Author(s):
Jung, L. 
; Barwolff, M. ; Vetter, A.
Date: 2014
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/7256
Origin: Repositório da UTL
Subject(s): alley cropping; crop yield
Document details
Evolution of crop yields and qualities in a short rotation coppice alley croppi...
Description
Poster A modern form of agroforestry are alley cropping systems where annual field crops are grown in combination with strips of fast-growing tree species, so-called short rotation coppices (SRCs). Besides fulfilling the farmers requirements to keep the field in the state of production, SRC strips provide many of the well-known positive functions of hedges. They act as wind shelter, reducing soil erosion. By influencing microclimate, they can balance out short periods of extreme climatic conditions leading to higher and more stable biomass yields of the field crops. Furthermore, they may affect quality parameters of crops and disease pressure. SRCs increase the structural and habitat diversity in the landscape, thus promoting biodiversity. Studies on these various aspects are carried out in five agroforestry systems (AFS) within the joint project “AgroForstEnergieâ€, funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany, since 2007. The sub-project of the Thuringian State Institute of Agriculture focuses on influences on crop yield and quality. Crop yield data were collected by GPS-equipped harvesters and evaluated with the software ArcGIS. Along a transect with defined distances from SRC strips, we recorded data on crop quality and fungus infection rate and conducted vegetation surveys. Results showed a reduction of wheat and barley yields in close vicinity to SRC strips and an increase towards the middle of the field. No such pattern was observed for rape seed. Increased fungus infections and effects on quality parameters were found in some years, but only in the immediate SRC strip vicinity. SRC strips had a much higher plant species richness than field strips, showing their valuable contribution to an increase in biodiversity. The weed pressure on adjacent crops strips was comparable to the one found along conventional field edges.
Poster A modern form of agroforestry are alley cropping systems where annual field crops are grown in combination with strips of fast-growing tree species, so-called short rotation coppices (SRCs). Besides fulfilling the farmers requirements to keep the field in the state of production, SRC strips provide many of the well-known positive functions of hedges. They act as wind shelter, reducing soil erosion. By influencing microclimate, they can balance out short periods of extreme climatic conditions leading to higher and more stable biomass yields of the field crops. Furthermore, they may affect quality parameters of crops and disease pressure. SRCs increase the structural and habitat diversity in the landscape, thus promoting biodiversity. Studies on these various aspects are carried out in five agroforestry systems (AFS) within the joint project “AgroForstEnergieâ€, funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Germany, since 2007. The sub-project of the Thuringian State Institute of Agriculture focuses on influences on crop yield and quality. Crop yield data were collected by GPS-equipped harvesters and evaluated with the software ArcGIS. Along a transect with defined distances from SRC strips, we recorded data on crop quality and fungus infection rate and conducted vegetation surveys. Results showed a reduction of wheat and barley yields in close vicinity to SRC strips and an increase towards the middle of the field. No such pattern was observed for rape seed. Increased fungus infections and effects on quality parameters were found in some years, but only in the immediate SRC strip vicinity. SRC strips had a much higher plant species richness than field strips, showing their valuable contribution to an increase in biodiversity. The weed pressure on adjacent crops strips was comparable to the one found along conventional field edges.
Document Type
Other
Language English
Language English
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