but did not affect soil dissolved organic C, total N and NH 4+-N concentrations, and soil pH. Biochar addition increased soil NO 3--N concentrations ( p=0.004). Soil CO 2 and N 2O emission rates were increased by 40 ( p<0.001) and 17% ( p=0.03), respectively, after wheat straw addition, but were not affected by biochar application. Straw and its biochar addition did not affect gross and net N mineralization rates or net nitrification rates. However, biochar addition doubled gross nitrification rates relative to the control ( p<0.001). Our results suggest that land application of biochar, as opposed to the application of the raw wheat straw, could suppress CO 2 and N 2O emissions and enhance soil C sequestration. However, the implications of the increased soil gross nitrification rate and NO 3--N in the biochar addition treatment for long-term NO 3--N dynamics and N 2O emissions need to be further studied.
  • Authors:
    • Damalas, C. A.
    • Fotiadis, S.
    • Antoniadis, V.
    • Koutroubas, S. D.
  • Source: NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: The application of sewage sludge (SS) to agricultural land can improve soil fertility and physical properties, and enhance crop production. This field study was conducted for two consecutive growing seasons to investigate the influence of SS application on winter wheat growth, grain yield, N accumulation, translocation and use, and on trace elements concentrations in soil and wheat plants under Mediterranean conditions. Treatments consisted of three rates of SS, i.e. 20, 40, and 60 Mg dry weight ha(-1) year(-1), one rate of inorganic fertilizer (IF, 120 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) plus 80 kg P2O5 ha(-1) year(-1)), and an unamended control. The application of SS resulted in tall plants with high early dry matter and N accumulation similar to or significantly higher than those obtained with IF. The lowest SS application rate resulted in grain yield similar to that obtained with IF. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in SS treatments was mainly determined by uptake efficiency, which decreased with increasing SS application rate. Values of NUE and biomass production efficiency with the lowest SS rate were similar to those obtained with IF. SS application resulted in increased concentrations of total and DTPA-extractable trace elements in the soil after the first year, but concentrations were much lower than the regulation limits. Concentrations of Cu, Mn and Zn in wheat plants did not exceed those obtained with IF. Overall, SS could be considered for use as a fertilizer in wheat production systems in the area, serving also as an alternative method of SS disposal.
  • Authors:
    • de Cortazar-Atauri,I. G.
    • Huard, F.
    • Bourgeois, G.
    • Caubel, J.
    • Launay, M.
    • Bancal, M. O.
    • Brisson, N.
  • Source: AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
  • Volume: 197
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: Since weather has a major influence on the occurrence and development of crop diseases, valuable insight toward future agricultural planning emerges with assessment tools to evaluate fungal disease pressure and crop regional suitability under projected future climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to develop two climatic indicators, the average infection efficiency (AIE) and the number of infection days (NID), to quantify the potential effects of weather on the intensity and occurrence of pathogen infection. First, a simple and continuous infection function accounting for daily temperature and leaf wetness duration variations was implemented. The function was then parameterized from published data sets for five major contrasting fungal diseases affecting crops in Northern France: phoma of oilseed rape, late blight of potato, downy mildew of grape, leaf rust of wheat and net blotch of barley. Finally, AIE and NID were calculated for the recent past (1970-2000) and the future A1B climate scenario (2070-2100). An overall decrease in the risk of infection was shown for potato late blight and downy mildew of grapevine for all months during the period when the host plant is susceptible to infection. There were greater differences for the other three diseases, depending on the balance between warmer temperatures and lower humidity. The future climate would result in a later onset of disease and higher infection pressure in late autumn. In spring, for brown rust of wheat and net blotch of barley, the climatic risk for infection is expected to occur earlier but would result in lower infection pressure in May. These findings highlighted the need to use an infra-annual (monthly or seasonally) scale to achieve a relevant analysis of the impact of climate change on the infection risk. The described indicators can easily be adapted to other pathogens and may be useful for agricultural planning at the regional scale and in the medium term, when decision support tools are required to anticipate future trends and the associated risks of crop diseases.
  • Authors:
    • Roisin, C.
    • Van Oost, K.
