Search

Silvopasture is the combination of woody vegetation with forage and animal production on the same land that allows the diversification of agricultural income and productivity. In the silvopastoral systems, the fertilisation with sewage sludge could increase tree growth and pasture production at the same time that the pasture biodiversity is modify. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pasture biodiversity of a walnut silvopastoral system grazed by sheep and fertilized with three types of sewage sludge (anaerobic, composted and pelletized) and with mineral fertilisation after five years of establishment. At the beginning of the experiment all plots were sown with Dactylis glomerata L., Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. Nevertheless, their presence diminished over the years probably due to the shade generated by the trees, the competence with native and less demanding species and the cattle trampling. Moreover, the nitrogenous fertilisation benefited the native species such as Agrostis capillaris L., Bromus hordeaceus L. and Holcus lanatus L., which are less productive and of worse quality but more frugal and nitrophile shade-tolerant species with a higher soil seed bank compared with the sown species.

Sewage sludge use in agriculture is promoted by the European union since the normative of cleaning waters related to the compulsory use of depuration plants in all cities over 2000 inhabitants was finally implemented in 2005. The USC has been conducted long-term experiment research of application of different sewage sludge doses in silvopastoral systems. Main results shown that sewage sludge can be successfully used as fertilizer for both tree and pasture development, with reduced toxicity for animals when plant production is considered in both very acidic and acidic soils. However, the recycling of nutrients has to be considered as heavy metals uptaken by the trees appears in the soils when the leaves fall down. This paper provides an overview of the main findings in acidic soils of the long-term results after application of sewage sludge in soils.

In south-western Europe, the abandonment of traditional practices in mountains is causing a homogenization of the landscape and an increased risk of extreme wildfires, endangering ecosystems of high ecological value. The Interreg Sudoe Open2preserve project (2018-2021) aimed to develop a sustainable management model based on the principles of the pyric herbivory (combination of prescribed fires and targeted grazing) to preserve a mosaic of open landscapes in abandoned and high fire-prone areas. Thirteen partners from Spain, France and Portugal established eight pilot experiments in protected areas of contrasting environments in the SUDOE region (Atlantic mountains, Pyrenees, and Mediterranean areas). In these pilot experiments, we implemented a common management and monitoring design based on an initial removal of biomass and a multi-year targeted grazing with autochthonous horses and sheep. We monitored the intensity and severity of the burnings, the livestock welfare, the vegetation dynamics, and the soil function for two years, and tested drone and GPS technological tools. This multidisciplinary and international project gathered the main bases to implement pyric herbivory practices on mountain grasslands valuing prescribed burnings and targeted grazing, which promote the preservation of biodiversity and resilient ecosystems, while ensuring the environmental, social and economic sustainability of these practices. Open2preserve Project (SOE2/P5/E0804) was funded by the Interreg Sudoe Programme, the European Regional Development Fund of the European-Union. The authors are grateful to the rest of the partners and participants of the project. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Mixed pasture establishment is considered a key point to increase livestock production due to the higher quality it has compared with unmanaged shrubby species. They provide also a set of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and higher biodiversity. Moreover, herbaceous pasture establishment effectively contribute to biomass production while replacing shrubs therefore reducing forest fire risk. One of the main factors promoting the establishment of the herbaceous pasture are sowing and fertilisation. This study evaluates the understory composition evolution of a silvopastoral system established with cocksfoot and clover in an acidic forest soil under Pinus radiata D. Don with four treatments that consist of no fertilization, fertilization with mineral fertilizers (500 kg of mineral 8:24:16) and fertilization with three doses of sewage sludge (160, 320 and 480 kg N ha-1), in Galicia (NW Spain). Botanical composition data were analysed through species abundance diagrams in a time window of 20 years. Results shown clear evolution in understory composition from the initial situation. Organic fertilization was found to ease sown-mixture persistence on time as well as avoiding shrub colonisation with regard to mineral and no fertilization treatments. Nutritional and sun light high-demanding species were mostly replaced in favour of autochthonous ones after sewage sludge fertilization stopped and tree canopy intercepted light that reached the understory.

Agroforestry (AF) is a climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. It is recognized as a proactive “negative emissions technologies” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) 1.5SR) that can foster sustainability in the current changing climate conditions. However, there are knowledge gaps to be filled regarding agroforestry, as well as bottlenecks and challenges. These could be solved by providing greater access to research findings (either published or unpublished) and identifying and extending good practices that farmers are already implementing.

