Drought is the controlling abiotic stress factor affecting crop production in dryland environment... more Drought is the controlling abiotic stress factor affecting crop production in dryland environments and exposes millions of people to food insecurity in Africa and Asia. Although sorghum is drought tolerant, it is not sufficiently known if biochar can reduce drought-related losses in yields in clay soils for this particular crop. The stomatal morphology and gas exchange responses were investigated of a sorghum cultivar, 'Wad Ahmed' (widely grown throughout Sudan and South Sudan), to drought stress and Acacia seyal biochar application in a greenhouse pot experiment. The experiment was set up in a split-plot, randomized block design with two experimental factors: drought stress (60%, 40%, 20% of field capacity) and biochar (no biochar and 10 Mg/ha). The potting soil was clay textured with 5% carbon content. There were eight replicate pots of each treatment which were arranged randomly in six blocks giving a total of 48 pots. The experiment lasted 153 d from sowing, with 127 d of drought treatment. The results showed that while drought stress had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on gas exchange, water use efficiency, biomass and grain yield, biochar had no significant effect, and neither drought stress nor biochar had a significant effect on stomatal size and density. It may be that high doses of biochar are required to benefit crops grown under drought stress, particularly when the soils have initially high soil organic carbon content, with more time needed for any effect to become evident.
Taru Palosuo, D.Sc. (Agr.&For.), is a principal research scientist at MTT Agrifood Research Finla... more Taru Palosuo, D.Sc. (Agr.&For.), is a principal research scientist at MTT Agrifood Research Finland. She is currently working with the integrated assessment modelling of agrifood systems with a particular focus on soil carbon and crop modelling in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. She has also been working with the assessment of the carbon budgets of forests and their uncertainties.
Since 1995, agri-environmental support partly funded by the EU has formed the core of Finland’s a... more Since 1995, agri-environmental support partly funded by the EU has formed the core of Finland’s agri-environmental policy. This system has had a variety of impacts on the relationship between agriculture and the environment. Today’s agri-environmental support is one of the packages included in the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland (2007–2013/2014), which both in itself and through the underlying EU legislation requires monitoring of the impacts of the measures implemented. The study monitoring the impact of the 2nd Finnish agri-environmental scheme (MYTVAS 3), which ran from 2008 to 2013, forms part of this monitoring. The MYTVAS 3 monitoring study was also financed by the Ministry of the Environment. The monitoring study was carried out by a consortium coordinated by MTT Agrifood Research Finland and including the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute and the University of Turku.The purpose of the MYTVAS 3 monitoring study was to find out how agri-environmental support and its various measures have affected the state of the environment in agricultural areas, how agri-environmental support has affected the potential for farming and how agri-environmental support should be developed to increase its impact. The monitoring focused on the impacts of agri-environmental support on the nutrient load from agriculture on the waterways and on biodiversity. When evaluating the findings presented, we should remember that while monitoring data shows that something happened, it does not necessarily explain what caused it. It is not always possible to show that particular developments were a specific outcome of the current agri-environmental support system and the implementation of its measures. The delay between a measure and its observed impact is often long, and the cause-and-effect relationships are complicated and partly unknown. Also, other agricultural policy and fluctuations on the market may affect the state of the agricultural environment directly or indirectly.The monitoring data show that agri-environmental support has not had a detrimental impact on the potential for farming. Despite a slight increase in the incidence of weeds, they do not cause problems of the kind that would require amendments to the content of agri-environmental