Effect of grinding on the decomposition of soil organic matter-II. Oxygen uptake and nitrogen mineralization in virgin and cultivated cracking clay soils

Grinding caused large increases in both aerobic nitrogen mineralization and oxygen uptake in virgin and cultivated cracking clay soils. The large increases in organic matter decomposition in the cultivated soils, which had been depleted by 50 per cent in total organic matter, is discussed in relation to the rate of exposure of organic matter by field tillage. Grinding caused a large increase in the rate of decomposition of organic matter soon after incubation started. With time, however, the rates of decomposition in the ground and control samples were approximately equal. The similarity between this pattern and that obtained when artificial substrate is added to soil suggests that grinding increased the quantity of organic substrate available to the soil microflora

Resource integration for multiple benefits: Multifunctionality of integrated farming systems in Northeast Thailand

Resource degradation in rice farming systems in Thailand endangers food security, but the systems may become more sustainable by combining them with aquaculture and livestock farm enterprises by capitalization of their synergies in resource use and re-use, i.e. by adopting integrated farming systems. Most empirical studies that assess this potential have focused on a few specific aspects, but not on the multiple social, economic, and ecological functions of resource integration. This study uses the framework of multifunction agriculture to assess the performance of integrated farming systems in Thailand and compares its performance with that of 'normal-rice' or non-integrated farming systems. Surveys were conducted in Khon Kaen province of Northeast Thailand using a combination of quantitative and qualitative survey methods. Integrated farming systems were found to outperform the normal or commercial farming systems in all four dimensions of a multifunctional agriculture: food security, environmental functions, economic functions, and social functions. The findings support the notion that diversification and integration of resources on farms is feasible in both economic and ecological terms. The analyses shows that integrated farming does not, however, diminish the need for external inputs. High start-up cost might constrain farmers from switching to integrated farming and from exploiting the benefits of resource integration

Decision support system for sustainable land management : a South-East Asia case

In IDL-2492