Crowdfunding als Finanzierungsquelle für Sportvereine

Der Finanzierungsmix von Sportvereinen ist sehr unterschiedlich ausgestaltet, wobei insbesondere Mitgliederbeiträgen, Sponsoring und Beiträgen der öffentlichen Hand eine tragende Rolle zukommt. Private Spenden hingegen machen nur einen marginalen Anteil aus, obwohl darin noch grosses Potenzial schlummert. Crowdfunding ist im Zeitalter des Internets ein vielversprechender Ansatz, dieses Potenzial besser auszuschöpfen, und stellt damit für Projektfinanzierungen von Sportvereinen ein attraktives Instrument dar

Rapid and High Seed Germination and Large Soil Seed Bank of Senecio aquaticus in Managed Grassland

Senecio aquaticus, regionally a Red List species in Europe, has become increasingly abundant in agricultural grassland of medium to high management intensity in Switzerland, Southern Germany, and Austria in recent years, where it is a threat for animal and human health due to its toxicity. In this study, we investigated the seed ecology of S. aquaticus to help protection of the species in relic populations while improving its control when abundant in managed grassland. Germination percentages of fresh ripe seeds of S. aquaticus were on average 68% in 2008, but only 45% in 2010, indicating yearly variation. Germination was generally fast: ten days after the onset of the tests, often more than 45% of all seeds had germinated. When covered with a soil layer of 5 mm, germination was only 16% compared to 63% in full light. Seeds buried in the soil for one and two years showed a germination of 78%, significantly higher than that of fresh ripe seeds, thus suggesting a stimulating effect of cold-wet stratification on germination and long seed survival in the soil. In grasslands with established populations of S. aquaticus, the number of germinable seeds of the species ranged from 361 to 1875 m−2 in topsoil (0–10 cm) with an average of 1139 m−2. The large seed bank and the rapid and high germination of S. aquaticus suggest that allowing seed formation is important for its preservation in relic populations. With respect to agricultural grassland, strategies to control the species should initially target hindering seed production and dispersal

On-Farm Risikoanalysen zur Entwicklung von Kontrollmaßnahmen bei Kreuzkraut-Arten

Poisonous Senecio species occur in grasslands of various countries. Their further spread into farmland must be prevented, but efficient methods for their control are often lacking, especially under organic farming. We propose on-farm surveys designed as case-control studies to assess the risk for the occurrence of such species and present results of a study on S. aquaticus. Following a case-control design, 72 plots were evaluated for their botanical composition, half the plots contained S. aquaticus. For all the plots, the soil nutrients and the details of management practice, such as type and intensity of management and fertiliser application, were recorded from the farmer. There was a high risk for occurrence of S. aquaticus with low nitrogen fertilisation, with a decrease of management intensity in the preceding 15 years, high inclination, and gaps in the sward. For the long-term control of S. aquaticus, we suggest promoting dense swards and preventing sward damage as much as possible. This paper demonstrates the great power of case-control studies in on-farm research. The design allows thorough statistical testing using generalised linear models and provides reliable results in relatively short time. Various questions can be linked to the management practice on farms and over a wide range of environmental conditions. Such data can hardly be obtained from small plot experiments

Gain in Nitrogen Yield from Grass-Legume Mixtures is Robust Over a Wide Range of Legume Proportions and Environmental Conditions

