Projects / Programmes
Proučevanje vpliva alternativnih načinov obdelave tal na izboljšanje rodovitnosti tal in povečevanje humusa v tleh ter zmanjšanje izpustov CO2 v ozračje (Slovene)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.03.01 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Plant production |
Agricultural plants |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 4.01 |
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |
Researchers (16)
Organisations (2)
Significance for science
a) In a three-year study we did not measure a statistically significant reduction in crop because of the tillage. In contrast, direct seeding reflected in the significantly smaller amount of grain. Because, the quality of the product is a reflection of the complexity of crop rotation and not just the soil treatment, we did not find a direct connection, which is only partially coincided with reports Meyer-Aurich et al., 2006 who found coils cereals with legumes have a higher net income and lower emissions greenhouse gas emissions than corn monoculture, while the impact on the quality and quantity of the crop.
b) The effect of different tillage on the proportion of organic matter in the soil was difficult to measure significantly in a series of a few years, because it is a long-term phenomenon and is connected to the soil type. To deal with direct seeding and tillage, we showed that the value of humus at both locations increased in all three layers, but between treatments revealed no statistically significant differences. In Slovenia, most organic matter is usually transported from the fields, thus the estimated share of the accumulated carbon reaches only 10-15 %, which is less than found by Wang et al., 2008 on plots without removing crop residues, which increased organic matter in the soil for 21 and 7%.
c) The highest CO2 emissions of 13.94 µmol/m2s were measured immediately after treatment of the soil with a plow in the first 24 hours. Followed by treatment with chisel, where we measured a maximum value of 11.54 µmol/m2s CO2 also immediately after treatment. In the following days then emissions equate to the emissions in the raw soil and reach values (3.54 to 6.32 µmol/m2s CO2), partly due to dehydration of the surface layer of the soil and unexplained causes. These findings are partially consistent with briefings reported by La Scala et al., 2001, who recorded the highest emissions almost 15 days after using the chisel or disc harrows, and the smallest in the variant without tillage. The dynamics of CO2 emissions in the Slovenian agro-ecological conditions was mostly affected by fluctuations in annual temperature, which coincides with the briefings by Bruce et al., 1999. Lack of rainfall was correlated with reduced emissions only in extreme summer droughts. In contrast to some other experiences we have mostly positive values of CO2 emissions also during the winter, but do not exceed 0.29 µmol/m2s. If the soil was frozen for several days in a row, also the negative CO2 flux values have been measured, which the maximum of 0.12 µmol/m2s.
d) An important part of the research represented the measuring of energy efficiency and carbon footprint, where we like Zentner et al., 2002 found that in the Slovenian agro-ecological conditions on the silt clay soils different systems significantly affected the fuel consumption (plowing + pre-sowing preparation of 23 l / ha, loosening of 13.60 l / ha, direct sowing of 21 l / ha), but the savings in fuel and working time can be quickly lost due to the increased application of herbicides. We found the largest ecological footprints for the production of rapeseed left by a plow treatment (4.25 ha), followed by chisel (3.75 ha) and direct sowing (1.95 ha). In the production of corn the picture is similar, as the smallest footprint was left by direct sowing system (1.85 ha), while the largest footprint was calculated in the conventional treatment (4.15 ha). The most objective assessment, expressed in a foot print ha / t crop, showed that the production of oilseed rape left the biggest footprint (9.2 ha / t grain) in the conventional cultivation; the smallest (2.86 ha / t) was the chisel based production of corn. Ecological footprint of production of above-ground biomass fraction is significantly higher in the conventional production of oilseed rape (4.14 ha / t ), followed by production of winter wheat and maize with absolute minimal footprint (2.86 ha / t) in chisel production system.
Significance for the country
The results of the project showed a significant impact of three different methods of tillage (plowing, conservation treatment and direct sowing) on release of the CO2 dynamics, the dynamics of accumulation of ground carbon (humus), the quantity of produce, fuel consumption, carbon footprint and horizontal compaction of the soil.
Threat assessment of different soil types in the northerneast part of Slovenia showed that over 60% of the soil are suffering from a lack of humus, leading to increased vulnerability of crops in extreme weather conditions such as drought. It is imperative to establish mechanisms to increase the humus content and teh soil fertility in the near future, whereby the alternative methods of tillage systems and large quantities of plant residues may be crutial for incerasing the soil humus. However, immediate action is required without any delays, since the proportion of poor with humus is risining from year to year.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