measures. Carbon levels in the surface stratum of arable land seems to be continuing their slow decline, and there is still need for measures to preserve organic material in the soil.Compliance with the fertilisation limits in the agri-environmental support system would seem to have had very little impact on crop quality. Variations in the weight and protein content per hectolitre and per 1,000 seeds were of the same order between 2006 and 2012 as they were between 1995 and 2005. Crop quantities have also not been noticeably affected by compliance with the fertilisation limits. Average crop yields remained stable between 1986 and 2013, and no clearly different crop years were observed in the 2000s. It is possible, however, that the lower fertilisation levels could have lowered crop potential in the years with advantageous weather conditions in the 2000s and that protein contents have been lower in advantageous years.The monitoring data also show that the nutrient load potential of agriculture, measured by nutrient balances, has decreased continuously for nitrogen and particularly for phosphorus. The decrease in the nutrient load potential is due above all to a decrease in the use of synthetic fertilisers. The decline in nitrogen fertilisation has bottomed out in recent years, and low protein levels measured in high crop yield years show that there is no point in further reducing nitrogen fertilisation. Optimising nitrogen fertilisation according to how advantageous the growing season is and effectively using the soluble nitrogen in cattle manure are key measures in achieving reasonable nitrogen balances and good crop quality despite fluctuations in growing season conditions. New crop variants have been found to make more efficient use of nitrogen than old ones, and thus the introduction of new variants should be promoted. Despite the decrease in the nutrient balances, there are indications that nutrient loads in runoff water from domestic animal production sites are becoming an increasing problem. Indeed, the fundamental problem with the nutrient load from agriculture is the diversification of livestock farming and crop farming, which has made it more difficult to use nutrients appropriately. Therefore attention must be paid to measures that both boost the use of nutrients in manure and reduce the levels of nutrients that end up in manure. Based on nutrient load monitoring in the catchment areas of rivers, the phosphorus load per hectare of cropland has decreased in each programme period, being about 80% of the level of the first period (1995–1999) in the third period (2007–2013). Because…
Maatalouden ympäristöohjelman vaikuttavuuden seuranta (MYTVAS) -projektin osahankkeessa Visuaalin... more Maatalouden ympäristöohjelman vaikuttavuuden seuranta (MYTVAS) -projektin osahankkeessa Visuaalinen maisema tutkimuksen perusmateriaaliksi valokuvattiin kesällä 1996 kymmenen tutkimusalueen otos eri puolilta Suomea. Aineistosta valittiin panoraamakuvia, joita muokattiin sekä maatalouden ympäristötukiohjelman erilaisilla perus- ja erityistuen toimenpiteillä että yhteiskunnallisilla muutostekijöillä. Kuvien muokkaus tehtiin Joensuun yliopistossa, joka myös vastasi käsitellyn kuva-aineiston arvottamisesta haastattelututkimuksen avulla. Suhtautuminen maatalouden ympäristöohjelman mukaisten toimenpiteiden vaikutuksiin maisemassa oli positiivista. Hoidettuja suojakaistoja pidettiin yleensä hoitamattomia suojakaistoja miellyttävämpinä. Suojakaistojen tärkeimpänä vaikutuksena pidettiin veden laadun paranemista vesistöissä. Viljelijöiden mielipiteet suaojakaistojen toiseksi ja kolmanneksi tärkeimmästä vaikutuksesta, rikkakasvien lisääntyminen ja viljelyalan pieneneminen, poikkesivat selvästi...
EU permitted in 2006 the use of meat bone meal(MBM) as fertilizer. MTT Agrifood Research Finland&... more EU permitted in 2006 the use of meat bone meal(MBM) as fertilizer. MTT Agrifood Research Finland's Kannus conducted a field experiment from 2000 to 2003 with a supplement experiment in 2004. The fertilization effect was 24 % higher after MBM than after chemical fertilizers.
We are investigating the role of legumes as components of bioenergy production. Two separate expe... more We are investigating the role of legumes as components of bioenergy production. Two separate experiments, one with annual species and other with perennials, were established at Viikki in 2007. Selected grasses, legumes (or nitrogen fertilizer) and additional species were sown singly or in blends of two or three species.
