Case Study - Bulgaria, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo Project)

This Technical Note 'Case Study ¿ Bulgaria' is part of a series of case studies within the ¿Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation¿ (SoCo) project. Ten case studies were carried out in Belgium, Bul-garia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom between spring and summer 2008. The selection of case study areas was designed to capture differences in soil degradation processes, soil types, climatic conditions, farm structures and farming prac-tices, institutional settings and policy priorities. A harmonised methodological approach was pursued in order to gather insights from a range of contrasting conditions over a geographically diverse area. The case studies were carried out by local experts to reflect the specificities of the selected case studies.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Influence of grazing technologies on the indices of chestnut soils in Western Kazakhstan

Degradation of pastures caused by anthropogenic and climatic factors leads to desertification, loss of soil fertility, reduces productivity of the pasture grass and it is a prerequisite for socio-economic problems. Pastures of Western Kazakhstan cover more than 70% of the lands under economic use and are the main fodder source for the farm animals. In the late years, degradation of pastures in Western Kazakhstan takes place due to intensive animal grazing. The aim of research is to study the impact of technology for grazing the farm animals on the pastures soil cover to prevent the processes of degradation and desertification, as well as the rational use of pasture ecosystems. Through these studies, experimental data were obtained on the current state of the pastures soil cover in Western Kazakhstan with different types of chestnut soils depending on the grazing technology. An excess intensive grazing of the farm animals has negative influence on physical and chemical factors of the chestnut soil types

JORDANIAN ZEOLITIC TUFF AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR THE PREPARATION OF SUBSTRATES USED FOR PLANT GROWTH

One of the problems faced in front of industry for potting media is limited amount of quality row materials (mainly peat) for unlimited production of quality substrates in the future. The using of natural minerals for production of substrates or as amendments for existing substrates is possible solution for this problem. The natural zeolites with their specific properties – high CEC, high content of macro and microelements are one of good alternatives to the traditional potting media. Each zeolite deposit has unique chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties. That is why obligatory preliminary condition for their successful application in agriculture is caring out of biological study with agricultural plants for determination of the optimal parameters of chemical and physicochemical properties of the substrates

INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT MODIFIERS ON THE EUTECTIC SI IN THE COMPOSITION OF ALSI18 ALLOY

The structure of hypereutectic aluminum-silicon alloys consists of primary silicon crystals arranged in a eutectic matrix. In the present work the influence of different types of modifiers on the size and shape of the silicon crystals in the composition of the eutectic of the AlSi18 alloy has been studied. The classic for this type of alloys modifier (phosphorus), as well as the nanomodifiers SiC and nanodiamonds (ND) have been used. The results of the microstructural analysis show that the three modifiers used affect differently the shape and size of the eutectic silicon of the investigated alloy

JORDANIAN ZEOLITIC TUFF AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR THE PREPARATION OF SUBSTRATES USED FOR PLANT GROWTH

One of the problems faced in front of industry for potting media is limited amount of quality row materials (mainly peat) for unlimited production of quality substrates in the future. The using of natural minerals for production of substrates or as amendments for existing substrates is possible solution for this problem. The natural zeolites with their specific properties – high CEC, high content of macro and microelements are one of good alternatives to the traditional potting media. Each zeolite deposit has unique chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties. That is why obligatory preliminary condition for their successful application in agriculture is caring out of biological study with agricultural plants for determination of the optimal parameters of chemical and physicochemical properties of the substrates

Vermittlung von Schlüsselkompetenzen bei der Ausbildung im Ökologischen Landbau am Beispiel Polen

The aim of this paper is to analyze if non-formal education in folk high schools, based on the ideas of Grundtvig, combined with vocational training on organic farming is suited to build key competences recommended by the EU. A curriculum for a two year vocational training course on organic farming was developed and tested at a folk high school in Poland. Interviews with students and teachers give very positive feedback

JORDANIAN ZEOLITIC TUFF AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR THE PREPARATION OF SUBSTRATES USED FOR PLANT GROWTH

