Evaluation of additional crops for Dutch list of ecological focus area : evaluation of Miscanthus, Silphium perfoliatum, fallow sown in with melliferous plants and sunflowers in seed mixtures for catch crops

This report provides answers to the research question posed by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Netherlands: Could Miscanthus, Silphium perfoliatum and fallow sown in with melliferous plants comply with the expectations of the EU greening policy to be added to the Dutch general list for ecological focus areas? In addition to that the Ministry wants to know if it will be wise to accept sunflowers in seed mixture of catch crops. Miscanthus should not be considered for the EFA list, whilst Silphium perfoliatum is a suitable permanent crop. A list of melliferous plants suitable for green fallow land practice is compiled based on pollen and nectar quality as well as the timing of flowering. Sunflowers bring an added value to catch crop seed mixtures

Verdienmodellen natuurinclusieve landbouw

Deze brochure richt zich op agrarische ondernemers en hun adviseurs. Wilt u nieuwe ideeën opdoen voor verdienmodellen gericht op de combinatie van landbouw met natuur? Wilt u voorbeelden van wat natuur voor u kan betekenen en hoe u hierin stappen kunt zetten? Laat u dan inspireren door deze brochure. En ga samen met verschillende partijen om de tafel om een natuurinclusief verdienmodel samen te stellen

Modelling soil carbon trends for agriculture development scenarios at regional level

There is an increasing demand for evaluating the impact of specialization in agriculture on soil carbon balance. The main aims of the study were (1) to model the impact of long-term changes in agriculture on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at regional level using the Rothamsted C model (RothC), (2) validate these results by conventional SOC analysis, and (3) to compare impacts of “as was” and “mixed farming system” scenarios on SOC trends. The study area covered 1800 km2 of Dolnoslaskie province, Poland. The significant changes have occurred in this area since 60's. The production system has changed from the mixed crop-animal farming to highly specialized crop production. We evaluated two scenarios. The starting point for both scenarios was the situation in 1960 (co-existing low intensity crop and animal production). The scenario S-1 reflected recorded changes in agriculture, namely slow transition into specialized and more intensive production with progressive simplification of crop rotation and decline in livestock density. Scenario S-2 constituted hypothetical continuation of the starting situation (i.e. low intensity crop and animal production). In the period 1960–2014 SOC accumulation was observed in “as was” scenario (S-1) in almost all locations of the area characterized by low initial SOC content. The model outputs were then validated using SOC measurements in samples collected in two periods: 1960–1970 and 2010–2014. The modelled SOC stock explained 56% of variability of the measured SOC stock. Comparison of S-1 and S-2 scenarios revealed that re-introduction of mixed farming with current intensity of agricultural production has capacity for further increasing SOC stocks in the region

Critical success factors for governing farmer-managed public goods in rural areas in the Netherlands

Multifunctional land use has become a widely supported pathway for Europe's countryside. Brussels and the national governments stimulate farmers to integrate primary production with non-agricultural practices from which they can also benefit. In favour of this development different stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate to produce the so-called farmer-managed public goods. This paper explores critical success factors for the production and maintenance of these public goods. In two Dutch case study regions we show a chronology of major events from 1975 leading to a shift from primary agricultural production towards a successful multifunctional land use. We evaluated which critical success factors crucial for managing public goods manifest themselves in our case study regions. Besides six critical success factors described in literature (Property rights, Asymmetric information, Administrative complexity, Governance, Time lags and Market structure) four other factors appear to be crucial in governing farmer-managed public goods: (1) establishing a system of rewards; (2) a mix of governance forms; (3) visionary leadership with networks in both the public and the private sectors and (4) time for new ideas to mature and to build commitment among the actors.</p

The Ossekampen Grassland Experiment: Data underlying the publication: A matter of time: recovery of plant species diversity in wild plant communities at declining nitrogen deposition

The Ossekampen long term grassland experiment (Wageningen, The Netherlands) was started in 1958 in an extensively grazed species-rich grassland. The treatments consist of several combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium application. The measurements include above ground yields, soil quality and botanical composition

Does the recoupling of dairy and crop production via cooperation between farms generate environmental benefits? A case-study approach in Europe