In 2014, FAO suggested five principles to guide strategic global development to provide 'a basis for developing national policies, strategies, programs, regulations and incentives that will guide the transition to an agriculture that is highly productive, economically viable, environmentally sound, and which is based on the principles of equity and social justice'. The first principle can be related to Agroforestry (AF). This paper aims to describe the main reasons linking AF and ecointensification.

Agroforestry (AF) is the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. The appropriate application of AF practices is a key avenue to help the European Union to achieve more sustainable methods of food production. However, there is a lack of agroforestry knowledge among end-users. The project AFINET (AgroForestry Innovation NETworks) is a thematic network to foster knowledge exchange between scientists and practitioners on agroforestry. During the initial stage of the project, an assessment of positive (benefits) and negative aspects (limitations) on the implementation of AF systems was conducted among AFINET stakeholders in Galicia (north-west Spain). The reduction of fire risk, the enhancement of biodiversity and the improvement of landscape aesthetics values were perceived as the main benefits of implementing agroforestry by the stakeholders. On the other hand, the possibility of obtaining grants to establish AF systems was perceived as less important. When asked about the limitations, a lack of knowledge and professional advice were identified as the main barriers for the implementation of AF systems in the region, along with the risk of incompatibilities with the common agricultural policy (CAP).

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Submitted by Margarida Galamba (galamba@isa.utl.pt) on 2018-01-29T14:46:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 REP-CEF-4-Deliverable 6.17 Updated October 2017.pdf: 6016263 bytes, checksum: f3d745f09adc8d4c49f13fe302e5f284 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-29T14:46:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 REP-CEF-4-Deliverable 6.17 Updated October 2017.pdf: 6016263 bytes, checksum: f3d745f09adc8d4c49f13fe302e5f284 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10 N/A

There is increased consumer demand for food products with a perceived positive image. Product quality can be assessed in terms of food safety, nutritional composition, technological and sensory characteristics and ethics. In order to summarise the current knowledge linking quality traits and management practices, a literature review was performed in relation to seven types of management practice: four concerning animal feeding, one concerning breeds and two concerning ethical aspects of the production, and information is presented as seven tables. Literature on use of authentication and traceability for marketed grassland-based products is summarised in a further five tables. Scientific evidence of the differentiation of grassland-based products is currently consolidating, but some practices lead to uncertain results and deserve further research. Authentication is possible but is used to a relatively small extent because of high costs or the lack of analytical techniques suitable for routine use. Marketing appears to be successful without authentication, but this may lead to product counterfeiting. Research and development should be targeted to find viable low-cost solutions to introduce authentication practices to safeguard the added value of grassland-based products and ensure fair remuneration for producers.

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

How it is possible to provide a sound link between premium, grassland-based products and their quality in order to achieve/ensure a high market value for them?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Submitted by Margarida Galamba (galamba@isa.utl.pt) on 2015-09-09T15:24:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 REP-CEF-3-AGFORWARD 613520 First Year Report 27 Feb 2015.pdf: 3329372 bytes, checksum: c2952e247a91e50d2f66c42d33b80387 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-09T15:24:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 REP-CEF-3-AGFORWARD 613520 First Year Report 27 Feb 2015.pdf: 3329372 bytes, checksum: c2952e247a91e50d2f66c42d33b80387 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02

Fertilization is usually applied to increase land productivity, but this technique also affects biodiversity in silvopastoral systems. This study aims at evaluating the effect of different doses of sewage sludge on tree growth, pasture production and biodiversity during three years, at eight years after establishment of a silvopastoral system with Quercus rubra. Improving soil fertility increases grassland biodiversity until tree canopy cover is not complete.

Agroforestry, a combination of a woody (shrub/tree) with an herbaceous component (crops/pasture) is considered an important tool to mitigate and adapt agrarian systems to global climate change. This fact is based on the capacity that AGF systems have to preserve C already accumulated in the woody component but also to increase C sequestration in a tree-less system when trees are planted. Nitrate and CO2 emissions can be reduced by the consumption of the biomass of the understory in forests with high fire risk, but also for the better use of fertilizers in more open systems that will contribute to mitigate the negative effects of this fertiliser inputs on GHG atmosphere release. Resilience is also improved as biodiversity in AGF systems is usually higher than in tree-less systems.

