Effectiveness of the GAEC cross compliance standard Rational management of set aside (weed control through mowing) in assuring a minimum level of habitats maintenance

Abstract

The cross compliance standard Rational management of set aside (weeds control through mowing) regards sowable lands subject to the withdrawal from production (set-aside) or voluntarily withdrawn from the production. The aim of this standard is: i) to ensure a minimum level of maintenance of habitats; ii) to allow the maintenance of the productive potential and fertility of the soil; iii) to prevent the uncontrolled spread of weeds. Experimental data demonstrated that rational management of set aside according to GAEC standard 4.2 is very effective in increasing soil quality and stabilizing the edaphic animal community in terms of biodiversity. On the contrary minor improvement are made by the standard in the inland areas and high hills and mountain areas, where long crop rotations are adopted and soils are mainly used for long lasting natural or artificial meadow. The rule appears to be ineffective and even not suitable to prevent the spread of weeds, as the only one mowing or mulching 1 of the natural vegetation, made mandatory by the standard, does not prevent the spreading of unwanted seeds to neighbouring cultivated fields. According to many authors, to leave a land uncultivated for a long period of time is not a good agricultural practice.Natural vegetation cover which persists for a long period during the year is detrimental to the subsequent crop, because of the abundant seed production and consequent spread of weeds. At least two or three cuttings per year are needed to effectively reduce the spread of weeds, particularly in the presence of perennial species. Moreover, in order to avoid the spread of a single biological group of weeds, it is necessary to use different types of mechanical work in the course the year. Furthermore, the cutting period should be carefully chosen. Another suggested weed control practice is the use of doses of systemic foliar-absorption herbicides lower than the minimum quantity recommended and approved. In fact, in set aside land it is not necessary to completely dry out weeds, but it is sufficient to control the plant development in order to prevent the production of seeds. Cover crops and green mulching (mowing without residue removal) are other techniques that have been proposed in order to reduce the input of herbicides in no-tillage cultivation, without compromising weed control. Crop rotation is also a factor considered crucial to control weed populations. Studies on floristic evolution under Minimum Tillage or No-Tillage demonstrated that, to observe macroscopic changes, tillage should be reduced for 2-3 years at least. In an experiment conducted in Fagna (Florence) regarding the micro arthropods in the soil it was observed that significant differences exist between the abundance of animal groups. In particular, mulched set aside has a greater abundance of life forms than not mulched set aside, while the lowest abundance was observed in the ploughed soil. The increased abundance and richness of life forms observed in the mulched set aside plots, also evidenced b...

Development of soil biological quality index for soils of semi-arid tropics

“…In order to emphasize the biological and biochemical attributes to soil quality, the biological quality of soil (BSQ) was first proposed by Parisi (2001) which used to measure the bioindicators of soil, especially the arthropods of soil. This approach was successfully validated with other physical and chemical indicators in several works (Aspetti et al, 2010;Begum et al, 2011;Blasi et al, 2013;Garcia et al, 1994;Madej et al, 2011;Mazzoncini et al, 2010;Menta et al, 2018;Menta et al, 2014;Raglione et al, 2011;Rüdisser et al, 2015;Visioli et al, 2013). Pascazio et al (2018) used microbial biomass, β glucosidase, mineralizable nitrogen and urease to represent the biological indicators to measure the SQI.…”

Environmental effectiveness of GAEC cross-compliance Standard 4.2 on biodiversity in set-aside management and economic evaluation of the competitiveness gap for farmers, part I

“…Anche a livello di mesofauna è stato osservato un aumento relativo dei gruppi emiedafici e euedafici sulle superfici ritirate dalla produzione. I valori di QBS-ar ottenuti nelle parcelle monitorate gestite a set-aside sono stati superiori a 100 EMI, con livelli comparabili a quelli ottenuti da altri autori (Menta et al 2008;Ferrazzi et al 2007;Parisi et al, 2005) in aree semi-naturali e naturali e confermano i dati di Raglione et al (2011) e di Biaggini et al (2011) su set-aside. Poche sono state le differenze all'interno delle due diverse gestioni a setaside.…”

Impact of Mycorrhizal Fungi and Rhizosphere Microorganisms on Maize Grain Yield and Chemical Composition

“…, N 2.1 g kg -1 , P2O5 36.7 mg kg -1 (Raglione et al, 2011). Plots have been subjected to maize monoculture for the last 10 years at least.…”

“…The average size of parcels was 0.8 ha. The two soil types utilized were classified according to Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 2003) one Typic Eutrudept with silty loam texture, located in Piedifiume (PF) and the other Vertic Eutrudept with silty clay texture with tendency to surface fissuring (vertic characteristics) on dry season, located in Casabianca (CB) (Raglione et al, 2011). The PF soil characteristics were with pH 8.1, cation exchange capacity 17.9 cmol (+) kg -1 , organic C 9.80 g kg -1 , organic matter 16.80 g kg -1 , N 1.5 g kg -1…”

“…The experimental plots were well supplied with P content (Raglione et al, 2011) Tripaldi, Novero, Giovanni, Chiarabaglio, Lorenzoni, Zilio, Palocci, Balconi & Aleandri Under such conditions, the colonization of root by AM fungi is not favored and is often suppressed (Jensen and Jakobsen, 1980;Al-Karaki and Clark, 1999;Kahiluoto et al, 2001). M fungi from fertilized soil produced fewer hyphae and arbuscules and consequently supplied their host with fewer inorganic nutrients from the soil (Johnson, 1993).…”