Miscanthus x giganteus is an energy crop relatively recently introduced into Croatia, that is suitable for cultivation on marginal or abandoned agriculturl land. Energy crops can contribute to ...climate change mitigation both by carbon sequestration into soil/plant pool and by substitution of fossil fuels. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of Miscanthus x giganteus cultivation on the environment by determination of soil and soil-plant system's carbon budget, as well as to estimate the sequestration potential of Miscanthus stand on abandoned agricultural land at national level. After the 3 years of Miscanthus cultivation, soil pH and K2O decreased, P2O5 increased and Ntot remained the same. Plant biomass increased from April, peaked in September, and decreased towards the spring harvest with harvested yield of 14.5 t/ha. Average soil respiration amounted 9.1 t/ha/y, and didn't show seasonal trend, or significant correlation to soil temperature and moisture. Estimated sequestration potentials of Miscanthus are 1.3 (soil system) and 2.0 (soil-plant system) t/ha/y. The highest contribution to carbon gains and losses had respectively preharvest losses and soil respiration. Between 704 520-3 251 600 t C could be sequestrated in soil/plant pool in Miscanthus lifespan if 5-15% of abandoned agricultural land would be converted to Miscanthus cultivation. Therefore, Miscanthus represents biological carbon sink due to great sequestration potential and additional fossil fuel replacement benefits.
Selecting cultivars with greater biomass results in higher yields and greater carbon sequestration. Storage of atmospheric carbon in the plant/soil pool contributes not only to food security but also ...to mitigating climate change and other agroecological benefits. The objective of this study was to determine: (1) grain, residue, and root biomass yields; (2) harvest indexes; (3) residue-to-product ratio; (4) root-to-shoot ratio; (5) biomass carbon and nitrogen contents; and (6) C:N ratios for two new and two old winter wheat cultivars. The greatest yield difference was found between old Srpanjka (the lowest) and new Kraljica (the highest) cultivar where grain, residue, root, and total biomass yield was higher by 38%, 91%, 71%, and 64%, respectively. Total biomass was composed of 40–47% grain, 10–11% roots, 32–36% stems + leaves, 9–11% chaff, and 1–2% spindle. The range of HI was 0.45–0.53, RPR 0.91–1.25, and R:S ratio 0.12–0.13. For all cultivars, positive carbon and negative nitrogen balance within the plant pool was determined. Still, root biomass and rhizodeposition carbon remain open questions for a better understanding of agroecosystems’ C dynamics.
Biological carbon sequestration is considered an important strategy to mitigate climate change. The energy crop Miscanthus × giganteus has great sequestration potential. The objective of this study ...was to determine: a) the dry matter yield and carbon content in aboveground and belowground biomass; b) the total carbon balance in the plant and soil pool. The study was conducted in continental Croatia (N 45°51′01.32″; E 16°10′35.85″) by the destructive harvesting of five-year-old Miscanthus × giganteus stands established by rhizomes (MxgR) and seedlings (MxgS) in the spring of 2021. The soil sampling was conducted in 2016 and 2022. The average amount of carbon in the aboveground biomass of MxgR and MxgS is 11.51 t/ha and 9.87 t/ha, respectively, and in the belowground biomass it is 13.18 t/ha and 14.90 t/ha, respectively. The carbon balance in the plant pool of MxgR is three times lower (1.67 t/ha) than that in the plant pool of MxgS (5.03 t/ha). The total soil carbon content increased by 8.7 t/ha under MxgR and by 14.8 t/ha under MxgS during 2016–2022. Therefore, under the studied agroecological conditions, seedlings should be preferred over rhizomes in the selection of planting material. The obtained data represent valuable input data for sequestration modeling.
Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by the cultivation of cultivars with lower carbon footprint. Considering the hypothesis that there are differences in soil respiration, due to ...differences in physiological and morphological characteristics of wheat and barley, the aim of this study is an assessment of soil respiration rates and microclimate under different cover (bare soil, wheat, and barley) and cultivar (four barley and four wheat) types. Soil respiration was determined by in situ closed static-chamber method in continental Croatia, during the 2020/2021 season. The seasonal pattern of the soil respiration was similar for all cultivars, respiration was increasing with crop development stages until maturity, when it decreased until the harvest. Cover type did not have influence on soil microclimate but did have on soil respiration. Bare soil had significantly lower annual respiration rates, compared to the barley/wheat covers. Average annual respiration rates were similar between the barley and wheat covers, as well as between all studied barley cultivars. A significant difference between winter wheat cultivars have only been determined between the Renata (9.78 kg C-CO2 ha−1 day−1) and El Nino (12.67 kg C-CO2 ha−1 day−1) cultivars. However, the determination of the total carbon budget is needed, in order to determine the most suitable cultivar, in the light of climate change.
Nonsustainable agricultural practices often lead to soil carbon loss and increased soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere. A research study was conducted on arable fields in central ...lowland Croatia to measure soil respiration, its seasonal variability, and its response to agricultural practices. Soil C-CO2 emissions were measured with the in situ static chamber method during corn (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growing seasons (2012 and 2013, n = 288) in a field experiment with six different tillage treatments. During corn and winter wheat growing season, average monthly soil C-CO2 emissions ranged, respectively, from 6.2–33.6 and 22.1–36.2 kg ha−1 day−1, and were decreasing, respectively, from summer > spring > autumn and summer > autumn > spring. The same tillage treatments except for black fallow differed significantly between studied years (crops) regarding soil CO2 emissions. Significant differences in soil C-CO2 emissions between different tillage treatments with crop presence were recorded during corn but not during winter wheat growing season. In these studied agroecological conditions, optimal tillage treatment regarding emitted C-CO2 is plowing to 25 cm along the slope, but it should be noted that CO2 emissions involve a complex interaction of several factors; thus, focusing on one factor, i.e., tillage, may result in a lack of consistency across studies.
