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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

英国耕地农业的经济和环境可持续性正面临危机，部分原因是持续精耕细作导致的土壤退化。少数作物(特别是小麦和油菜)高度依赖化肥、农药、除草剂投入的高频耕作和短轮作的使用，导致土壤有机质流失、紧实度降低、蓄水量减少、土壤侵蚀和农用化学品造成水污染的风险增加，并降低了农场的盈利能力。在这些短暂的轮作中，小麦中越来越难对付的抗除草剂杂草(如黑草)和抗杀虫剂昆虫(如油菜中的跳甲虫)的积累加剧了这一情况。为了解决这些问题，一些农民开始回归混合耕作，将含有草和三叶草的羊群重新引入耕地轮作，希望这能改善土壤质量，减少杂草和疾病，提高利润，但他们没有指导这些决定所需的关键证据。我们的多学科建议直接满足了这一行业主导的研究需求。我们认识到迫切需要确定如何最好地恢复土壤质量，并通过全面评估这些系统的成本和效益来实现良好的畜牧业生产和经济效益。我们的目标是提供第一个全面的行业知情、农民参与的土壤质量、环境和经济成本效益、农民动机和将绵羊重新引入耕地轮作的障碍的评估，重点放在我们英格兰东部最密集的耕作地区。我们的方法是比较传统的牧草三叶草Leys和传统的作物种植，与创新的管理系统相结合，包括结合物种丰富的新型草本Leys，割草和免耕直接耕作作物。这项工作分为五个工作包。1.农民参与研究网络：我们正在建立一个可耕种农民网络，他们已经在进行初步试验，将草三叶草和物种丰富的草本植物Leys、绵羊和免耕引入耕地轮作。我们将与参与的农民以及那些没有做出这些改变的农民一起举办研讨会，并进行大规模的农民调查，以了解纳入这些替代系统的动机和障碍。我们将确定农民在这些方法中取得了哪些成功，以及是什么使他们取得了成功。2.土壤质量恢复和绵羊生产：我们将与一个参与性的农民小组进行田间试验，比较放牧和割草情况下富含草本植物的Leys和传统的草三叶草Leys对土壤质量的影响，(有机质、结构、对水分储存和渗透的影响、养分循环、蚯蚓和与绵羊粪便相关的生物)。我们将评估绵羊生产(活增重和肠道病原体)和莱伊的生物量。3减少耕作的影响：在我们的参与性农场试验中，确定直接耕作是否比圆盘耕作或犁耕更有利于后续的可耕作作物生产和土壤质量(包括对产量、养分利用效率、杂草、病虫害的评估)。4农场规模的成本效益分析：评估将绵羊和草本植物与草本植物Leys引入耕地轮作、割草和使用直接钻探与当前耕作做法的环境和经济成本效益--评估不同方法的成本和产值，以及养分利用效率。5扩大规模和政策影响：景观规模效应，包括对洪水和污染风险的影响，并考虑有针对性的农业支付，以鼓励最有益的做法