Perspectives for Agroecosystem Management: (eBook)

Cover 1
Contents 6
List of Contributors 10
Preface 14
Part I Approaching Sustainable Agriculture 18
Chapter 1.1 Outline of the Scheyern Project 20
1.1.1 Background 20
1.1.2 Research station and project phases 25
1.1.3 Two farming systems 26
Chapter 1.2 Sustainable Land Use by Organic and Integrated Farming Systems 34
1.2.1 Organic farming system in Scheyern 34
1.2.2 Integrated farming system in Scheyern 45
1.2.3 Discussion 53
Part II Management of Heterogeneous Systems 58
Chapter 2.1 Effects of the Management System on N-, C-, P- and K-fluxes from FAM Soils 60
2.1.1 Introduction 60
2.1.2 Materials and methods 61
2.1.3 Results 65
2.1.4 Conclusions 87
Chapter 2.2 Main Driving Variables and Effect of Soil Management on Climate or Ecosystem-Relevant Trace Gas Fluxes from Fields of the FAM 96
2.2.1 Production and consumption of the climate-relevant trace gases nitrous oxide and methane in soils 96
2.2.2 Important controlling factors for N2O fluxes at the FAM sites 97
2.2.3 Important controlling factors for CH4 fluxes at the FAM sites 111
2.2.4 Ammonia emissions from agricultural land use 117
Chapter 2.3 Precision Farming – Adaptation of Land Use Management to Small Scale Heterogeneity 138
2.3.1 Basics and objective 138
2.3.2 Development of methods to characterise spatial variability of soils, crops, and yield 139
2.3.3 Development of site-specific crop production strategies 183
2.3.4 Conclusions 203
Part III Influence of Land Use Changes on the Biotic Environment 218
Chapter 3.1 Effects of Land Use Changes on the Plant Species Diversity in Agricultural Ecosystems 220
3.1.1 Introduction 220
3.1.2 Land use systems practised in the research area 221
3.1.3 Vegetation analysis 222
3.1.4 Results 223
3.1.5 Discussion 236
3.1.6 Conclusions 245
Chapter 3.2 Long-Term Effects of Reduced Tillage on the Populations of Arable Weeds 254
3.2.1 Introduction 254
3.2.2 Research area and management 255
3.2.3 Materials and methods 256
3.2.4 Results and discussion 257
3.2.5 Conclusions 266
Chapter 3.3 Dispersal Strategies: Are They Responsible for Species Success in Arable Ecosystems? 274
3.3.1 Introduction 274
3.3.2 Specific ways of dispersal in arable ecosystems 275
3.3.3 Dispersal by human activity – a dispersal strategy or a random process? 281
3.3.4 Dispersal opportunity and species success 288
3.3.5 Cirsium arvenseand Veronica triphyllos – a successful and a stagnant species 290
3.3.6 Conclusions 292
Chapter 3.4 Soil Microbial Communities and Related Functions 296
3.4.1 Introduction 296
3.4.2 Materials and methods 297
3.4.3 Singular environmental and anthropogenic effects 298
3.4.4 Effect of land use and farming systems 301
3.4.5 Precision farming: site-specific fertilisation 304
Chapter 3.5 Mesofauna 310
3.5.1 Introduction 310
3.5.2 Occurrence and distribution of mesofauna 312
3.5.3 Indicator value 317
3.5.4 Collembola and their influence on microbial diversity 318
3.5.5 Perspective 320
Chapter 3.6 Spiders (Araneae) in Arable Land: Species Community, Influence of Land Use on Diversity, and Biocontrol Significance 324
3.6.1 Introduction 324
3.6.2 The community of foliage-dwelling spiders in arable land 325
3.6.3 The influence of land use on foliage-dwelling spiders in field margins 328
3.6.4 Biocontrol significance of spiders 330
3.6.5 Concluding remarks 332
Part IV Influence of the Land Use Changes on the Abiotic Environment 344
Chapter 4.1 Development and Application of Agro-Ecosystem Models 346
4.1.1 Introduction 346
4.1.2 Modular model development 347
4.1.3 Retrospective modelling of soil water flow 348
4.1.4 Simulation of organic matter turnover and nitrate leaching 350
4.1.5 Crop growth modelling 353
4.1.6 Assessment of nitrous oxide emissions 354
4.1.7 Conclusions 360
Chapter 4.2 Assessment of Soil Landscape Variability 368
4.2.1 Introduction 368
4.2.2 Terrain analysis 369
4.2.3 Electromagnetic induction 372
4.2.4 Remote sensing 378
4.2.5 Conclusions 386
Chapter 4.3 Changes in Nutrient Status on the Experimental Station Klostergut Scheyern from 1991 to 2001 - Statistical and Geostatistical Analysis 392
4.3.1 Introduction 392
4.3.2 Material and methods 393
4.3.3 Results 397
4.3.4 Discussion 420
Outlook 424
Index 430