The globally growing demand to produce more food with fewer inputs, less energy, and lower greenh... more The globally growing demand to produce more food with fewer inputs, less energy, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions challenges current agricultural practices. Recycled fertilizers made of various side streams and types of biomass have been developed mainly to improve nutrient recycling in food systems. However, the knowledge of the impacts of different recycled fertilizers on GHG emissions and energy use is lacking. There is also a need for developing environmental assessment methods for quantifying the impacts of recycling processes, particularly in terms of choosing reasonable methods for co-product allocation. The aims of this study were to address the above mentioned research gaps by i) assessing energy use and GHG emissions of various recycled fertilizers, ii) comparing the recycled fertilizers with mineral fertilizers, and iii) comparing the impacts of using different co-product allocation methods for the recycled fertilizers. Attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used for estimating energy use and GHG emissions of recycled fertilizers, including ammonium sulfate, biogas digestate, and meat and bone meal, using kg of nitrogen in the fertilizers as a functional unit. In addition, the energy use and GHG emissions of oat production when using the recycled and mineral fertilizers were quantified. The data were obtained from field experiments, LCA databases, published literature, and fertilizer companies. The life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of recycled fertilizers were found to be lower than that of mineral fertilizer, but also differences between recycled fertilizer products were notable. The biggest differences between fertilizers occurred in manufacturing and transportation. However, this conclusion is highly sensitive to several decisions, such as data sources and LCA methods used. Handling the raw materials of recycled fertilizers as by-products instead of residues adds burdens from primary production to fertilizers. Also handling the materials as waste increases the impacts due to burdens from the recycling process. Since the raw materials of fertilizers have only little economic value, applying economic allocation results to significantly lower impacts than mass allocation. Consequential LCA studies would be needed to improve the understanding of the wider impacts of recycled fertilizers, e.g. considering the benefits of avoided waste management processes.
Paikallinen ruokajärjestelmä, lähiruoka, on erityisesti globaalistuvan ruokajärjestelmän vastakoh... more Paikallinen ruokajärjestelmä, lähiruoka, on erityisesti globaalistuvan ruokajärjestelmän vastakohtanakiinnostava tutkimuskohde. Ruokajärjestelmän paikallistamisella tavoitellaan ruoan tasaveroista jayhteisöllisesti omatoimista saavutettavuutta, taloudellista ruokaturvaa sekä vastuullisuutta ruoan tuotannonluonnonvaroista ja tuotantoympäristöstä. Nämä tavoitteet liittyvät läheisesti väestö-, talous-, ympäristö- jakulttuurisiin kysymyksiin analyysin mittakaavasta riippumatta.Olemme tutkineet ruokajärjestelmän paikallistamisen vaikutuksia ja siihen liittyviäoppimishaasteita kunta- ja maakuntatasolla Etelä-Savossa. Tämänkaltainen kansallista mittakaavaapaikallisempi lähiruoka-ajattelu ilmaantui etenkin maaseudun toimijoiden hankkeisiin 1990-luvunloppupuolella reaktiona maaseudun elinolojen ja -keinojen taantumiseen. Hankkeessa kehitimmemonitieteiseen kommunikointiin ja tieteiden-väliseen yhdistämiseen tähtäävän käsitteellisen LOFOjärjestelmämallin. Mallissa ruokajärjestelmän ajatellaan ...
Väkilannoitteiden tuottaminen perustuu fossiilisen energian käyttöön. Erityisesti väkilannoitteid... more Väkilannoitteiden tuottaminen perustuu fossiilisen energian käyttöön. Erityisesti väkilannoitteiden sisältämän typen valmistamien vaatii runsaasti uusiutumatonta energiaa. Toisaalta väkilannoitteissa hyödynnetään myös erittäin rajallisia mineraalisia esiintymiä, kuten apatiittia fosforin lähteenä. Väkilannoitteiden käyttöä ei voida pitää kestävän kehityksen tavoitteiden mukaisena. Väkilannoitteita täydentäviä tai niitä korvaavia orgaanisia lannoitteita on kehitetty viime vuosina. Orgaaniset lannoitteet perustuvat teollisessa tuotannossa ja yhdyskuntien toiminnoissa syntyvien jäteaineiden tai sivutuotteiden hyödyntämiseen. Kiinnostus orgaanisiin lannoitteisiin on viime vuosina ollut suurta, myös siksi että niiden avulla voidaan parantaa ruokajärjestelmän ravinnekiertoa. Markkinoille on esimerkiksi tullut jätevedenpuhdistamojen kehittämiä lannoitteita. Orgaanisten lannoitetuotteiden tarve korostuu luonnonmukaista kasvinviljelyä harjoittavilla tiloilla. Koska luomuviljelyssä ei sallita...
