Nitrogen and sulphur management: challenges for organic sources in temperate agricultural systems

Abstract

Abstract. A current global trend towards intensification or specialization of agricultural enterprises has been accompanied by increasing public awareness of associated environmental consequences. Air and water pollution from losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), are a major concern. Governments have initiated extensive regulatory frameworks, including various land use policies, in an attempt to control or reduce the losses. This paper presents an overview of critical input and loss processes affecting N and S for temperate climates, and provides some background to the discussion in subsequent papers evaluating specific farming systems. Management effects on potential gaseous and leaching losses, the lack of synchrony between supply of nutrients and plant demand, and options for optimizing the efficiency of N and S use are reviewed. Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer inputs and the equitable re-distribution of nutrients from manure are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting a need for innovative research that is also targeted to practical approaches for reducing N and S losses, and improving the overall synchrony between supply and demand.

Conventional and Organic Soil Fertility Management Practices Affect Corn Plant Nutrition andOstrinia nubilalis(Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Larval Performance

“…Furthermore, plant tissue mineral content differed strongly among soil fertility treatments, which may have caused the differences in larval performance. Given that an increasing number of farmers are using organic farming methods (Willer and Kilcher 2011), and that sulfur and microminerals are becoming increasingly deÞcient in soils worldwide (McNeill et al 2005), it is worthwhile that future studies expand the Ca:Mg:K ratio concept to consider the effects that manure and gypsum additions have on sulfur and micromineral content, and subsequent responses of crop plant mineral nutrition and insect herbivore response.…”

Potential, quality and quantity assessment of sesame plant residue in dry land vertisols of Tigrai, Ethiopia; Approach for sustainability of dry-land farming

“…(2010) has reported ammonia volatilization was 5–16 percent of the N content of residues when placed on top of the soil. McNeill et al. (2005) has indicated that besides leaching of N in the form of nitrate from elevated areas of land, substantial emissions of N as ammonia are also associated with land spreading of residues and manures.…”

“…Agriculture has undergone drastic changes over the last few decades, and farms have increasingly become more specialized and more intensive, with arable production often being concentrated in different regions of a country ( McNeill et al., 2005 ). Agricultural activities (e.g., deforestation, burning, plowing, and intensive grazing) and expansions contribute substantially to the carbon pool ( Lal and Kimble, 1997 ).…”

Is pH increasing in the noncalcareous topsoils of France under agricultural management? A statistical framework to overcome the limitations of a soil test database

“…Elevated levels of N fertilizer applications can drive soil acidification (e.g. Mahler & Harder, ; Bolan et al ., ; Juo et al ., ; McNeill et al ., ; Guo et al ., ). Guo et al .…”