Impact of cropping system on mycorrhiza

The impact of cropping system on field communities of mycorrhizal fungi was studied utilising a long-term experiment on a loamy soil. Two contrasting crop rotations each with two fertilisation regimes were compared. The conventional crop rotation (barley-barley-rye-oat-potato-oat) was fertilised at either full or half the normal recommended rate. In the low-input crop rotation, one year with barley was replaced by clover, and oat was cultivated in mixture with pea. For this rotation biotite and raw phosphate was used to compensate for the K and P of the harvested yield; animal manure was used at the beginning only. Clover and straw were returned to the soil either directly or after composting. Mycorrhizal infectivity and effectiveness were studied in bioassays in the growth chamber, and the spore densities of mycorrhizal fungi as well as their species composition in the field were determined. Only the low-input system with application of compost conclusively favoured mycorrhiza, in comparison to some or all of the other systems depending on time and function. The low-input system with no compost was more favourable than the conventional systems in terms of growth effect in 1996, but in 1997, clover incorporation markedly inhibited mycorrhiza in comparison to the other systems. Inhibition of mycorrhizal functions may indicate general mismanagement and imbalance in the soil ecosystem. This stresses the need for further studies on the importance of composting easily decomposable organic matter prior to soil incorporation for management of soil quality

Organic egg production in Finland - animal health, welfare and food safety issues

A total of 20 out of 23 commercial organic layer farms took part in the research. Data were collected through observation and by interviewing the producer, using a semi-structured interview guide. Laying hen welfare was estimated using environment-based and animal-based methods. Fresh faecal samples were collected from the floor for analysis of campylobacter and salmonella bacteria and for internal parasite identification

Organic egg production in Finland: management of animal welfare and food safety

A total of 20 out of 23 commercial organic layer farms (in excess of 80 % of all commercial Finnish organic farms year 2003) took part in the ongoing research, which identifies risk factors and potential solutions for laying hen welfare and food safety. Data was collected during two farm visits by interviewing the producer, using a semi-structured interview guide, making environment and animal-based observations and collecting samples

Phosphorus in manure and sewage sludge more recyclable than in soluble inorganic fertilizer

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A modeling framework for assessing adaptation options of Finnish agriculture to climate variability and change

To enable ex ante assessment of alternative adaptation strategies for Finnish agriculture at multiple scales, MTT Agrifood Research Finland and partner institutes recently launched a project Integrated Modeling of Agrifood Systems (IMAGES).The project aims at developing and evaluating different component (economic and biophysical) models and link them in an integrated modeling framework

Baltic Ecological Recycling Agriculture and Society (BERAS project) - a case of Juva milk system

The aim of the study was to determine the potential, impact and prerequisites of localization and enhanced recycling in a rural food system, illustrated by the case of Juva milk. An interdisciplinary scenario based on the increase of local, organic milk to 50 % of milk comsumption was created and the sustainability was compared, on the basis of the statistics and data collected from the actors, with the present milk system

A modelling framework for the assessment of the impacts of alternative policy and management options on the sustainability of Finnish agrifood systems

Recently, a new project focussing on integrated assessment modelling of agrifood systems (IAM-Tools) has been launched at MTT Agrifood Research Finland to gather, evaluate, refine and develop these component models and to link tem in an IAM framework for Finnish conditions

Arts-Aided Recognition of Citizens' Perceptions for Urban Open Space Management

Urban open spaces of local natural environments can promote the health and well-being of both ecosystems and humans, and the management of the urban spaces can benefit from knowledge of individuals’/citizens’ perceptions of such environments. However, such knowledge is scarce and contemporary inquiries are often limited to cognitive observations and focused on built environmental elements rather than encouraged to recognize and communicate comprehensive perceptions. This paper investigates whether arts-based methods can facilitate recognition and understanding perceptions of urban open spaces. Two arts-based methods were used to capture perceptions: drifting, which is a walking method, and theatrical images, which is a still image method and three reflective methods to recognize and communicate the perceptions. The results show related sensations and perceptions enabled by arts-based methods comparing them to a sticker map method. The main findings were perceptions, which included information about human–environment interaction, about relations to other people and about ‘sense of place’ in urban open spaces. The hitherto unidentified perceptions about urban open space were associations, metaphors and memories. The methods used offer initial practical implications for future use

Sensitivity of barley varieties to weather in Finland

Global climate change is predicted to shift seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns. An increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves and prolonged droughts is predicted, but there are high levels of uncertainty about the nature of local changes. Crop adaptation will be important in reducing potential damage to agriculture. Crop diversity may enhance resilience to climate variability and changes that are difficult to predict. Therefore, there has to be sufficient diversity within the set of available cultivars in response to weather parameters critical for yield formation. To determine the scale of such ‘weather response diversity’ within barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), an important crop in northern conditions, the yield responses of a wide range of modern and historical varieties were analysed according to a well-defined set of critical agro-meteorological variables. The Finnish long-term dataset of MTT Official Variety Trials was used together with historical weather records of the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The foci of the analysis were firstly to describe the general response of barley to different weather conditions and secondly to reveal the diversity among varieties in the sensitivity to each weather variable. It was established that barley yields were frequently reduced by drought or excessive rain early in the season, by high temperatures at around heading, and by accelerated temperature sum accumulation rates during periods 2 weeks before heading and between heading and yellow ripeness. Low temperatures early in the season increased yields, but frost during the first 4 weeks after sowing had no effect. After canopy establishment, higher precipitation on average resulted in higher yields. In a cultivar-specific analysis, it was found that there were differences in responses to all but three of the studied climatic variables: waterlogging and drought early in the season and temperature sum accumulation rate before heading. The results suggest that low temperatures early in the season, delayed sowing, rain 3–7 weeks after sowing, a temperature change 3–4 weeks after sowing, a high temperature sum accumulation rate from heading to yellow ripeness and high temperatures (⩾25°C) at around heading could mostly be addressed by exploiting the traits found in the range of varieties included in the present study. However, new technology and novel genetic material are needed to enable crops to withstand periods of excessive rain or drought early in the season and to enhance performance under increased temperature sum accumulation rates prior to heading