The intensification of agriculture in Europe has contributed significantly to the decline of mixed crop-livestock farms in favour of specialised farms. Specialisation, when accompanied by intensive farming practices, leaves farms poorly equipped to sustainably manage by-products of production, capture beneficial ecological interactions, and adapt in a volatile economic climate. An often proposed solution to overcome these environmental and economic constraints is to recouple crop and livestock production via cooperation between specialised farms. If well-managed, synergies between crop and livestock production beyond farm level have the potential to improve feed and fertiliser autonomy, and pest regulation. However, strategies currently used by farmers to recouple dairy livestock and crop production are poorly documented; there is a need to better assess these strategies using empirical farm data. In this paper, we employed farm surveys to describe, analyse and assess the following strategies: (1) Local exchange of materials among dairy and arable farms; (2) Land renting between dairy and arable farms; (3) Animal exchanges between lowland and mountainous areas; and (4) Industrially mediated transfers of dehydrated fodder. For each strategy, cooperating farm groups were compared to non-cooperating farm groups using indicators of metabolic performance (input autonomy, nutrient cycling and use efficiency), and ecosystem services provision. The results indicate that recoupling of crop and dairy production through farm cooperation gives farmers access to otherwise inaccessible or underutilised local resources such as land, labour, livestock feed or organic nutrients. This in turn leads to additional outlets for by-products (e.g. animal manure). Farmers' decisions about how to allocate the additional resources accessed via cooperation essentially determine if the farm diversifies, intensifies or expands operations. The key finding is that in three of the four crop-livestock integration strategies assessed, these newly accessed resources facilitated more intensive farming practices (e.g. higher stocking rate or number of milking cows per hectare) on cooperating dairy farms relative to non-cooperating, specialised dairy farms. As a consequence, cooperation was accompanied by limited environmental benefits but helped to improve resource use efficiency per unit of agricultural product produced. This article provides a critical step toward understanding real-world results of crop-livestock cooperation beyond the farm level relative to within-farm crop-livestock integration. As such, it brings practical knowledge of vital importance for policy making to promote sustainable farming.</p

Increased microbial anabolism contributes to soil carbon sequestration by mineral fertilization in temperate grasslands

Ecosystem responses to nitrogen (N) additions are manifold and complex, and also affect the carbon (C) cycle. It has been suggested that increased microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE), i.e. growth per C uptake, due to higher N availability potentially increases the stabilization rates of organic inputs to the soil. However, evidence for a direct link between altered microbial anabolism and soil organic C (SOC) stocks is lacking. In this study, unfertilized (control) and NPK-fertilized (NPK) treatments of seven temperate grassland experiments were used to test the hypothesis that fertilizer-induced differences in SOC stocks (ΔSOC) cannot be explained by differences in C input alone, but that microbial anabolism plays an important role in C sequestration. At two experimental sites, microbial CUE and related metabolic parameters was determined using an 18O labeling approach at two different incubation temperatures (10 °C and 20 °C). Fertilization effects on the abundance of Bacteria, Archaea and Fungi were also determined using quantitative PCR targeting the respective rRNA genes. Due to the availability of yield and belowground biomass data, the introductory carbon balance model (ICBM) could be used for all seven sites to estimate the contribution of C input to ΔSOC. A significantly higher microbial growth (+102 ± 6%), lower specific respiration (−16 ± 7%) and thus significantly higher CUE (+53 ± 21%) was found for the NPK treatments, which was consistent across experiments and incubation temperatures and correlated with measured root C:N ratios. Growth (+49 ± 5%) and respiration (+70 ± 9%) were increased by a higher incubation temperature, but this was not the case for CUE. The fungi to bacteria ratio changed significantly from 0.18 ± 0.02 (control) to 0.09 ± 0.02 (NPK). On average, only 77% (51% when excluding one extreme site) of observed ΔSOC was explained by C inputs. The optimized humification coefficient h of the model used to fit the observed ΔSOC was strongly correlated to differences in the root C:N ratio between the control and NPK treatments (R2 = 0.71), thus confirming a link between microbial anabolism and substrate C:N ratio. Furthermore, varying h directly by observed differences in CUE improved the model fit at the two sites investigated. This study provides direct evidence that CUE of soil microbial communities is relevant for SOC sequestration, and its dependency on soil N availability or substrate C:N ratio might allow for its inclusion in models without explicit microbial C pools.</p

A management-based typology for European permanent grasslands

European permanent grasslands (PG) vary widely in their delivery of agricultural outputs and other ecosystem services and hence in their challenges and opportunities for sustainable grassland management. To facilitate communication and knowledge transfer, improve inventories, ease mapping and provide a framework for future data collection across the whole range of European PG, we have developed a two-level grassland typology that focuses on PG management (defoliation, fertilisation, renewal) and its determinants (productivity potential, presence of woody plants, additional site attributes affecting management). The typology consists of eight first-level and 18 subordinate second-level classes, based on management intensity, productivity potential, presence of woody plants and grassland renewal intervals. It is applicable both at field and regional scales and is cross-referenced with existing classification schemes such as the EUNIS and Natura 2000 habitats classes. We present the typology and its main classification criteria, and discuss options for its future implementation

Verdienmodellen natuurinclusieve landbouw

Deze brochure richt zich op agrarische ondernemers en hun adviseurs. Wilt u nieuwe ideeën opdoen voor verdienmodellen gericht op de combinatie van landbouw met natuur? Wilt u voorbeelden van wat natuur voor u kan betekenen en hoe u hierin stappen kunt zetten? Laat u dan inspireren door deze brochure. En ga samen met verschillende partijen om de tafel om een natuurinclusief verdienmodel samen te stellen