The European Commission recently set a target of increasing the area of organic agriculture to 25% by 2030. To achieve this, it is imperative to understand current nutrient use patterns and identify sustainable nutrient supply opportunities. To that end, this study assessed the sustainability of the current nutrient origin and supply of 71 arable organic farms in 8 European...
Urine patches from grazing cattle are hotspots of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The default IPCC emission factor for urine patches (EFurine) is 0.77% for wet climates and 0.32% for dry climates. However, literature reports a considerable range of cattle urine EF values and urine characteristics used in experimental studies, revealing contrary results on the effects of urine...
Understanding the extent and characteristics of biomass resources is important for managing it effectively within the bioeconomy and leveraging biomass towards the highest value uses or those which are most appropriate. To this end, a large regional study was conducted to characterize the main physicochemical characteristics of common biomasses and identify potential limitations...
Diversified crop rotation with an appropriate sequence may be a promising strategy for increasing crop productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and lowering carbon (C) footprint for more sustainable agricultural systems. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the agronomic performance and C footprint of canola (Brassica napus L.) production in...
There is an urgent need to increase cereal yields in the Ethiopian Highlands to ensure national food security. A major crop response-to-fertilizer program was set up in 2017–2019 as part of the CASCAPE project in the Ethiopian Highlands. It covered 33 experiments on maize, teff and wheat in five reference soil groups (Nitisols, Luvisols, Vertisols, Leptosols and Andosols). Five...
The accuracy of fertiliser recommendations can be improved by knowledge of use efficiency of applied nutrients. The aim of this work was to determine the efficiency with which mature oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) recovers and uses fertiliser K and Mg under different environmental conditions in Sumatra, Indonesia. The work was carried out in seven factorial fertiliser trials...
To reduce nutrient losses from the food system, it is necessary to improve biomass management and foster change. Such a change is often hindered by a lack of stakeholder interaction. Therefore, a qualitative case study and a practical application of the innovation platform approach in the Dutch-German border region Rhine-Waal were carried out to determine challenges and...
Deep fertilization has been tested widely for nitrogen (N) use efficiency but there is little evidence of its impact on N leaching and the interplay between climate factors and crop N use. In this study, we tested the effect of three fertilizer N placements on leaching, crop growth, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a lysimeter experiment over three consecutive years with...
Enhancing use efficiency of applied fertiliser increases farmers’ returns on fertiliser investment through reducing nutrient inputs and improving yields. We investigated on-farm how indigenous nutrient supply and management practices affected N, P, and K uptake, agronomic efficiency and recovery efficiency of fertiliser, and physiological efficiency of nutrients taken up, under...
Changes in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) associated with fine fraction (FF) soil organic matter (SOM) were determined to a depth of 1.80 m at a field site that was managed with supplementary nutrients (2007–2012) to sequester soil C from crop residues. Soil C and N stocks were monitored for a further 3 years (to 2015) with supplementary nutrients maintained, and then for 5 years...
During the last decades, Alnus viridis has expanded over former montane pastures and meadows, due to land use and abandonment. This nitrogen-fixing woody species has triggered negative agro-environmental impacts, such as nitrogen (N) leaching, soil acidification and a reduced biodiversity. The aim of this study was to estimate the N translocation from A. viridis-encroached areas...
Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria represent a bioalternative in making soil-immobilized phosphorus (P) available to plants, and consequently improve agriculture sustainability and reduce nutrient pollution. In this study, we examined whether Rhizobium sp. B02 inoculation can affect the soil P fractions. Moreover, we investigated how inoculation influences the growth, physiological...
The application of mechanically crushed silicate minerals to agricultural soils has been proposed as a method for both improving crop yields and sequestering inorganic carbon through enhanced mineral weathering. In Greenland, large quantities of finely grained glacial rock flour (GRF) are naturally produced by glacial erosion of bedrock and deposited in easily accessible...
Low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is ubiquitous in agricultural systems, with mounting global scale consequences for both atmospheric aspects of climate and downstream ecosystems. Since NUE-related soil characteristics such as water holding capacity and organic matter are likely to vary at small scales (< 1 ha), understanding the influence of soil characteristics on NUE at the...
Extensive research has been performed into the effectiveness of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) in preventing N losses; however, tropical agriculture has been underrepresented in recent meta-analyses. Here, we apply a meta-analytic approach using data from 50 articles to identify the impact of NIs (DMPP, DCD, and DCD + NBPT) on crop yield, N2O emissions, soil NH4+ and NO3...
The critical nitrogen (N) dilution curve, which expresses whole-plant critical N concentration as a function of shoot biomass, can be used as a N management diagnostic tool for cereals. The objectives of this research were to develop a critical N dilution curve for wheat grown in calcareous soils and to formulate a model for estimating N fertilizer requirement of wheat crop at...
In sugarcane cropping systems, high rates of N fertiliser are typically applied as sub-surface bands creating localised zones of high mineral N concentrations. This in combination with high levels of crop residue (trash) retention and a warm and humid climate creates conditions that are known to promote soil denitrification, resulting in high emissions of the potent greenhouse...
Grasslands are the largest contributor of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in the agriculture sector due to livestock excreta and nitrogen fertilizers applied to the soil. Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) added to N input have reduced N2O emissions, but can show a range of efficiencies depending on climate, soil, and management conditions. A meta-analysis study was conducted to...
An improved understanding of the contribution of a preceding forage crop to a subsequent potato crop can improve nitrogen (N) utilization in potato production. This study used two rotation experiments to estimate the N contribution from labelled shoot and root of red clover (RC, Trifolium pratense), timothy (T, Phleum pratense) and a red clover/timothy mixture (M) to a subsequent...
Nitrification is one major part of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle and is responsible for the N supply to microbes and plants. Furthermore, it opens N-loss pathways. Quantifying actual gross rates of nitrification is of growing interest due to the risk of nitrate-N leaching into groundwater. Gross nitrification measurements are often conducted either in disturbed soils or in small...
Supplying nitrogen (N) to crops by incorporating N2-fixing green manures into soil can improve soil functioning and increase soil carbon storage. However, as with N-fertiliser use, excess mineral N from decomposed green manures can be lost via leaching as NO3− and emitted as the greenhouse gas N2O. To improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) we propose supplying leaf matter...
Phosphorus (P) reactions in calcareous soils limit the concentration of P in the soil solution for plant uptake. Calcareous soils with high calcium carbonate content (CaCO3) and high pH have low P fertiliser efficiency, leading to crop deficiency and limited crop productivity. The aim of this work was to test if soil acidifying amendments could reduce soil pH and improve the...
In recent years, many peatlands in Europe have been rewetted for nature conservation and global warming mitigation. However, the effects on emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) have been found to be highly variable and driving factors are poorly understood. Therefore, we measured N2O fluxes every two weeks over three years on pairs of sites (one drained, one...