|
|
D’Ottavio, P., Francioni, M., Trozzo, L., Sedic, E., Budimir, K., Avanzolini, P., et al. (2018). Trends and approaches in the analysis of ecosystem services provided by grazing systems: A review. Grass Forage Sci., 73(1), 15–25.
Abstract: The ecosystem services (ES) approach is a framework for describing the benefits of nature to human well-being, and this has become a popular instrument for assessment and evaluation of ecosystems and their functions. Grazing lands can provide a wide array of ES that depend on their management practices and intensity. This article reviews the trends and approaches used in the analysis of some relevant ES provided by grazing systems, in line with the framework principles of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). The scientific literature provides reports of many studies on ES in general, but the search here focused on grazing systems, which returned only sixty-two papers. This review of published papers highlights that: (i) in some papers, the concept of ES as defined by the MA is misunderstood (e.g., lack of anthropocentric vision); (ii) 34% of the papers dealt only with one ES, which neglects the need for the multisectoral approach suggested by the MA; (iii) few papers included stakeholder involvement to improve local decision-making processes; (iv) cultural ES have been poorly studied despite being considered the most relevant for local and general stakeholders; and (v) stakeholder awareness of well-being as provided by ES in grazing systems can foster both agri-environmental schemes and the willingness to pay for these services.
|
|
|
|
Kauer, K., Tein, B., & Loit, E. (2014). The long-term trends in soil carbon stock and crop productivity depending on management in Estonia. FACCE MACSUR Mid-term Scientific Conference, 3(S) Sassari, Italy.
Abstract: The dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) content and crop productivity were studied on three still continuing field experiments situated at the experimental station of the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Tartu, Estonia. The first trial was established in 1964. The effect of mineral fertilizers and farmyard manure applied to barley and sward with different species composition on soil organic carbon content was studied. The second trial with 3-crop rotation (potato – spring wheat – spring barley) was established in 1989. Experimental factors were organic (without amendment, solid cattle manure and alternative organic fertilisers) and mineral fertilisers (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg N ha-1). The third field experiment with 5-crop rotation experiment was established in 2008. Five different crops were following each other – barley undersown with red clover, red clover, winter wheat, pea and potato. Experimental factors were organic (catch crops as green manures, catch crops as green manures combined with composted cattle manure) and conventional farming systems. The conventional farming systems differed in the amounts of mineral fertilizers used: 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha-1. The first goal of this research was to quantify plant C inputs to the soil in Estonian arable lands and the net primary production using crop-specific allometric relationships. Secondly, the impact of the different management scenarios on the changes in soil C stock was evaluated using plant C input data. The preliminary results of these data analysis will be presented.
|
|
|
|
Zhang, W., Liu, C., Zheng, X., Zhou, Z., Cui, F., Zhu, B., et al. (2015). Comparison of the DNDC, LandscapeDNDC and IAP-N-GAS models for simulating nitrous oxide and nitric oxide emissions from the winter wheat–summer maize rotation system. Agricultural Systems, 140, 1–10.
Abstract: The DNDC, LandscapeDNDC and IAP-N-GAS models have been designed to simulate the carbon and nitrogen processes of terrestrial ecosystems. Until now, a comparison of these models using simultaneous observations has not been reported, although such a comparison is essential for further model development and application. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the models, delineate the strengths and limitations of each model for simulating soil nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions, and explore short-comings of these models that may require reconsideration. We conducted comparisons among the models using simultaneous observations of both gases and relevant variables from the winter wheat-summer maize rotation system at three field sites with calcareous soils. Simulations of N2O and NO emissions by the three models agreed well with annual observations, but not with daily observations. All models failed to correctly simulate soil moisture, which could explain some of the incorrect daily fluxes of N2O and NO, especially for intensive fluxes during the growing season. Multi-model ensembles are promising approaches to better simulate daily gas emissions. IAP-N-GAS underestimated the priming effect of straw incorporation on N2O and NO emissions, but better results were obtained with DNDC95 and LandscapeDNDC. LandscapeDNDC and IAP-N-GAS need to improve the simulation of irrigation water allocation and residue decomposition processes, respectively, and together to distinguish different irrigation methods as DNDC95 does. All three models overestimated the emissions of the nitrogenous gases for high nitrogen fertilizer (>430 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)) addition treatments, and therefore, future research should focus more on the simulation of the limitation of soil dissolvable organic carbon on denitrification in calcareous soils.
|
|
|
|
Mandryk, M., Reidsma, P., Kanellopoulos, A., Groot, J. C. J., & van Ittersum, M. K. (2014). The role of farmers’ objectives in current farm practices and adaptation preferences: a case study in Flevoland, the Netherlands. Reg Environ Change, 14(4), 1463–1478.
Abstract: The diversity in farmers’ objectives and responses to external drivers is usually not considered in integrated assessment studies that investigate impacts and adaptation to climate and socio-economic change. Here, we present an approach to assess how farmers’ stated objectives relate to their currently implemented practices and to preferred adaptation options, and we discuss what this implies for assessments of future changes. We based our approach on a combination of multi-criteria decision-making methods. We consistently assessed the importance of farmers’ objectives and adaptation preferences from what farmers say (based on interviews), from what farmers actually do (by analysing current farm performance) and from what farmers want (through a selected alternative farm plan). Our study was performed for six arable farms in Flevoland, a province in the Netherlands. Based on interviews with farmers, we reduced the long list of possible objectives to the most important ones. The objectives we assessed included maximization of economic result and soil organic matter, and minimization of gross margin variance, working hours and nitrogen balance. In our sample, farmers’ stated preferences in objectives were often not fully reflected in realized farming practices. Adaptation preferences of farmers largely resembled their current performance, but generally involved a trend towards stated preferences. Our results suggest that in Flevoland, although farmers do have more objectives, in practical decision-making they focus on economic result maximization, while for strategic decision-making they account for objectives influencing long-term performance and indicators associated with sustainability, in this case soil organic matter.
|
|
|
|
De Sanctis, G., Roggero, P. P., Seddaiu, G., Orsini, R., Porter, C. H., & Jones, J. W. (2012). Long-term no tillage increased soil organic carbon content of rain-fed cereal systems in a Mediterranean area. European Journal of Agronomy, 40, 18–27.
Abstract: The differential impact on soil organic carbon (SOC) of applying no tillage (NT) compared to conventional tillage (CT, i.e. mouldboard ploughing), along with three rates of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application (0,90 and 180 kg ha(-1) y(-1)), was studied under rain-fed Mediterranean conditions in a long-term experiment based on a durum wheat-maize rotation, in which crop residues were left on the soil (NT) or incorporated (CT). Observed SOC content following 8 and 12 years of continuous treatment application was significantly higher in the top 10 cm of the soil under NT than CT, but it was similar in the 10-40 cm layer. NT grain yields for both maize and durum wheat were below those attained under CT (on average 32% and 14% lower respectively) at a given rate of N fertilizer application. Soil, climate and crop data over 5 years were used to calibrate DSSAT model in order to simulate the impact of the different management practices over a 50-year period. Good agreement was obtained between observed and simulated values for crops grain yield, above-ground biomass and observed SOC values. Results from the simulations showed that under NT the weeds growing during the intercrop fallow period made a significant contribution to the observed SOC increase. When the contribution of the weed fallow was considered, NT significantly increased SOC in the top 40 cm of the soil at an average rate of 0.43, 0.31 and 0.03 t ha(-1) per year, respectively for 180,90 and 0 kg N ha(-1) year(-1), within the simulated 50 years. Under CT, a significant SOC increase was simulated under N180 and a significant decrease when no fertilizer was supplied.
|
|
