The future of organic grassland farming in mountainous regions of Central Europe

8 % of the total EU population lives in mountainous areas which represent a particularly important eco-region in Central Europe. Because of ecological, climatic and economic reasons an increasing pressure is imposed upon agriculture. Hence in large parts of European mountainous areas drastic changes in agricultural structure and land use systems can be observed in terms of emigration and land abandonment. Due to disadvantaged production conditions, and the high ecological sensitivity, organic farming is an important option for a sound regional development. In alpine regions organic farming does not proceed in a homogeneous way. One essential reason for that could be seen in the differences of national and regional “traditions and orientations” and supporting tools. For a positive development it is necessary to work on further integration of organic farming in regional development concepts (e.g. organic regions) and on the development of the “quality leadership” through cross-regional production, marketing and merchandising concepts. Undisputedly, further positive development of organic farming in mountainous regions depends on ongoing financial, research and advisory support

Composition and activity of nitrifier communities in soil are unresponsive to elevated temperature and CO2, but strongly affected by drought

Nitrification is a fundamental process in terrestrial nitrogen cycling. However, detailed information on how climate change affects the structure of nitrifier communities is lacking, specifically from experiments in which multiple climate change factors are manipulated simultaneously. Consequently, our ability to predict how soil nitrogen (N) cycling will change in a future climate is limited. We conducted a field experiment in a managed grassland and simultaneously tested the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2, temperature, and drought on the abundance of active ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), comammox (CMX) Nitrospira, and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and on gross mineralization and nitrification rates. We found that N transformation processes, as well as gene and transcript abundances, and nitrifier community composition were remarkably resistant to individual and interactive effects of elevated CO2 and temperature. During drought however, process rates were increased or at least maintained. At the same time, the abundance of active AOB increased probably due to higher NH4+ availability. Both, AOA and comammox Nitrospira decreased in response to drought and the active community composition of AOA and NOB was also significantly affected. In summary, our findings suggest that warming and elevated CO2 have only minor effects on nitrifier communities and soil biogeochemical variables in managed grasslands, whereas drought favors AOB and increases nitrification rates. This highlights the overriding importance of drought as a global change driver impacting on soil microbial community structure and its consequences for N cycling

Ergebnisse zur saisonalen Low-Input Vollweidehaltung von Milchkühen im österreichischen Berggebiet

In a research project six dairy farms (5 organic, 1 low input) in mountainous regions of Austria were supervised in converting to a seasonal low-input dairy production system based on grazing. Within an observation period of three years (October 1st, 2004 – September 30th, 2007) a strict annual cycle in milk production and reproduction could be implemented on two farms only. In average a pasture proportion of 42 % (26–61 %) of the total feeding ration per year could be determined, depending on the farm specific conditions and the implementation level of this low input strategy. On four farms, which fed low amounts of supplemental feeds, a pasture proportion of 50 % of the total feeding ration was realized. With an input of only 470 kg DM concentrate (8 % of DM intake) per cow and year a milk performance of 5.837 kg with 4.1 % fat and 3.3 % protein was achieved. The results clearly indicate that the full grazing strategy with seasonal calving is feasible in Austria for animal health reasons. The project farms realized an average value of 0.29 Euro of payments free of direct charge per kg milk and 1.640 Euro per cow

Changing towards a seasonal low-input pastoral dairy production system in moutainous regions of Austria - results from pilot farms during reorganisation

To get informations on pastoral milk production in mountainous regions a research project with six pilot dairy farms (5 organic, 1 low input) was carried out. The farms were supervised during the reorganisation period leading to a seasonal milk production system. Within an observation period of three years a strict annual cycle in milk production and reproduction was implemented on two farms only. Depending on the farm specific conditions and the implementation level of the low-input strategy on average a pasture proportion of 42 % (26 to 61 %) of the total DM intake y-1 could be determined. On four farms, which fed low amounts of supplemental feed during the grazing period, a pasture proportion of 50 % of the total DM intake y-1 was realized in the last project year. With an input of only 470 kg DM concentrate (8 % of DM intake) cow-1 y-1 a milk performance of 5,542 kg with 4.02 % fat and 3.34 % protein was achieved. The results clearly indicate that the full grazing strategy with seasonal calving is feasible for animal health reasons in Austria. Despite the lower milk yield the data based on a federal extension program reveal lower marginal costs and higher production efficiency per unit milk for the four pilot farms in comparison to the average results of the organic and conventional farms

Methods to describe the botanical composition of vegetation in grassland research

In terms of botanical composition, grassland vegetation in experimental plots and field studies can be described by means of different parameters (plant density, cover, frequency or yield proportion). Each parameter describes different features, which under certain circumstances may be correlated one to each other to some extent, but are not fully equivalent. The choice of the parameter to be assessed depends therefore, in first instance, on the specific aim of the investigation. For the assessment of the chosen parameter, many methods are available that differ from each other in terms of subjectivity, precision, effort and requirement for technical equipment. The choice of method depends mainly on the required precision, the affordable effort and on the available resources

Routine treatment of cervical cytological cell changes

Introduction: Diagnosis and treatment of vaginal and cervical cytological cell changes are described in European and national guidelines. The aim of this data collection was to evaluate the remission rates of PAP III and PAP III D cytological findings in patients over a period of 3-4 months. Method: The current state of affairs in managing suspicious and cytological findings (PAP III, and III D) in gynecological practice was assessed in the context of a data collection survey. An evaluation over a period of 24 months was conducted on preventative measures, the occurrence and changes to normal/suspect/pathological findings and therapy management (for suspicious or pathological findings). Results: 307 female patients were included in the analysis. At the time of the survey 186 patients (60.6 %) had PAP III and 119 (38.8 %) had PAP III D findings. The spontaneous remission rate of untreated PAP III patients was 6 % and that of untreated PAP III D patients was 11 %. The remission rates of patients treated with a vaginal gel were 77 % for PAP III and 71 % for PAP III D. Conclusion: A new treatment option was used in gynecological practice on patients with PAP III and PAP III D findings between confirmation and the next follow-up with excellent success