peer-reviewedGlobal food security is currently challenged and requires sustainable intensification of agriculture through initiatives that include more efficient use of nitrogen (N) and increased protein self-sufficiency through home-grown crops. Such challenges were addressed in a continental-scale field experiment conducted over three years, in which the amount of total nitrogen yield (Ntot) and the gain in N yield in mixtures as compared to grass monocultures (Ngainmix) was quantified from four-species grass-legume stands with greatly varying legume proportions. Stands consisted of monocultures and mixtures of two N2 fixing legumes and two non-fixing grasses. The amount of Ntot of mixtures was significantly greater (P ≤ 0.05) than that of grass monocultures at the majority of evaluated sites in all three years. Ntot and thus Ngainmix increased with increasing legume proportion up to one third of legumes. With higher percentages of legumes, Ntot and Ngainmix did not further increase. Thus, across sites and years, mixtures with one third proportion of legumes had 57% higher Ntot than grass monocultures and attained ∼95% of the maximum Ntot acquired by any stand. The relative N gain in mixture (Ngainmix/Ntotmix) was most severely impaired by minimum site temperature (R = 0.64, P = 0.010). Nevertheless, Ngainmix/Ntotmix was not correlated to site productivity (P = 0.500), suggesting that, within climatic restrictions, balanced grass-legume mixtures can benefit from comparable relative gains in N yield across largely differing productivity levels. We conclude that higher N output (Ntot or forage protein per unit area) can be achieved with grass-legume mixtures than with pure grass alone for a given amount of N fertilizer applied; conversely, the same N output can be achieved by mixed swards with less input of N. Therefore, the use of grass-legume mixtures can substantially contribute to resource-efficient agricultural grassland systems over a wide range of productivity levels, implying important savings in N fertilizers and greenhouse gas emissions

Beeinflusst die Bewirtschaftung das Vorkommen von Jakobskreuzkraut (Senecio jacobaea)?

Senecio jacobaea is a poisonous weed in grasslands of various countries (e.g. Great Britain, New Zealand, Central European states), and the further spread of the species into farmland must be prevented. Due to strong restrictions of curative measures, the prevention of S. jacobaea’s spread is of primary importance for organic farming. To assess the influence of management practice and site conditions on the occurrence of S. jacobaea, we conducted an on-farm survey in the northern and central part of Switzerland. Botanical assessments were carried out on grassland plots with S. jacobaea occurrence and on neighbour plots without S. jacobaea. For these plots, we analysed the soil nutrients and the details of management practice such as type and intensity of management and fertiliser application (mainly slurry). The most impor-tant factors influencing the occurrence of S. jacobaea were related to management: There was a considerably high risk for the occurrence of the species on parcels with low nitrogen fertilisation, continuous-extensive grazing (set stocking), and a high openness of the sward. S. jacobaea was not present in intensively managed meadows cut more than twice per year. We conclude that a long-term control of S. jacobaea can best be achieved by avoiding sward damage, by replacing continuous by rotational grazing, and by adjusting stocking rates

Multifunctionality of Sown Grassland Is Enhanced by Combining Four Complementary Species

We investigated species diversity effects and multifunctionality in an intensively managed grassland. A diversity experiment was set up with monocultures and mixtures comprising Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata, Trifolium pratense, and Trifolium repens, and was maintained for three years at 150 kg∙N∙ha-1∙ year-1. Ten functions were measured that represented i) forage production (aboveground biomass yield (μ), standard deviation of yield (σ), temporal stability (μ/σ), weed biomass), ii) N cycling (symbiotic-N2-fixation, N efficiency, NO3 in soil solution), and forage quality (crude protein content (CP), organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME)). We applied multivariate linear mixed-effects regression to estimate simultaneously species identity and diversity effects on the ten functions, and used the mean log response ratio (MLRR) across all functions to evaluate the diversity-multifunctionality relationship. Across the three years, all functions regarding production and N cycling revealed significant beneficial effects in the four-species equi-proportional mixture (used as a reference) compared to averaged monocultures. The reference mixture had 61% more biomass yield, 8% less variation, 68% higher stability, 81% less weed biomass, 96% and 46% higher symbiotic-N2-fixation and N-efficiency, respectively, and 87% less NO3 (each P ≤ 0.05, except variation). The reference mixture and averaged monocultures did not significantly differ in CP, OMD (g∙kg-1∙yield), and ME (MJ∙kg-1∙yield). This, however, resulted in significant beneficial effects between 52% and 72% in all three forage quality functions on a hectare basis (kg or MJ∙ha-1∙year-1). On average across functions, the four-species reference mixture had 1.8 times the performance of averaged monocultures, indicating enhanced multifunctionality in mixtures. The multivariate framework in combination with the MLRR as a measure of overall multifunctionality proved to be an effective tool for the evaluation of the diversity-multifunctionality relationship. We conclude that sown grass-legume mixtures at moderate N fertilization promote high multifunctionality and are a ‘ready-to-use’ option for sustainable intensification of agriculture