One of the problems faced in front of industry for potting media is limited amount of quality row materials (mainly peat) for unlimited production of quality substrates in the future. The using of natural minerals for production of substrates or as amendments for existing substrates is possible solution for this problem. The natural zeolites with their specific properties – high CEC, high content of macro and microelements are one of good alternatives to the traditional potting media. Each zeolite deposit has unique chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties. That is why obligatory preliminary condition for their successful application in agriculture is caring out of biological study with agricultural plants for determination of the optimal parameters of chemical and physicochemical properties of the substrates

Financial stability challenges in EU candidate and potential candidate countries

This paper reviews financial stability challenges in countries preparing for EU membership, i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The paper has been prepared by an expert group of staff from the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) in which experts from EU candidate and potential candidate country central banks also participated. The paper finds that near-term challenges to financial stability primarily relate to credit risks from the generally weak economic dynamics in combination with already high non-performing loan burdens in many banking systems, especially in the Western Balkans. In the medium-term, challenges to financial stability stem from indirect market risks to banks related to foreign currency lending as well as lingering exposures to funding risks, with Western Balkan economies again appearing as relatively more vulnerable. Looking further ahead, the paper highlights that the magnitude of the challenge to reach a ‘new banking normal’ for banking systems in these countries appears to remain sizeable, while noting that the establishment of adequate home-host cooperation channels would be important to help maximise the potential benefits to third parties stemming from centralised banking supervision under the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM)

Förderung der universitären Ausbildung zum biologischen Landbau in Südosteuropa

Der biologische Landbau ist weltweit ein Wachstumsmarkt. Die Länder Süd- und Osteuropas haben ein gutes Potential für ein Wachstum im Biosektors. Ein wichtiger Einflussfaktor hierbei ist das Vorhandensein des nötigen Fachwissens vor Ort. Ziel des hier vorgestellten dreijährigen Projektes war es daher, die Lehre zum biologischen Landbau an den beteiligen Agrarfakultäten in Albanien, Bosnien und Herzegowina, Kosovo, Bulgarien und Ungarn durch die Förderung von Wissenstransfer und die Einführung von e-learning Instrumenten nachhaltig zu verbessern. Wesentliche Projektergebnisse sind die Erstellung einer Grundlagenvorlesung zum Biolandbau auf BSc. Niveau, die Einführung eines e-learning Instruments und die Sicherung einer nachhaltigen Verfügbarkeit der Materialsammlung für Lehrende via Internet

Cereal yield gaps across Europe

peer-reviewedEurope accounts for around 20% of the global cereal production and is a net exporter of ca. 15% of that production. Increasing global demand for cereals justifies questions as to where and by how much Europe’s production can be increased to meet future global market demands, and how much additional nitrogen (N) crops would require. The latter is important as environmental concern and legislation are equally important as production aims in Europe. Here, we used a country-by-country, bottom-up approach to establish statistical estimates of actual grain yield, and compare these to modelled estimates of potential yields for either irrigated or rainfed conditions. In this way, we identified the yield gaps and the opportunities for increased cereal production for wheat, barley and maize, which represent 90% of the cereals grown in Europe. The combined mean annual yield gap of wheat, barley, maize was 239 Mt, or 42% of the yield potential. The national yield gaps ranged between 10 and 70%, with small gaps in many north-western European countries, and large gaps in eastern and south-western Europe. Yield gaps for rainfed and irrigated maize were consistently lower than those of wheat and barley. If the yield gaps of maize, wheat and barley would be reduced from 42% to 20% of potential yields, this would increase annual cereal production by 128 Mt (39%). Potential for higher cereal production exists predominantly in Eastern Europe, and half of Europe’s potential increase is located in Ukraine, Romania and Poland. Unlocking the identified potential for production growth requires a substantial increase of the crop N uptake of 4.8 Mt. Across Europe, the average N uptake gaps, to achieve 80% of the yield potential, were 87, 77 and 43 kg N ha−1 for wheat, barley and maize, respectively. Emphasis on increasing the N use efficiency is necessary to minimize the need for additional N inputs. Whether yield gap reduction is desirable and feasible is a matter of balancing Europe’s role in global food security, farm economic objectives and environmental targets.We received financial contributions from the strategic investment funds (IPOP) of Wageningen University & Research, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MACSUR under EU FACCE-JPI which was funded through several national contributions, and TempAg (http://tempag.net/)