An agri-environmental subsidy program that states water protection as one of its main objectives ... more An agri-environmental subsidy program that states water protection as one of its main objectives has been in place in Finland since 1995. The programme is the main tool within Water Framework Directive (WFD) to control nutrient load from agricultural areas in Finland. In this work we created story-lines for agricultural production influenced by climate change on a small agricultural catchment in southern Finland. We used dynamic, catchment scale model to simulate the influence of increased precipitation and temperature on runoff and nutrient leaching with and without different water protection methods, including the changes in production and field use. This study showed that it is possible to decrease inorganic N load by correct combination of crop and water protection methods. The most effective method is nutrient cycling (organic farming) though that happens on the cost of yield. If the target is to reduce suspended sediment load, more effective and/or targeted measures are needed.
Both monocrops and intercrops of oats (Avena sativa L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were cultiv... more Both monocrops and intercrops of oats (Avena sativa L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were cultivated over a range of sowing densities in a field experiment of randomized complete blocks design. The hyperbolic yield-density model was applied to phytomass and seed yield. Predictions and parameters of the model were used to quantify intra-and interspecific competition, and to evaluate yield potential of the mixtures. The model accounted for 93% and 85% of the variation in phytomass and in seed yield, respectively. In both species intraspecific competition was more severe than interspecific competition. Oats was relatively the stronger of the two competitors, e.g. substitution rates were 0.33 plants of oats for a plant of bean with respect to oat seed yield, and 0.72 plants of bean for a plant of oats with respect to bean seed yield. Oats had a greater yield potential than bean. The mixture sown in densities of 400 oats/m 2 and 40 beans/m 2 out-yielded the most productive monoculture with respect to seed yield. Land equivalent ratios (LER) of this mixture, 1.05 for phytomass and 1.06 for seed yield, indicated yield advantage. The greatest LER obtained for seed yield was 1.10. The predicted yield curves demonstrated that the maximum (asymptotic) combined yields, 13 t/ha of phytomass and 6 t/ha of seeds might be obtained by planting bean and oats in 1 : 1 ratio. Land equivalent ratios of this mixture were 1.23 for phytomass and 1.31 for seed yield. Both the actual results and the model predictions suggest potential of intercropped oats and faba bean.
Drought is the controlling abiotic stress factor affecting crop production in dryland environment... more Drought is the controlling abiotic stress factor affecting crop production in dryland environments and exposes millions of people to food insecurity in Africa and Asia. Although sorghum is drought tolerant, it is not sufficiently known if biochar can reduce drought-related losses in yields in clay soils for this particular crop. The stomatal morphology and gas exchange responses were investigated of a sorghum cultivar, 'Wad Ahmed' (widely grown throughout Sudan and South Sudan), to drought stress and Acacia seyal biochar application in a greenhouse pot experiment. The experiment was set up in a split-plot, randomized block design with two experimental factors: drought stress (60%, 40%, 20% of field capacity) and biochar (no biochar and 10 Mg/ha). The potting soil was clay textured with 5% carbon content. There were eight replicate pots of each treatment which were arranged randomly in six blocks giving a total of 48 pots. The experiment lasted 153 d from sowing, with 127 d of drought treatment. The results showed that while drought stress had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on gas exchange, water use efficiency, biomass and grain yield, biochar had no significant effect, and neither drought stress nor biochar had a significant effect on stomatal size and density. It may be that high doses of biochar are required to benefit crops grown under drought stress, particularly when the soils have initially high soil organic carbon content, with more time needed for any effect to become evident.
Taru Palosuo, D.Sc. (Agr.&For.), is a principal research scientist at MTT Agrifood Research Finla... more Taru Palosuo, D.Sc. (Agr.&For.), is a principal research scientist at MTT Agrifood Research Finland. She is currently working with the integrated assessment modelling of agrifood systems with a particular focus on soil carbon and crop modelling in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. She has also been working with the assessment of the carbon budgets of forests and their uncertainties.
