Conservation tillage and organic farming reduce soil erosion

被引：0
作者：
Steffen Seitz
Philipp Goebes
Viviana Loaiza Puerta
Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira
Raphaël Wittwer
Johan Six
Marcel G. A. van der Heijden
Thomas Scholten
机构：
[1] University of Tübingen,Soil Science and Geomorphology, Institute of Geography, Department of Geosciences
[2] Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Systems Science
[3] ETH Zürich,School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences
[4] University of Texas Rio Grande Valley,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
[5] Research Division Agroecology and Environment,undefined
[6] Agroscope Federal Office for Agriculture,undefined
[7] University of Zürich,undefined
来源：
Agronomy for Sustainable Development | 2019年 / 39卷
关键词：
Soil loss; Organic farming; Conservation agriculture; Arable cropping; Soil protection; Rainfall simulation; Runoff plots;
D O I：
暂无
中图分类号：
学科分类号：
摘要：
The impact of different arable farming practices on soil erosion is only partly resolved, and the effect of conservation tillage practices in organic agriculture on sediment loss has rarely been tested in the field. This study investigated rainfall-induced interrill sediment loss in a long-term replicated arable farming system and tillage experiment (the FAST trial) with four different cropping systems: (1) organic farming with intensive tillage, (2) organic farming with reduced tillage, (3) conventional farming with intensive tillage, and (4) conventional farming with no tillage. Measurements were carried out under simulated heavy rainfall events with runoff plots in 2014 (fallow land after winter wheat) and 2017 (during maize growth). Organic farming decreased mean sediment delivery compared to conventional farming by 30% (0.54 t ha−1 h−1). This study demonstrated that reduced tillage in organic farming decreased sediment delivery (0.73 t ha−1 h−1) compared to intensively tilled organic plots (1.87 t ha−1 h−1) by 61%. Nevertheless, the combination of conventional farming and no tillage showed the lowest sediment delivery (0.24 t ha−1 h−1), whereas intensively tilled conventional plots revealed the highest delivery (3.46 t ha−1 h−1). Erosion rates were much higher in June during maize growth (2.92 t ha−1 h−1) compared to those of fallow land after winter wheat (0.23 t ha−1 h−1). Soil surface cover and soil organic matter were the best predictors for reduced sediment delivery, and living plant cover from weeds in reduced organic treatments appeared to protect soil surfaces better than plant residues in conventional, no-tillage plots. Soil erosion rates were significantly lower when soil cover was above 30%. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that both organic farming and conservation agriculture reduce soil losses and showed for the first time that reduced tillage practices are a major improvement in organic farming when it comes to soil erosion control.
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