Restoring soil quality through re-integration of leys and sheep into arable rotations

通过将地粒和羊重新纳入耕地轮作来恢复土壤质量

基本信息

批准号：
BB/R021716/1
负责人：
Jonathan Leake
金额：
$ 98.03万
依托单位：
University of Sheffield
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FR021716%2F1
关键词：
Restoring soil quality through re

项目摘要

The economic and environmental sustainability of UK arable farming is facing a crisis, caused in part by soil degradation as a result of continuous intensive cultivation. The use of ploughing and short rotations in which a small number of crops (especially wheat and oilseed rape) are grown with very high frequency with high reliance on inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides has led to loss of soil organic matter, compaction, reduced water-storage capacity and increased risks of water pollution from soil erosion and agro-chemicals, and reduced farm profitability. This has been compounded by the build-up of increasingly intractable herbicide- resistant weeds in wheat such as blackgrass, and pesticide- resistant insects such as flea beetle in oilseed rape in these short rotations. To address these problems, some farmers are starting to return to mixed farming, reintroducing leys containing grass and clover, grazed by sheep, into arable rotations hoping this will improve soil quality, reduce weeds and diseases and boost profits, but without the critical evidence they need to guide these decisions. Our multidisciplinary proposal directly addresses this industry-led research need. We recognize the urgent requirement to determine how best to restore soil quality, and achieve good livestock production and economic returns through a comprehensive evaluation of the costs and benefits of such systems. Our goal is to provide the first comprehensive industry-informed, farmer-participatory assessment of soil quality, environmental and economic cost-benefits, farmer motivations and barriers to reintroducing sheep into arable rotations, focused on our most intensively cultivated areas of eastern England. Our approach is to compare traditional grazed grass-clover leys and conventional crop cultivation, with innovative management systems that hold the promise of better returns involving combining novel species-rich herbal leys, mowing and no-tillage direct drilling of the crops. The work is divided into five work packages.1.Farmer-participatory research network: We are building a network of arable farmers who are already conducting initial trials into introducing grass-clover and species-rich herbal leys, sheep and no- tillage, into arable rotations. We will run workshops with participant farmers, as well as those who have not made these changes, and conduct a large-scale farmer-survey to understand the motivations for, and barriers to, incorporating these alternative systems. We will identify where farmers have had success with these approaches and what has made them successful. 2.Soil quality restoration and sheep production: We will set up field experiments with a participatory group of farmers to compare the effects of herb-rich leys with traditional grass-clover leys under sheep grazing versus mowing, on soil quality, (organic matter, structure, effects on water storage and infiltration, nutrient cycling, earthworms and organisms associated with sheep faeces. We will assess sheep production (live weight gain, and intestinal pathogens) and the biomass production of the leys. 3 Effects of reducing tillage: Determine whether direct drilling offers benefits over disc or plough-based tillage on subsequent arable crop production and soil quality following leys (including assessment of yield, nutrient use efficiency, weeds, diseases and pests) in our participatory farm-based trials.4 Farm-scale cost-benefit analysis: Evaluate the environmental and economic cost-benefits of bringing sheep and grass-clover versus herbal leys into arable rotations, mowing, and use of direct drilling compared to current arable tillage practices - assessing the costs and output values to farms, and nutrient use efficiency of the different approaches. 5 Upscaling and policy implications: Landscape-scale effects including impacts on flood and pollution risk and consider targeted farm payments to encourage the most beneficial practices

英国农业农业的经济和环境可持续性正面临着危机，部分原因是由于持续的密集种植而导致土壤退化。耕作和短期旋转的使用，其中少量的农作物（尤其是小麦和油料强奸）的频率很高，高度依赖于肥料，农药，除草剂的投入导致土壤有机物，压实，水库储存能力降低，并增加了土壤侵蚀和侵蚀侵蚀性和农业利润的风险。在这些短期旋转中，在油菜籽中，在油菜籽中，在油菜籽中，诸如黑草和抗农药的昆虫（例如，抗农药甲虫）在小麦和抗农药的昆虫中，越来越顽固的除草剂杂草堆积了这一点。为了解决这些问题，一些农民开始恢复混合农业，重新引入了含有草和三叶草的利伊斯（Leys），并由绵羊放牧，旋转旋转，希望这将改善土壤质量，减少杂草和疾病并提高利润，但没有关键的证据，他们需要指导这些决定。我们的多学科建议直接解决了这一行业领导的研究需求。我们认识到，通过全面评估此类系统的成本和收益，确定如何最好地确定如何最好地恢复土壤质量，并获得良好的牲畜生产和经济回报。我们的目标是对土壤质量，环境和经济成本效益，农民的动机以及将绵羊重新引入可耕作的旋转，专注于我们最强化的英格兰东部地区耕种地区，对土壤质量，环境和经济成本效益，农民动机和障碍，提供首个全面的行业综合行业评估评估。我们的方法是比较传统的放牧的草植物和传统的农作物种植，并与创新的管理系统相提并论，该系统具有更好的回报，涉及将新型物种富含草药的液体，割草和无耕作直接钻探作物的钻探。这项工作分为五个工作包。1。农场参与性研究网络：我们正在建立一个可耕种的农民网络，这些网络已经进行了初步试验，以将草 - 克洛斯和物种富含草药的Leys，绵羊和无耕种引入可耕作。我们将与参与者的农民以及没有进行这些更改的人进行研讨会，并进行大规模的农民调查，以了解结合这些替代系统的动机和障碍。我们将确定农民在这些方法方面取得了成功以及使他们成功的原因。 2.土壤质量的恢复和绵羊的生产：我们将与参与式农民进行实地实验，以比较富含草药的Leys与传统的草皮Leys在绵羊放牧与割草，对土壤质量（有机物，结构，储存和浸润的影响，养分环境和生物的生产）的影响（有机物，结构，对水的生产量）的影响（有机物，结构，结构，结构，结构，结构，结构，结构，对杂物的生产和生物的生产）。病原体）和LEY的生物量产生。减少耕作的3个影响：直接钻孔是否在LEYS之后的耕作和土壤质量（包括评估产量，养分使用效率，杂草，疾病和pests and traber Farry-Begential-Begential-Befering-Bene-Bene-Bene-Bene Feenal and the Envoriance-Bene-Benefemations：与当前可耕作的耕作方式相比，与草药相比，草叶和草药列在可耕作的旋转，割草和直接钻孔中 - 评估农场的成本和产出价值，以及不同方法的营养利用效率。 5提升和政策影响：景观规模的影响，包括对洪水和污染风险的影响，并考虑有针对性的农场付款以鼓励最有益的做法