Plant biomass nitrogen and effects on the risk of nitrate leaching of intercrops under organic farming in Eastern Austria

Data on the potential of intercrops to reduce soil nitrate contents, on their N accumulation and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) are lacking for organic farming in the dry, pannonic region of Eastern Austria. The effect of legumes, non-legumes, and legumes + non-legumes used as intercrops on inorganic soil nitrogen, crop yield and biomass N, and BNF were tested in comparison to bare fallow. Non-legumes and legumes + non-legumes were more efficient than legumes in reducing inorganic soil N contents in autumn and nitrate contents in soil solution from the subsoil in winter. This reduction in inorganic soil N did not last until March of the following year due to an N mineralisation from the mulch. The legume + non-legume mixture contained a larger amount of crop N than both legumes and non-legumes. This was due to the combined effect of soil-N uptake by the non-legumes and BNF by the legumes in the mixture

Effect of Lake Basaka expansion on the sustainability of Matahara SE in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Matahara Sugar Estate (MSE) establishment nearly 40 years ago is experiencing effects of a rising GW table and salinity in some fields, and as the result the yield of certain fields is decreasing and a significant area of cultivated lands are abandoning The problem is believed to be the result of the expansion of saline Lake Basaka towards the plantation field. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of expansion of the Lake (area & shape) in the past 35 years period from Landsat images and assess its negative effects on the nearby sugarcane plantations’ GW dynamics & soil salinity. The result indicates that the lake expanded approximately 34 km 2 in the past 35 years. The GW table is very shallow in the Abadir extension areas and north section where the GW salinity is under severe condition

Stickstoffaufnahme und Biomasseertrag von Zwischenfrüchten und deren Auswirkungen auf Bodennitratgehalte und die Folgekultur unter den Bedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus im pannonischen Klimagebiet

Data on the potential of catch crops to reduce soil nitrate contents, on their N accumulation and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) are lacking for organic farming in the dry, pannonic region of Eastern Austria. The effect of legume, non-legume, and legume + non-legume crops used as catch crops on inorganic soil nitrogen, crop biomass and crop N, and BNF were tested in comparison to bare fallow. Non-legumes and legumes + non-legumes were more efficient than legumes in reducing inorganic soil N contents in autumn and nitrate contents in soil solution from the subsoil in winter. This reduction in inorganic soil N did not last until March of the following year due to N mineralisation from the mulch. The legume + non-legume mixture contained a larger amount of crop N than both legumes and non-legumes. This was due to the combined effect of soil-N uptake by the non-legumes and BNF by the legumes in the mixture

Wasserhaushaltsmessungen in ökologisch bewirtschafteten Leguminosenbeständen im Trockengebiet Ostösterreichs

Durch die Kombination von Feldmessungen und Simulation werden Änderungen im Bodenwassergehalt erfasst und Wasserbilanzen errechnet. Es ist vorgesehen in vier Plots (Meßprofile) die Bodenwasserspannung und den Wasseranteil online zu erfassen. Diese Profile dienen zur Erfassung der zeitlichen Auflösung an einem Standort und werden auch für die Kalibrierung der Simulation herangezogen. Die Simulation bietet die Möglichkeit unterschiedliche Szenerien zu bearbeiten und Sensibilitätsanalysen durchzuführen. Die Kombination der Messung und der Simulation ist eine sehr kostengünstige und flexible Vorgangsweise zur umfassenden Beschreibung der Stoffumsetzungsprozesse im Boden unter verschiedenen Bedingunge

On the typology and the worship status of sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

This article contains the reasons for the establishment of sacred trees in Israel based on a field study. It includes 97 interviews with Muslim and Druze informants. While Muslims (Arabs and Bedouins) consider sacred trees especially as an abode of righteous figures' (Wellis') souls or as having a connection to their graves, the Druze relate sacred trees especially to the events or deeds in the lives of prophets and religious leaders. A literary review shows the existence of 24 known reasons for the establishment of sacred trees worldwide, 11 of which are known in Israel one of these is reported here for the first time. We found different trends in monotheistic and polytheistic religions concerning their current worship of sacred trees

WATER AND LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT ASPECTS IN THE NEUSIEDLER SEE REGION

Abstract The "Neusiedler See-Seewinkel" is the first and biggest Ramsar Site in Austria designated in 1982. In 2009 a transboundary Austrian-Hungarian site "Neusiedler See-Seewinkel-Hanság" was inscribed to the List of Wetlands of International Importance including present Ramsar Sites in both countries. Aside from that, a national park "Neusiedler See-Seewinkel" was founded in 1993 and co-managed with the Hungarian national park "Fertő-Hanság", founded in 1991. These sites consist of the lake Neusiedler See itself, small saline lakes, salt meadows and fens. The Neusiedler See is a steppe lake with an extensive reed area and marshes. It is one of the biggest wetlands in Central Europe covering a total area of 321 km², whereof the free water surface covers 143 km² and the reed belt covers 178 km² (Csaplovics, 1997). The water balance of the lake is dominated by precipitation and evaporation and just minor inflow of the river Wulka. Originally, the lake has no natural outflow, but at the end of the 19th century an artificial channel for access water drainage was constructed. Nowadays, the lake water level is regulated by a weir according to operation rules and supervised by an Austro-Hungarian committee for water bodies. The operation rules define a water level range; however the lower limit is prone to draught conditions. For this reason, an important aspect of water management actions, like building of small weirs or closing of channels, is the water retention in the area. For improvement of lake water management a cooperation project "New Geodetic Survey of the Lake Neusiedl-Hanság-Channel System" between Hungary and Austria was initialised in order to provide a homogeneous topographic data base of the Neusiedler See basin and the Hanság-Channel including the investigation of the huge, stratified mud body of the lake and the reed bed. For the detection of the sludge layer and the lake bed echo sounding techniques of spatial and vertical high resolution were used for the free water surface. Single-point measurements were conducted as a reference with a new adapted measuring technique. They provide a high-resolution vertical profile of the sludge distribution and the bottom layer. Further single-point measurements were conducted in shallow water areas below 60 cm, where the use of echo sounding is limited, as well as in the hardly accessible reed belt. The acquired knowledge about the state of the lake is essential for an appropriate lake and wetland management and overall landscape preservation

Food and water scenarios for the Karkheh River Basin, Iran

Increasing population and income and a wheat self-sufficiency policy are already stressing Iran's strategic Karkeh River Basin. Examining three scenarios to the year 2025, the authors of this study find: (1) business as usual leads to an aggravation of groundwater overdraft and may jeopardize the ecosystem services provided by the Hawr Al Azim marsh area; (2) giving priority to environmental flow requirements and restoring groundwater tables leads to a shortfall in wheat production; but (3) reducing agricultural water demand could maintain a certain level of food production. Appropriate policy could minimize the tradeoffs between food self-sufficiency, sustainable water use and farmers' income