New approach combining food value with nutrient budgeting provides insights into the value of alternative farming systems

Willoughby, Catriona; Topp, Cairistiona F. E.; Hallett, Paul D.; Stockdale, E.; Stoddard, Frederick L.; Walker, Robin; Hilton, Alex J.; Watson, C. A.

doi:10.1002/fes3.427

Food and Energy Security

2022

DOI: 10.1002/fes3.427

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New approach combining food value with nutrient budgeting provides insights into the value of alternative farming systems

Catriona Willoughby

Cairistiona F. E. Topp

Paul D. Hallett

et al.

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Cited by 2 publications

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Soil health metrics reflect yields in long-term cropping system experiments

Willoughby,

Topp,

Hallett

et al. 2023

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Soil health metrics with strong links to ecological function and agricultural productivity are needed to ensure that future management of agricultural systems meets sustainability goals. While ecological metrics and crop yields are often considered separately from one another, our work sought to assess the links between the two in an agricultural context where productivity is a key consideration. Here, we investigated the value of soil health tests in terms of their relevance to agricultural management practices and crop yields at contrasting long term cropping systems experiments. One site was on a sandy loam Leptic Podzol and the other on a sandy clay loam Endostagnic Luvisol. Furthermore, the experiments had different management systems. One contained legume-supported rotations with different grass-clover ley durations and organic amendment usage, while the other compared a range of nutrient input options through fertiliser and organic amendments on the same rotation without ley periods. Metrics included field tests (earthworm counts and visual evaluation of soil structure scores) with laboratory analysis of soil structure, chemistry and biology. This analysis included bulk density, macroporosity, pH, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, soil organic matter and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. Using a novel combination of long-term experiments, management systems and distinctive soil types, we demonstrated that as well as providing nutrients, agricultural management which resulted in better soil organic matter, pH, potassium and bulk density was correlated with higher crop yields. The importance of ley duration and potentially mineralizable nitrogen to yield in legume-supported systems showed the impact of agricultural management on soil biology. In systems with applications of synthetic fertiliser, earthworm counts and visual evaluation of soil structure scores were correlated with higher yields. We concluded that agricultural management altered yields not just through direct supply of nutrients to crops, but also through the changes in soil health measured by simple metrics.

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Soil health metrics reflect yields in long-term cropping system experiments

Willoughby,

Topp,

Hallett

et al. 2023

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Future proofing a long-term agricultural experiment for decades to come: Relocation and redesign

Watson,

Topp,

Mead

et al. 2024

European Journal of Agronomy

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New approach combining food value with nutrient budgeting provides insights into the value of alternative farming systems

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 2 publications

References 91 publications

Soil health metrics reflect yields in long-term cropping system experiments

Soil health metrics reflect yields in long-term cropping system experiments

Future proofing a long-term agricultural experiment for decades to come: Relocation and redesign

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