Since 1995, agri-environmental support partly funded by the EU has formed the core of Finland’s a... more Since 1995, agri-environmental support partly funded by the EU has formed the core of Finland’s agri-environmental policy. This system has had a variety of impacts on the relationship between agriculture and the environment. Today’s agri-environmental support is one of the packages included in the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland (2007–2013/2014), which both in itself and through the underlying EU legislation requires monitoring of the impacts of the measures implemented. The study monitoring the impact of the 2nd Finnish agri-environmental scheme (MYTVAS 3), which ran from 2008 to 2013, forms part of this monitoring. The MYTVAS 3 monitoring study was also financed by the Ministry of the Environment. The monitoring study was carried out by a consortium coordinated by MTT Agrifood Research Finland and including the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute and the University of Turku.The purpose of the MYTVAS 3 monitoring study was to find out how agri-environmental support and its various measures have affected the state of the environment in agricultural areas, how agri-environmental support has affected the potential for farming and how agri-environmental support should be developed to increase its impact. The monitoring focused on the impacts of agri-environmental support on the nutrient load from agriculture on the waterways and on biodiversity. When evaluating the findings presented, we should remember that while monitoring data shows that something happened, it does not necessarily explain what caused it. It is not always possible to show that particular developments were a specific outcome of the current agri-environmental support system and the implementation of its measures. The delay between a measure and its observed impact is often long, and the cause-and-effect relationships are complicated and partly unknown. Also, other agricultural policy and fluctuations on the market may affect the state of the agricultural environment directly or indirectly.The monitoring data show that agri-environmental support has not had a detrimental impact on the potential for farming. Despite a slight increase in the incidence of weeds, they do not cause problems of the kind that would require amendments to the content of agri-environmental measures. Carbon levels in the surface stratum of arable land seems to be continuing their slow decline, and there is still need for measures to preserve organic material in the soil.Compliance with the fertilisation limits in the agri-environmental support system would seem to have had very little impact on crop quality. Variations in the weight and protein content per hectolitre and per 1,000 seeds were of the same order between 2006 and 2012 as they were between 1995 and 2005. Crop quantities have also not been noticeably affected by compliance with the fertilisation limits. Average crop yields remained stable between 1986 and 2013, and no clearly different crop years were observed in the 2000s. It is possible, however, that the lower fertilisation levels could have lowered crop potential in the years with advantageous weather conditions in the 2000s and that protein contents have been lower in advantageous years.The monitoring data also show that the nutrient load potential of agriculture, measured by nutrient balances, has decreased continuously for nitrogen and particularly for phosphorus. The decrease in the nutrient load potential is due above all to a decrease in the use of synthetic fertilisers. The decline in nitrogen fertilisation has bottomed out in recent years, and low protein levels measured in high crop yield years show that there is no point in further reducing nitrogen fertilisation. Optimising nitrogen fertilisation according to how advantageous the growing season is and effectively using the soluble nitrogen in cattle manure are key measures in achieving reasonable nitrogen balances and good crop quality despite fluctuations in growing season conditions. New crop variants have been found to make more efficient use of nitrogen than old ones, and thus the introduction of new variants should be promoted. Despite the decrease in the nutrient balances, there are indications that nutrient loads in runoff water from domestic animal production sites are becoming an increasing problem. Indeed, the fundamental problem with the nutrient load from agriculture is the diversification of livestock farming and crop farming, which has made it more difficult to use nutrients appropriately. Therefore attention must be paid to measures that both boost the use of nutrients in manure and reduce the levels of nutrients that end up in manure. Based on nutrient load monitoring in the catchment areas of rivers, the phosphorus load per hectare of cropland has decreased in each programme period, being about 80% of the level of the first period (1995–1999) in the third period (2007–2013). Because…
Maatalouden ympäristöohjelman vaikuttavuuden seuranta (MYTVAS) -projektin osahankkeessa Visuaalin... more Maatalouden ympäristöohjelman vaikuttavuuden seuranta (MYTVAS) -projektin osahankkeessa Visuaalinen maisema tutkimuksen perusmateriaaliksi valokuvattiin kesällä 1996 kymmenen tutkimusalueen otos eri puolilta Suomea. Aineistosta valittiin panoraamakuvia, joita muokattiin sekä maatalouden ympäristötukiohjelman erilaisilla perus- ja erityistuen toimenpiteillä että yhteiskunnallisilla muutostekijöillä. Kuvien muokkaus tehtiin Joensuun yliopistossa, joka myös vastasi käsitellyn kuva-aineiston arvottamisesta haastattelututkimuksen avulla. Suhtautuminen maatalouden ympäristöohjelman mukaisten toimenpiteiden vaikutuksiin maisemassa oli positiivista. Hoidettuja suojakaistoja pidettiin yleensä hoitamattomia suojakaistoja miellyttävämpinä. Suojakaistojen tärkeimpänä vaikutuksena pidettiin veden laadun paranemista vesistöissä. Viljelijöiden mielipiteet suaojakaistojen toiseksi ja kolmanneksi tärkeimmästä vaikutuksesta, rikkakasvien lisääntyminen ja viljelyalan pieneneminen, poikkesivat selvästi...
