No abstract

Nepsilon-carboxymethyllysine (CML) is among the most often studied advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in foods and medicine, and several pathways have been suggested for its formation. Based on the results of model studies using glucose labeled with carbon-13 in different positions, a new pathway is proposed for CML formation without involving free glyoxal or autoxidation reactions.

National emission inventories for UN FCCC reporting estimate regional soil nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes by considering the amount of N input as the only influencing factor for N 2 O emissions. Our aim was to deepen the understanding of N 2 O fluxes from agricultural soils, including region specific soil and climate properties into the estimation of emission to find targeted mitigation measures for the reduction of nitrogen losses and GHG emissions. Within this project, N 2 O emissions and nitrate (NO 3-) leaching were modelled under spatially distinct environmental conditions in two agricultural regions in Austria taking into account region specific soil and climatic properties, management practices and crop rotations. The LandscapeDNDC ecosystem model was used to calculate N 2 O emissions and NO 3 leaching reflecting different types of vegetation, management operations and crop rotations. In addition, N input and N fluxes were assessed and N 2 O emissions were calculated. This approach allowed identifying hot spots of N 2 O

FarmClim aims at contributing to a more considerate use of nitrogen in Austrian agriculture. The transdisciplinary research project attempts to tackle the “science-policy gap” by using a participatory approach, that is, stakeholders influence the research process as much as the scientists strive for the implementation of their ideas. This paper describes the project design and communication processes. Full integration of practice partners adds to the complexity of the project's structure, but brings consider able benefits right from the outset. Taking advantage of the existing institutional setting of FarmClim partners, we expect to maintain expert consultancy beyond the lifetime of the project, helping agriculture to meet the challenges of environmental and economic performance of a producing agriculture.

The importance of the soil humus content is indisputable. Soil humus plays an important role in preserving soil fertility and exerts great influence on plant production and yield potential. However, proofing that management‐related changes in the stock of soil organic matter (SOM) have taken place against the background of spatial and temporal variation is a difficult task. In most cases, sampling over a long period of time is needed to verify these changes. Alternatively, potential changes in the SOM stock can be estimated using humus balancing models, which help to identify the need for humus reproduction on a farm. In general, a humus balance is the difference between the humus demand of cultivated crops and humus supply through crops and organic fertilizers. In this study, the ‘Dynamic Humus Unit Method' within the modelling program REPRO was applied to calculate the humus balance for 29 model‐farms that are representative of most of the agricultural production in Austria. Each model‐farm represents a specific production type (PT) and farming system in a defined region or main production area (MPA). This approach gives an overview of the humus balances at a large scale and allows a general trend in Austria to be estimated. Besides differing between conventional and organic farming systems, specific site conditions can also be selected in the model. The constructed model‐farms belong to different PTs such as “forage production”, “cash crops”, “refinement”, and “permanent crops”. The PT “permanent crops” refers to the cultivation of wine. The cropping system of each PT was analyzed in detail, while livestock keeping was considered only when applicable. Positive humus balances were found for all PTs except for permanent crops. The results ranged from –122 to 890 kg C ha−1 y−1. Regions and farm structure, e.g., forage production compared to cash crop, were found to have a greater influence than the kind of farming system (i.e., organic vs. conventional farming). Comparing the different PTs, forage production had the highest positive humus balances (219 to 890 kg C ha−1 y−1), followed by cash crop (24 to 239 kg C ha−1 y−1), refinement (–64 to 402 kg C ha−1 y−1) and permanent crops (–122 to –38 kg C ha−1 y−1). Regarding the farming system, organic farming led to more humus accumulation than conventional farming due to a higher share of fodder legumes and catch crops and more diverse crop rotations. The results were within the range of available empirical data on SOM change, and it was therefore concluded that the results are reasonable. In general, humus reproduction can be regarded as sufficient for agricultural production.