    • Trigalet, S.
    • van Wesemael, B.
  • Source: AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
  • Volume: 196
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: Detecting soil organic carbon (SOC) gain or loss is challenging due to large uncertainties deriving from temporal and spatial variability of organic carbon concentrations, even at the field scale. In order to reduce these uncertainties, we used the organic carbon associated with clay and fine silt particles (fine fraction) rather than SOC in bulk soil for assessing decadal changes. This approach reduces the impact of the inherent variability of labile carbon on SOC estimates. We analysed archived soil samples taken in 1970 and recent ones taken in 2012 from an on-going long-term field trial in the Hesbaye region in Belgium. The experiment started in 1959 and contains three contrasting management practices (3*6 replicates): residue export (RE), farmyard manure (FYM) and residue restitution (RR). After 42 years, there are no significant differences in bulk soil organic carbon concentrations between treatments (RE=9.2 g C kg -1 soil; FYM=10.4 g C kg -1 soil; RR=10.1 g C kg -1 soil). In contrast, there are significant differences ( p<0.05) in stable carbon concentration (C associated to the fine fraction) between treatments over the same time period (RE=13.2 g C kg -1 clay and fine silt; FYM=16.6 g C kg -1 clay and fine silt; RR=15.4 g C kg -1 clay and fine silt). Moreover, we can be 99% confident that stable carbon in the fine fraction increased between 1970 and 2012 in FYM (+19%, p<0.01) and RR plots (+14%, p<0.01). There was a small, but significant, change of stable carbon in RE plots over the same period. In 1970, no differences in stable carbon concentration were detected between residue treatments. Labile carbon did not change significantly from 1970 to 2012 but its variability increased for all plots except for the RE treatment. We used the Rothamsted carbon model (RothC-26.3) to describe SOC changes under the different residue treatments. For bulk soil, observed trends in FYM and RR SOC concentrations are in line with the ones predicted. Modeled SOC changes from 1962 to 2012 are -14% (RE) and +10% (FYM). We also used RothC-26.3 to understand the evolution of the sensitive and slow fractions over time. On the one hand, we found that RothC was not capable to simulate the range of observed SOC concentrations inter-annual variability. On the other hand, the increase of the RothC pool with slow decomposition (HUM) was similar to the trend in the carbon associated with the fine fraction observed in the FYM and RR plots. This finding highlights that residue management can increase the storage of C in more stable fractions in agricultural soils, even when no changes are detected in bulk soil C.
  • Authors:
    • Stamatiadis,S.
    • Evangelou,L.
    • Yvin,J. -C
    • Tsadilas,C.
    • Mina,J. M. G.
    • Cruz,F.
  • Source: Journal of Applied Psychology
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of foliar application of an Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract (AZAL5) on the growth, nutrient uptake, and yield of winter wheat in a surface soil of the Thessaly Plain classified as TypicXerorthent. Twelve treatment combinations in a randomized complete block design with a factorial arrangement were composed of two rates of inorganic fertilizer (0 and 50 ppm N), three rates of AZAL5 (0, 1.5, and 3 % diluted extract), and two levels of water supply (75 and 45 % of field capacity). Under soil P and K sufficiency, the addition of fertilizer N greatly increased grain yield and nutrient uptake in the shoots (N and K) and grain (N, P, and K). Reduced water supply decreased grain yield and caused water stress as evidenced by decreased Δ13C in the N-deficient treatments and decreased nutrient uptake. AZAL5 application caused increased grain K uptake and a 25 % increase in yield only when mineral N was added. Differences in the efficacy of the two AZAL5 concentrations indicated that optimal dilution ratios were directly or indirectly dependent on soil water content. Complex interaction effects between AZAL5 and water supply on grain Δ13C could not be explained by conventional physiological response to water stress. The lack of biomass, nutrient content, and Δ13C differences between AZAL5 and control treatments in the shoot indicated that the reproductive organs of wheat were the main site of biostimulant action. Overall, the results underline the potential of this product to enhance the effectiveness of inorganic N fertilizers in intensively managed cropping systems under optimal irrigation, deficit irrigation, or rainfed conditions. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
  • Authors:
    • Goge,Fabien
    • Gomez,Cecile
    • Jolivet,Claudy
    • Joffre,Richard
  • Source: Geoderma
  • Volume: 213
  • Year: 2014