EU permitted in 2006 the use of meat bone meal(MBM) as fertilizer. MTT Agrifood Research Finland&... more EU permitted in 2006 the use of meat bone meal(MBM) as fertilizer. MTT Agrifood Research Finland's Kannus conducted a field experiment from 2000 to 2003 with a supplement experiment in 2004. The fertilization effect was 24 % higher after MBM than after chemical fertilizers.
We are investigating the role of legumes as components of bioenergy production. Two separate expe... more We are investigating the role of legumes as components of bioenergy production. Two separate experiments, one with annual species and other with perennials, were established at Viikki in 2007. Selected grasses, legumes (or nitrogen fertilizer) and additional species were sown singly or in blends of two or three species.
The globally growing demand to produce more food with fewer inputs, less energy, and lower greenh... more The globally growing demand to produce more food with fewer inputs, less energy, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions challenges current agricultural practices. Recycled fertilizers made of various side streams and types of biomass have been developed mainly to improve nutrient recycling in food systems. However, the knowledge of the impacts of different recycled fertilizers on GHG emissions and energy use is lacking. There is also a need for developing environmental assessment methods for quantifying the impacts of recycling processes, particularly in terms of choosing reasonable methods for co-product allocation. The aims of this study were to address the above mentioned research gaps by i) assessing energy use and GHG emissions of various recycled fertilizers, ii) comparing the recycled fertilizers with mineral fertilizers, and iii) comparing the impacts of using different co-product allocation methods for the recycled fertilizers. Attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used for estimating energy use and GHG emissions of recycled fertilizers, including ammonium sulfate, biogas digestate, and meat and bone meal, using kg of nitrogen in the fertilizers as a functional unit. In addition, the energy use and GHG emissions of oat production when using the recycled and mineral fertilizers were quantified. The data were obtained from field experiments, LCA databases, published literature, and fertilizer companies. The life-cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of recycled fertilizers were found to be lower than that of mineral fertilizer, but also differences between recycled fertilizer products were notable. The biggest differences between fertilizers occurred in manufacturing and transportation. However, this conclusion is highly sensitive to several decisions, such as data sources and LCA methods used. Handling the raw materials of recycled fertilizers as by-products instead of residues adds burdens from primary production to fertilizers. Also handling the materials as waste increases the impacts due to burdens from the recycling process. Since the raw materials of fertilizers have only little economic value, applying economic allocation results to significantly lower impacts than mass allocation. Consequential LCA studies would be needed to improve the understanding of the wider impacts of recycled fertilizers, e.g. considering the benefits of avoided waste management processes.
Paikallinen ruokajärjestelmä, lähiruoka, on erityisesti globaalistuvan ruokajärjestelmän vastakoh... more Paikallinen ruokajärjestelmä, lähiruoka, on erityisesti globaalistuvan ruokajärjestelmän vastakohtanakiinnostava tutkimuskohde. Ruokajärjestelmän paikallistamisella tavoitellaan ruoan tasaveroista jayhteisöllisesti omatoimista saavutettavuutta, taloudellista ruokaturvaa sekä vastuullisuutta ruoan tuotannonluonnonvaroista ja tuotantoympäristöstä. Nämä tavoitteet liittyvät läheisesti väestö-, talous-, ympäristö- jakulttuurisiin kysymyksiin analyysin mittakaavasta riippumatta.Olemme tutkineet ruokajärjestelmän paikallistamisen vaikutuksia ja siihen liittyviäoppimishaasteita kunta- ja maakuntatasolla Etelä-Savossa. Tämänkaltainen kansallista mittakaavaapaikallisempi lähiruoka-ajattelu ilmaantui etenkin maaseudun toimijoiden hankkeisiin 1990-luvunloppupuolella reaktiona maaseudun elinolojen ja -keinojen taantumiseen. Hankkeessa kehitimmemonitieteiseen kommunikointiin ja tieteiden-väliseen yhdistämiseen tähtäävän käsitteellisen LOFOjärjestelmämallin. Mallissa ruokajärjestelmän ajatellaan ...