In Europe, sewage sludge has to be stabilized before being used as fertilizer in agriculture. Depending on the stabilization process that is used, sewage sludge has different characteristics, nutrient contents and soil nutrient incorporation rates. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of municipal sewage sludge stabilized using anaerobic digestion, composting and pelletization on saturation percentage of cations in the soil exchange complex and pasture production compared with control treatments (mineral and no fertilization) in a silvopastoral system established under Quercus rubra L. in Galicia (Spain). The application of the dose of pelletized sewage sludge in several times implied an increase of pasture production in the understory which reduced the Ca saturated percentage in the soil exchange complex and therefore increased the Al saturated percentage compared with the other types of sewage sludge evaluated.

When sewage sludge is used as fertiliser it is important to apply an adequate dose of this residue to avoid the accumulation and leaching of heavy metals as Zn through soil profile. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of different dose of municipal sewage sludge (100, 200 and 400 kg total N ha-1) on the total and available Zn concentration at different soil depths (0-25 and 25-50 cm) and the Zn levels of pasture compared to control treatment (no fertilisation) in a silvopastoral system under Quercus rubra L. in Galicia (Spain). The results obtained in this study showed that the use of sewage sludge as fertiliser increased the concentration of Zn in the first 25 cm of soil and in the pasture, mainly when high doses of sewage sludge were applied (400 kg total N ha-1), but never exceeded the maximums set by Spanish regulations and did not cause harmful effects on plants and animals.

Several studies have demonstrated that using sewage sludge as a fertilizer in silvopastoral systems increases both the production of pastures and the growth of trees. However, it is important to determine the appropriate period for sludge application. If sewage sludge is applied too early, nutrients can be leached and if it is too late, early use of nutrients is reduced and therefore growing season shortened. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sewage sludge (100 kg N ha-1) at different dates (December, January, February and March) compared with the control treatments (with and without mineral fertilizer) on the growth of Pinus radiata D. Don trees and pasture production in Galicia (Spain). It was observed that if sewage sludge is applied on February this caused an increase pasture and tree growth, compared with those treatments fertilized in December.

The concentration of heavy metals in the sewage sludge and its effect on the soil and plants is different depending on the process used to stabilise the sewage sludge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the fertilisation with municipal sewage sludge that has been stabilized using anaerobic digestion, composting, and pelletisation on the total and available Cu concentration in soil and the Cu levels of pasture compared to control treatments (mineral and no fertilisation) in a silvopastoral system under Pseudotsuga menziesii L. The results obtained showed that the composted sludge is the type of residue that increased more the total and Mehlich Cu in the soil due to higher inputs of Cu made with it. However, the annual applications of pelletised sludge implied a higher concentration of Cu in the pasture than the other treatments but without cause harmful effects on plants and animals.

In this study we evaluate the effects of six types of fertilization: no fertilizer, lime, manure, lime + phosphorus, lime + phosphorus + boron and manure + inorganic fertilizer; and two types of pasture: spontaneous vegetation and sown pasture, on soil pH and micronutrient concentrations in herbage of pastures established in the NE of Portugal. The results showed that there were higher levels of Cu in the fertilizer treatments that promoted legumes. The 'nofertilizer' treatment and inorganic fertilization with lime increased the percentage of grasses in the swards and herbage Mn levels.

Carbon sequestration is promoted as a practice to offset the negative consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this study was to estimate carbon sequestration in silvopastoral systems established with Pinus radiata D. Don and Betula pubescens Ehrh. The soil compartment proved the most significant carbon sink, and carbon sequestration tended to be higher under P. radiata due to the higher growth rate of this species compared to B. pubescens.

Nowadays, livestock production is strongly dependent on inputs produced from outside the farm, such as fertilizers and concentrates. The combination of low-density trees and grasslands allows the feeding of animals in a cheap way, as tree branches can be used as fodder during periods of forage shortage. Moreover, increased productivity is ensured, as the land-equivalent ratio of 1 ha of silvopasture is between 1.2 and 1.6 ha of forest and crop monocrops, to produce the same amount of products. The presence of trees in grasslands at low density will promote biodiversity, carbon sequestration and nutrient recycling; therefore, a promotion of efficiency in the use of the resources is definitively enhanced. This paper reviews results from a series of experiments to show how silvopasture could promote production and environmental services to provide more sustainable land use options in livestock production.