Ekološka poljoprivreda predstavlja cjelokupni sustav upravljanja poljoprivrednim gospodarstvima i proizvodnjom hrane koji objedinjuje najbolje prakse gospodarenja u biljnoj i animalnoj proizvodnji, a ...koje osiguravaju očuvanje prirodnih resursa, okoliša, klime, održavanje visoke biološke raznolikosti, visoke standarde za dobrobit životinja i proizvodnih standarda. Republika Hrvatska raspolaže vrlo povoljnim agroekološkim uvjetima za poljoprivrednu proizvodnju koji osiguravaju veliki potencijal za razvojem ekološke poljoprivrede. Cilj rada je utvrditi kako se ekološka poljoprivreda razvijala u Republici Hrvatskoj (RH) tijekom razdoblja 2013. - 2020. Tijekom osmogodišnjeg istraživanog razdoblja, broj ekoloških proizvođača i prerađivača ekoloških proizvoda se povećao. Također, ukupno ekološki korišteno poljoprivredno zemljište se povećalo za 4,5 puta. Od ukupno ekološki korištenog poljoprivrednog zemljišta najzastupljenije su površine pod oranicama i vrtovima, slijede ih površine pod trajnim travnjacima, a zatim površine pod trajnim nasadima. U kategoriji trajnih nasada, najviše se površina nalazi pod voćnjacima, na drugome mjestu se nalaze maslinici, a na trećem mjestu se nalaze površine pod vinogradima. Od ekološke animalne proizvodnje, najzastupljeniji je bio uzgoj ovaca, goveda i peradi, a najmanje je bio zastupljen uzgoj svinja, pčelinjih zajednica i kopitara.
•Investigated soils showed very rich supply of plant available phosphorus and potassium.•All investigated factors showed non-normal distribution.•Variogram models showed sufficient sample design of ...investigated parameters.•All parameters recorded moderate variability with highest observed value in available potassium.•Parameters showed different optimum models for spatial distribution.
The spatial variability of plant available phosphorus, plant available potassium, soil pH and soil organic matter content in central Croatia was investigated using geostatistical tools and geographical information system to create nutrient maps and provide useful information for the application of inputs that will also be used for the design of an adequate soil sampling scheme. In a regular grid (50m×50m), 330 samples were collected on sandy loam Stagnic Luvisol. Soil available phosphorus and plant available potassium showed relatively high spatial heterogeneity, ranging from 105mgkg−1 to 310mgkg−1, and from 115mgkg−1 to 462mgkg−1, respectively. Content of soil organic matter and pH had lower variability ranging from 1.26% to 2.66% and from 3.75 to 7.13, respectively. Investigated soil properties did not follow normal distribution. Logarithm and Box–Cox transformation were applied to achieve normality. Directional exponential model for soil available phosphorus, potassium and pH and spherical model for soil organic matter was used to describe spatial autocorrelation. Fourteen different interpolation models for mapping soil properties were tested to compare the prediction accuracy. All models gave similar root mean square error values. Available phosphorus, potassium and pH evaluated by radial basis function models (CRS, IMTQ and CRS, respectively) provide a more realistic picture of the structures of analyzed spatial variables in contrast to kriging and inverse distance weighting models. For soil organic matter datasets the most favorable model was LP1. According to the best model soil nutrient maps were created to provide guidance for site-specific fertilization and liming. Soil fertility maps showed sufficient concentrations of soil available phosphorus and available potassium. Acidity map showed that the largest part of the investigated area is very acid and acid. For future management it is necessary to provide more liming materials while fertilization rate should be lower.
A 2-year study was carried out in a Croatia to assess the impacts of tillage and fertilisation on soil bulk density (BD), penetration resistance (PR), CO
2
emissions and grain yields. The tillage ...treatments were: conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT) and reduced tillage (RT). Inside these plots, subplots were fertilised with organic fertiliser, 600 kg ha
−1
(CF), 15 t ha
−1
(FYM
15
) and 30 t ha
−1
(FYM
30
) of farmyard manure. In 2017, BD at 10–20 cm was significantly higher in MT than in RT and CT. The same was observed in 2018 at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm. In 2017, RT had a significantly lower PR than MT and CT. In 2018, PR in RT was significantly lower than MT. In 2017 and 2018 FYM
30
and FYM
15
application decreased significantly BD in comparison to CF. In 2017, the highest dose of farmyard manure (FYM
30
50, 5 kg ha
−1
day
−1
) increased significantly CO
2
fluxes comparing to CF (40.7 kg ha
−1
day
−1
). Soil CO
2
fluxes under CT (47.9 and 52.3 kg ha
−1
day
−1
in 2017 and 2018, respectively) were significantly higher than RT (39.1 kg ha
−1
day
−1
) in 2017 and MT (41.7 kg ha
−1
day
−1
) in 2018. Conventional tillage (2.26 t ha
−1
) had significant lower oat yields than RT (2.72 t ha
−1
) and MT (2.56 t ha
−1
). The opposite occurred in barley yields. Farmyard manure significantly increased oat yields in 2017 compared to CF. Overall, reduced tillage with addition of FYM
30
can be considered a sustainable management practice, since improved soil physical properties, reduced CO
2
fluxes and increased grain yield.
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