DOC trial: diversity and metabolic effiency of microbial communities in organic and conventional soils

Soil microbiota are favoured by organic farming systems. Moreover they were found to need less energy fore their maintenance. The diversity of microbial functions was also increased. Our results support the hypothesis that diverse populations make better use of the available resources

Production of Innovations within Farmer–Researcher Associations Applying Transdisciplinary Research Principles

Small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan West Africa depend heavily on local resources and local knowledge. Science-based knowledge is likely to aid decision-making in complex situations. In this presentation, we highlight a FiBL-coordinated research partnership between three national producer organisations and national agriculture research bodies in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Benin. The partnership seeks to compare conventional, GMObased, and organic cotton systems as regards food security and climate change

Organic Farming and Climate Change

This publication concludes that organic agriculture has much to offer in both mitigation of climate change through its emphasis on closed nutrient cycles and is a particularly resilient and productive system for adaptation strategies. It also raises the issue of whether organic agriculture should be eligible for carbon credits under voluntary carbon offsetting markets and the Clean Development Mechanism

A new sound mode in liquid Helium 4?

This letter is based on the hypothesis of a small entropy content of the superfluid fraction of liquid helium. We show that such a superfluid entropy gives rise to a new sound mode in a ring-shaped superleak. This mode is named sixth sound. We propose an experiment by which its sound velocity and thereby the superfluid entropy can be measured. A negative experiment would yield a new upper limit for the superfluid entropy.Comment: 9 pages, latex, published in Phys. Lett. A 187 (1994) 8

DOC-trail: 20 years of organic and conventional farming affect soil microbial properties

In a long-term field trial (DOC; = bio-Dynamic, bio-Organic, Conventional) at Therwil, Switzerland, agricultural production systems have been compared since 1978. The production systems differ mainly in the amount and form of fertiliser and plant protection strategy. Crop rotation and soil tillage were the same. In the most prominent systems soil microbial properties were investigated for the first time after two crop rotations in 1990. In 1998, after 3 crop rotations, soil microbial properties were investigated in all field plots. Conclusions Agricultural systems exert distinct effects on chemical and microbiological soil properties, prominently the bio-dynamic system with the application of composted manure. Part of the influence on microbiological parameters appears to be indirect through chemical properties. The differentiation of the systems remained stable for the last eight years of the trial

Capire meglio i sistemi agricoli con test a lungo termine

Dal 6 all’11 ottobre, su invito di FiBL, Agroscope e il politecnico di Zurigo si sono riuniti al Monte Verità di Ascona 87 ricercatori provenienti da 20 paesi. L’evento è stato organizzato in occasione dei 40 anni di esistenza dell’esperimento a lungo termine DOK che mette a confronto sistemi di coltivazione biodinamici, biologici e convenzionali

Comprendre l’agriculture grâce aux essais de longue durée

Sur invitation du FiBL, d’Agroscope et de l’EPFZ, près de 90 chercheurs de 20 pays se sont réunis en conférence du 6 au 11 octobre au Monte Verità à Ascona TI pour les 40 ans du lancement de l’essai DOC, qui compare les systèmes agricoles biodynamique, organo-biologique et conventionnel. Plus de 40 exposés ont permis aux participants de présenter et de discuter les résultats de leurs essais de longue durée et de partager leurs connaissances sur l’importance des différents systèmes agricoles pour répondre aux défis de l’avenir