Coltivare senza aratro - giova al suolo e al clima

Un’agricoltrice che rinuncia all’aratro può generare un arricchimento di humus e più protezione del clima. Perché il metodo funzioni è però necessario un vasto sapere nell’ambito

Cultiver sans labourer: Bon pour le sol, bon pour le climat

Quand un agriculteur bio renonce au labour, cela permet de former davantage d’humus et de protéger le climat. Il faut cependant bien connaître son affaire pour que ça fonctionne dans la pratique

Organic conservation tillage – evidence from more than 15 years of research

In Europe, the plough is a common machine for soil tillage. Its history is dating back to the early days of agriculture and hence its use is deeply rooted in European culture. With ongoing heavier machines, larger fields and less landscape diversity, ploughing contributed to large-scale soil degradation. The bare soil surface is prone to erosion; the risk of soil fertility decrease is high. Long-term sustainability of current ploughing practices is therefore questioned. In organic farming, ploughing is seen as an important tool for weed control, ley termination and incorporation of organic material. Yet, also organic farming practices can still be improved. The aim was therefore to replace ploughing by less intensive tillage methods and to monitor changes in soil quality and yield performance. At FiBL, research started roughly in 2000 with both scientific and practice oriented trials and collaborations

Geerdet - wie kommt der Ackerbau wieder in Balance?

Der Klimawandel hat viele seiten. Der Ruf nach Anpassung durch Anbau hitze- und trockenheitsresistenter Pflanzen ist die eine. Der Blick auf die Verursacher ist eine andere. Die biodynamische Landwirtschaft ist besonders klimafreundlich

Reduzierte Bodenbearbeitung - geht das im Ökolandbau?

Reduzierte Bodenbearbeitung ist im Biolandbau noch nicht sehr verbreitet. Viele Landwirte befürchten eine massive Ausbreitung von Unkräutern. Ob solche Anbausysteme in der Praxis funktionieren können, wird mit Hilfe langjähriger Versuche getestet

Gut für den Boden, gut fürs Klima

Erste Ergebnisse eines Versuchs des Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau (FiBL) zeigen, dass durch reduzierte Bodenbearbeitung im ökologischen Landbau mehr Kohlenstoff gespeichert und die Ertragssicherheit gesteigert werden kann. Voraussetzung dafür ist jedoch eine Optimierung des pfluglosen Systems

Humusverlagerung durch Pflugverzicht im Biolandbau

In neun europäischen Langzeitversuchen wird die reduzierte Bodenbearbeitung (rund zehn Zentimeter tief, meist mittels Grubber) mit dem Pflug (rund zwanzig Zentimeter tief) unter biologischer Bewirtschaftung verglichen. Drei der Versuche unterhalten das FiBL und Agroscope in der Schweiz. Zusammen mit Partnern bestimmten sie die Humusvorräte bis zu einem Meter Tiefe

Pflugverzicht als Klimaschutzstrategie?

Nicht wendende Bodenbearbeitungssysteme und besonders die Direktsaat fördern einige der wichtigsten Bodenschutzziele: sie schützen vor Erosion, begünstigen das Bodenleben und erhöhen damit die Bodenfruchtbarkeit

Enhanced soil quality with reduced tillage and solid manures in organic farming - a synthesis of 15 years

Demands upon the sustainability of farming are increasing in step with climate change and diversity loss. Organic farming offers a viable approach. To further improve organic management, three strategies with potential to enhance soil quality are being tested in a long-term trial since 2002 on a clay loam in temperate Switzerland: reduced tillage vs. ploughing, solid vs. liquid manures and biodynamic preparations. A synthesis of 15 years reveals an increase in topsoil organic carbon (SOC, +25%), microbial biomass (+32%) and activity (+34%) and a shift in microbial communities with conversion from ploughing to reduced tillage. Soils under reduced tillage are more stratified in SOC and nutrients. Additional application of composted manure has increased SOC by 6% compared to pure slurry application, with little impact on soil microbes. Biodynamic preparations have had a minor impact on soil quality. Fertilisation and biodynamic preparations did not affect yields. Both higher and lower yields were harvested in the reduced tillage system in relation to ploughing. The main yield determinants were N supply and higher weed infestation under reduced tillage. Continuously reduced tillage in organic farming has been proven to enhance soil quality at this site, while also presenting more challenges in management

Restricting the nonlinearity parameter in soil greenhouse gas flux calculation for more reliable flux estimates

The static chamber approach is often used for greenhouse gas (GHG) flux measurements, whereby the flux is deduced from the increase of species concentration after closing the chamber. Since this increase changes diffusion gradients between chamber air and soil air, a nonlinear increase is expected. Lateral gas flow and leakages also contribute to non linearity. Several models have been suggested to account for this non linearity, the most recent being the Hutchinson±Mosier regression model (HMR). However, the practical application of these models is challenging because the researcher needs to decide for each flux whether a nonlinear fit is appropriate or exaggerates flux estimates due to measurement artifacts. In the latter case, a flux estimate from the linear model is a more robust solution and introduces less arbitrary uncertainty to the data. We present the new, dynamic and reproducible flux calculation scheme, KAPPA.MAX, for an improved trade-off between bias and uncertainty (i.e. accuracy and precision). We develop a tool to simulate, visualise and optimise the flux calculation scheme for any specific static N2O chamber measurement system. The decision procedure and visualisation tools are implemented in a package for the R software. Finally, we demonstrate with this approach the performance of the applied flux calculation scheme for a measured flux dataset to estimate the actual bias and uncertainty. The KAPPA.MAX method effectively improved the decision between linear and nonlinear flux estimates reducing the bias at a minimal cost of uncertainty