  • Summary: Numerous studies on the prediction of soil properties from visible and near-infrared spectroscopy, based on large libraries at county scale or small size soil libraries at local scales have been reported in literature. However, difficulties appear when large libraries are used to estimate the soil properties of a small area. The aim of this paper was to compare various strategies to predict soil properties of local samples using a French national database. Models were built: i) from the national database alone and ii) from the national database spiked with subsets of the local database. Two regression methods were tested: partial least square [PLS] and a local regression method (fast Fourier transform local weighted [FFT-LW]). No general rule was obtained in this study as the best strategy differed according to the property under study. It seems that when strong spectral features are related to the characteristic under study (as for CaCO3 content), the addition of local samples did not bring a decisive advantage over calibration based on a wide national database. There are three important and encouraging points of this work to emphasize: i) the evidence of the added value brought by the national library for the prediction of some soil properties over a local area, ii) the pertinence of spiking with local samples to the global database to reach accurate predictions, and iii) the interest of the FFT-LW non-linear method. As we examined only one local site with peculiar land-use and geologic characteristics, further researches are needed to elucidate the way in which these results depend on intrinsic properties of the local site samples and on the relationship between spectral features and considered soil properties. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • van Groenigen, J. W.
    • Garcia-Torres, L.
    • Sanz-Cobena, A.
    • Abalos, D.
    • Vallejo, A.
  • Source: Plant and Soil
  • Volume: 364
  • Issue: 1-2
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Agricultural soils in semiarid Mediterranean areas are characterized by low organic matter contents and low fertility levels. Application of crop residues and/or manures as amendments is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to overcome this problem. However, these management practices may induce important changes in the nitrogen oxide emissions from these agroecosystems, with additional impacts on carbon dioxide emissions. In this context, a field experiment was carried out with a barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) crop under Mediterranean conditions to evaluate the effect of combining maize (Zea mays L.) residues and N fertilizer inputs (organic and/or mineral) on these emissions. Crop yield and N uptake, soil mineral N concentrations, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), denitrification capacity, N2O, NO and CO2 fluxes were measured during the growing season. The incorporation of maize stover increased N2O emissions during the experimental period by c. 105 %. Conversely, NO emissions were significantly reduced in the plots amended with crop residues. The partial substitution of urea by pig slurry reduced net N2O emissions by 46 and 39 %, with and without the incorporation of crop residues respectively. Net emissions of NO were reduced 38 and 17 % for the same treatments. Molar DOC:NO (3) (-) ratio was found to be a robust predictor of N2O and NO fluxes. The main effect of the interaction between crop residue and N fertilizer application occurred in the medium term (4-6 month after application), enhancing N2O emissions and decreasing NO emissions as consequence of residue incorporation. The substitution of urea by pig slurry can be considered a good management strategy since N2O and NO emissions were reduced by the use of the organic residue.
  • Authors:
    • Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S.
    • Stahr, K.
    • Zehetner, F.
    • Wimmer, B.
    • Kitzler, B.
    • Rempt, F.
    • Watzinger, A.
    • Anders, E.
    • Soja, G.
  • Source: Agricultural and Food Science
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2013
  • Summary: Biochar application is a promising strategy for sequestering carbon in agricultural soils and for improving degraded soils. Nonetheless, contradictory and unsettled issues remain. This study investigates whether biochar influences the soil microbial biomass and community structure using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. We monitored the effects of four different types of biochar on the soil microbial communities in three temperate soils of Austria over several months. A greenhouse experiment and two field experiments were conducted. The biochar application did not significantly increase or decrease the microbial biomass. Only the addition of vineyard pruning biochar pyrolysed at 400 degrees C caused microbial biomass to increase in the greenhouse experiment. The biochar treatments however caused shifts in microbial communities (visualized by principal component analysis). We concluded that the shifts in the microbial community structure are an indirect rather than a direct effect and depend on soil conditions and nutrient status.