In temperate Europe alley cropping systems which integrate strips of short rotation coppices into conventional agricultural fields (ACS) are receiving increasing attention. These systems can be used for crops and woody biomass production at the same time, enabling farmers to diversify the provision of market goods. Adding trees into the agricultural land creates various additional benefits for the farmer and society, also known as ecosystem services. However, tree-crop interactions in the temperate region have not been adequately substantiated which is identified as a drawback to the practical implementation of such systems. In order to bridge this gap, the current paper aims to present a comprehensive overview of selected ecosystem services provided by agroforestry with focus on ACS in the temperate region. The literature indicates that compared with conventional agriculture ACS have the potential to increase carbon sequestration, improve soil fertility and generally optimize the utilization of resources. Furthermore, due to their structural flexibility, ACS may help to regulate water quality, enhance biodiversity, and increase the overall productivity. ACS are shown as suitable land use systems especially for marginal sites. Based on the available data collected, we conclude that ACS are advantageous compared to conventional agriculture in many aspects, and therefore suggest that they should be implemented at a larger scale in temperate regions.

Long-term phosphate (P) desorption from soil is described using two discrete P "pools" in the soil: one available and one strongly fixed pool. The P release kinetics for each pool are described with a firstorder rate equation. A new desorption method is used with hydrous iron oxide inside dialysis tubing acting as a P sink. The widely used iron-impregnated filter paper desorption method overestimates initial P desorption by a factor of up to 4 and underestimates the quantitative progression of desorption as a function of time. P desorption continued with substantial rates for periods longer than 1600 h. A wide range in P desorbability was observed: 15-70% of oxalateextractable P (Pox) desorbed after 1600 h. P desorbability decreased with increasing Feox + Alox content of the sample. The relative size of the quickly desorbing pool increased with increasing initial degree of P saturation oto = P0X/[Fe0X + Alox] of the soils. This fact is of direct importance for the estimation of P losses from phosphate-rich soils. This study furthermore provides evidence that all oxalate-extractable P potentially is desorbable: no irreversibly fixed Pox exists.

Phosphate sorption on topsoil and subsoil samples from different soils located in the eastern part of Germany was studied. Two models were fitted to sorption data obtained after 4 and 40 d of gentle shaking. The models differ with respect to the fractions of iron and aluminium (hydr)oxides that are considered and whether the phosphate initially sorbed in the soil is taken into zccount. Oxalate-extractable P, (Pox), appears to be a major part of the total soil P. The total P sorption measured, F, was predominantly related to the amounts of amorphous iron (Fe,,) and aluminium (Al,,J. A significant relation between crystalline iron (Fed -Fe,,) and total P sorption was not found. Reversibly adsorbed phosphate (Pi), measured after 40 d reaction time, was a function of clay content and content of amorphous iron and aluminium (hydr)oxides.

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The cultivation of bioenergy plants in fertile, arable lands increasingly results in new land use conflicts with food production and cannot be considered as sustainable. Marginal lands have been frequently considered as potential alternatives for producing bioenergy from biomass. However, clear definitions and assessment methods for selecting marginal lands and for calculating potentials are still widely missing.The project "SEEMLA" aims at triggering the exploitation of currently underused marginal lands for biomass production for energy purposes. Study sites have been selected in different European countries: Germany, Greece, and Ukraine. The selected sites represent a wide variety of different types of marginal lands. Based on a soil assessment set given by the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (SQR) system potentially "marginal" sites have been investigated. The SQR system allows for clearly distinguishing between soils of higher and lower quality. Soils with SQR scores below 40 are regarded as "marginal". They can be classified into different groups with regard to the importance of soil hazard indicators as evaluated by the SQR approach. The calculated SQR scores correlate significantly with biomass yields of bioenergy plants.Further, the SQR method was adapted for use in a GIS study on marginal-land potentials in Europe. Thus, 46 % of the investigated European area could be classified as "marginal" with SQR scores below 40. From that area 22.6 % can be considered as potentially suitable for producing renewable resources after eliminating protected sites or other places not suitable for any kind of land use. Taking the ecological demands of selected bioenergy plants into account it is possible to give first preliminary recommendations for regional crop cultivation.It can be concluded that Europe offers a large potential for renewable resources from marginal sites. However, the implementation into practice is often impeded by missing or varying policies and regulations. A proper implementation needs clear regulations and also incentives for farmers at the European level.