Sewage sludge is an extensively used fertilizer in Galicia, where more than 70% of the sewage sludge produced is used in agriculture. Nevertheless, before using sewage sludge as a source of nutrients for soil, special attention has to be paid to its content of heavy metals, which could be quite high. For this reason, there are European and Spanish regulations that take account of the levels of heavy metals in soils, in sludge and the maximum amount of heavy metals that can be applied for a period of ten years. Based on previous evaluation at the Spanish scale, Zn is the regulated heavy metal with the highest levels in the sludge. In the present study, a survey of around 2600 soils was performed in order to evaluate the levels of heavy metals in soils and the implications of these levels on the potential use of sewage sludge. Sewage sludge could be used in more than 94% of the analysed soils. Ni was the most limiting heavy metal for sludge application, mostly associated with soils that have serpentine rock as the parent material.

Agroforestry systems include sustainable land management techniques that are promoted by the EU (Council Regulation 1698/2005) and are considered by farmers of different European countries as a management system to implement. Silvopastoral production systems depend on forest species development and tree density established, but also on soil fertilization management practices, which may modify the tree-pasture relationship. Pinus radiata is broadly used in the Atlantic biogeographic region of Spain and it is a fast-growing species with a very dense canopy that could limit pasture production if planted at a high density. One of the main factors limiting pasture productivity on forestlands, especially at early plantation stages, is the low soil fertility, making it necessary to add products to overcome the acidity of the soils and the low nutrient availability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between tree cover and pasture production in a Pinus radiata stand developed on a very acid soil. The results obtained showed a negative linear relationship between litterfall biomass and pasture production and positive relationship between litterfall biomass and tree height.

The combination of tree and pasture production has been recently promoted by the European Union as an agroforestry system type. Pasture production under trees produces annual farm outputs which promote long term rural population stabilisation compared with exclusively forest systems. At the same time, the presence of a tree increases the long term value of the land. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different tree densities, seed mixtures and fertilization on annual meadow production after 9 years of a silvopastoral system. The tree species was birch (Betula alba L.) established at two densities (2500 and 833 tree ha–1). Fertilization regimes included no fertilization and mineral inputs. Initial seed mixtures included cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) together with white and red clover (Trifolium repens and T. pratense). The results showed a significant effect of fertilization, seed mixture and tree density on meadow production. Meadow production was not reduced over time in spite of tree canopy development, which makes birch more suitable for meadow production when compared with radiate pine (Pinus radiata). Fertilization had a major effect at the start of the experiment in terms of modifying annual meadow production. However, by the end of the experiment its effect was modified by tree density and previous seed mixture.

En la actualidad, muchas granjas en Italia están modificando su gestión intensiva hacia otras formas de manejo más extensivas con bajos insumos, en un intento de reducir costes de producción, incrementar la calidad de los productos y preservar el medio ambiente. La presencia tradicional de árboles dispersos en campos de cultivo y pastos es una práctica antigua, que ha sobrevivido en algunas partes de Italia, y que hoy en día está aumentando su interés ya que los árboles no interfieren demasiado en las actividades de mecanización y ayudan a preservar la belleza del territorio y el medio ambiente. No está claro cual es la cobertura arbórea que no afecta, o afecta en escasa medida, a la producción de pasto y trigo, y por tanto cual sería la mejor densidad o distancia entre pies para lograr estos objetivos. Este estudio se ha llevado acabo en la meseta costera de la Toscana (Italia Central) con el objeto de evaluar la producción total de trigo y la producción de pasto teniendo en cuenta la proximidad a árboles adultos del género Quercus. Nuestros resultados muestran que la producción de trigo se vio mas afectada por la cobertura arbolada que la producción de pasto. La distancia entre árboles puede reducirse hasta 20 m en el caso del trigo, pudiendo ser incluso menor para el pasto. En este último caso, la distancia entre árboles debe ser mayor si se emplean especies de siembra y menor en el caso de que el pasto esté constituido por especies nativas espontáneas, por lo general más tolerantes a la sombra.

El objetivo de esta experiencia fue evaluar el efecto de la fertilización nitrogenada y potásica sobre la composición botánica, el contenido en proteína y en macroelementos del pasto durante cuatro años. Se ensayaron nueve tratamientos en un diseño de parcela dividida con tres dosis de fertilizante nitrogenado (0, 60 y 120 kg N ha1 año1) en las parcelas principales y tres de potasio (0, 100 y 200 kg K20 ha1 año1) en las subparcelas. El nivel de proteína, fósforo, calcio, potasio y magnesio del pasto varió con la época del año, ya que ésta afecta al desarrollo y estado fenológico de la pradera. El efecto de la fertilización con nitrógeno y potasio sobre los niveles de proteína y fósforo dependió del efecto que el abonado ejerció en la producción, y en la composición botánica de la pradera, en la que el trébol jugó un papel importante.