Väkilannoitteiden tuottaminen perustuu fossiilisen energian käyttöön. Erityisesti väkilannoitteid... more Väkilannoitteiden tuottaminen perustuu fossiilisen energian käyttöön. Erityisesti väkilannoitteiden sisältämän typen valmistamien vaatii runsaasti uusiutumatonta energiaa. Toisaalta väkilannoitteissa hyödynnetään myös erittäin rajallisia mineraalisia esiintymiä, kuten apatiittia fosforin lähteenä. Väkilannoitteiden käyttöä ei voida pitää kestävän kehityksen tavoitteiden mukaisena. Väkilannoitteita täydentäviä tai niitä korvaavia orgaanisia lannoitteita on kehitetty viime vuosina. Orgaaniset lannoitteet perustuvat teollisessa tuotannossa ja yhdyskuntien toiminnoissa syntyvien jäteaineiden tai sivutuotteiden hyödyntämiseen. Kiinnostus orgaanisiin lannoitteisiin on viime vuosina ollut suurta, myös siksi että niiden avulla voidaan parantaa ruokajärjestelmän ravinnekiertoa. Markkinoille on esimerkiksi tullut jätevedenpuhdistamojen kehittämiä lannoitteita. Orgaanisten lannoitetuotteiden tarve korostuu luonnonmukaista kasvinviljelyä harjoittavilla tiloilla. Koska luomuviljelyssä ei sallita...
An agri-environmental subsidy program that states water protection as one of its main objectives ... more An agri-environmental subsidy program that states water protection as one of its main objectives has been in place in Finland since 1995. The programme is the main tool within Water Framework Directive (WFD) to control nutrient load from agricultural areas in Finland. In this work we created story-lines for agricultural production influenced by climate change on a small agricultural catchment in southern Finland. We used dynamic, catchment scale model to simulate the influence of increased precipitation and temperature on runoff and nutrient leaching with and without different water protection methods, including the changes in production and field use. This study showed that it is possible to decrease inorganic N load by correct combination of crop and water protection methods. The most effective method is nutrient cycling (organic farming) though that happens on the cost of yield. If the target is to reduce suspended sediment load, more effective and/or targeted measures are needed.
Both monocrops and intercrops of oats (Avena sativa L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were cultiv... more Both monocrops and intercrops of oats (Avena sativa L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were cultivated over a range of sowing densities in a field experiment of randomized complete blocks design. The hyperbolic yield-density model was applied to phytomass and seed yield. Predictions and parameters of the model were used to quantify intra-and interspecific competition, and to evaluate yield potential of the mixtures. The model accounted for 93% and 85% of the variation in phytomass and in seed yield, respectively. In both species intraspecific competition was more severe than interspecific competition. Oats was relatively the stronger of the two competitors, e.g. substitution rates were 0.33 plants of oats for a plant of bean with respect to oat seed yield, and 0.72 plants of bean for a plant of oats with respect to bean seed yield. Oats had a greater yield potential than bean. The mixture sown in densities of 400 oats/m 2 and 40 beans/m 2 out-yielded the most productive monoculture with respect to seed yield. Land equivalent ratios (LER) of this mixture, 1.05 for phytomass and 1.06 for seed yield, indicated yield advantage. The greatest LER obtained for seed yield was 1.10. The predicted yield curves demonstrated that the maximum (asymptotic) combined yields, 13 t/ha of phytomass and 6 t/ha of seeds might be obtained by planting bean and oats in 1 : 1 ratio. Land equivalent ratios of this mixture were 1.23 for phytomass and 1.31 for seed yield. Both the actual results and the model predictions suggest potential of intercropped oats and faba bean.
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