There are considerable differences between the EU-15 countries and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in the application rate of phosphorus (P) fertilizer and manure as well as in the climate and erosion patterns, but the eutrophication of surface waters is a common problem. The availability of information on the contribution of the CEE countries to European surveys on eutrophication is not adequate, because the amount of data available from these countries is small. There is thus a need to compile more comprehensive data sets for better assessment. Recent changes in agricultural practices, and their impact on the trophic status of surface waters in CEE countries, have been evaluated using a few selected pressure and state indicators (phosphorus balance, phosphorus status and erosion of agricultural land, P loss risk index, chlorophyll a, total and orthophosphate content of water) by compiling and analysing data from the literature. In the CEE countries, small annual P balances ()7 to +6 kg P ha )1 ) and declining levels of soil available P (proportion of soils adequately supplied with P dropped to between 10 and 50% of total area) may lead to low yields and economic difficulties. Only 11% of the variation in total phosphorus (TP) in rivers studied could be attributed to the calculated P loss risk index, and thus to the impact of differences in the agricultural diffuse source P load. The generation of more consistent data sets should be pursued for the whole of Europe in order to derive more powerful indicators. A refined P index could be one of the best indicators of eutrophication. Recent changes in the trophic level of surface waters could be attributed to a large extent to the change in point source P loads, i.e. to the diminishing amount of P load from municipal and industrial wastewater. The short-term improvement of water quality in the CEE countries will require further improvements in wastewater treatment, but long-term improvement will only be achieved by reducing diffuse P losses from agriculture, possibly involving changes in the land use pattern and in farming practices.
The paper assesses regional differences in the interactions between the natural and organisational factors in Polish agriculture. The analysis carried out in the dynamic approach covers the 2002-2013 period, and the indicators for individual voivodeships are compared to the average for Poland as a reference system. The research, in addition to descriptive statistics, uses also grouping of voivodeships with the use of cluster analysis with method of k-means. Conducted research indicates that the direction and strength of the interaction of selected environmental and organisational factors is differentiated between Polish regions. The observed nationwide trends and interdependencies of analysed natural and organisational factors do not reflect properly the scale and effects of changes in different regions of the country. Because of the multifactor determinants of agricultural production, consequences of their impact on the regions are highly different. This is manifested by realization, in various parts of Poland, of different models of agricultural production, which are characterised by different levels of organisation and intensity. The analysis indicates the need for regionalisation of national agricultural policy, including the Rural Development Programme. This approach should contribute to more effective spending of funds addressed to agriculture and rural areas by optimising the process of their development.
Abstract:The aim of this study was to examine the sustainability performance of organic and low-input conventional farms with the sustainability assessment tool-RISE 3.0. It is an indicator-based method for holistic assessment of sustainability of agricultural production at farm level. Ten organic and 10 conventional farms from eastern Poland, Lublin province were assessed. According to the thresholds levels of the RISE method, organic farms performed positively for 7 out of 10 themes, while the values of the other 3 topics, biodiversity, working conditions, and economic viability, were at medium level. Conventional farms reached positive scores for 9 out of 10 themes. The only middle-performing theme was biodiversity. None of the two farm types had the lowest, problematic scores for examined themes. For the theme biodiversity and two indicators (greenhouse gas balance and intensity of agricultural production), significant differences between farming systems were found. Biodiversity performance, an important indicator of sustainability, estimated with the RISE system, was highly correlated with measured on-field weed flora and Orthoptera biodiversity of farms. High soil acidity and low crop productivity, improper weed regulation, and energy management were the most common problems in both types of farms. Working hours and wage and income levels were also assessed as being low. Recommendations to improve the sustainability of both organic and conventional farms are presented.
The aim of the study was evaluation the use of nitrogen in Polish agriculture, at national (NUTS-0) and regional (NUTS-2) levels. The conducted analysis between 2002 and 2014, based on the gross nitrogen balance, showed an improvement in the use of this macronutrient in the agricultural production process in Poland. Despite the continuing negative relationship between N:P:K in applied mineral fertilizers, the efficiency of nitrogen utilization has far exceeded 60% in recent years. The use of this nutrient has also improved in most Polish voivodeships. However the differences between them are quite significant and range from 55% in wielkopolskie to 84% in the podkarpackie voivodeships. The efficiency of nitrogen utilization is significantly negatively correlated with its balance surpluses (r2 = 0.77).
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