Nitrogen and sulphur management: challenges for organic sources in temperate agricultural systems

Abstract

Abstract. A current global trend towards intensification or specialization of agricultural enterprises has been accompanied by increasing public awareness of associated environmental consequences. Air and water pollution from losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), are a major concern. Governments have initiated extensive regulatory frameworks, including various land use policies, in an attempt to control or reduce the losses. This paper presents an overview of critical input and loss processes affecting N and S for temperate climates, and provides some background to the discussion in subsequent papers evaluating specific farming systems. Management effects on potential gaseous and leaching losses, the lack of synchrony between supply of nutrients and plant demand, and options for optimizing the efficiency of N and S use are reviewed. Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer inputs and the equitable re-distribution of nutrients from manure are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting a need for innovative research that is also targeted to practical approaches for reducing N and S losses, and improving the overall synchrony between supply and demand.

Ecological impacts of early 21st century agricultural change in Europe – A review

“…One way to reduce nutrient transport to water is to integrate the use of organic and inorganic fertilisers (McNeill et al, 2005). The use of precision farming could optimise inorganic N application and reduce nitrate pollution.…”

Seed Yield Components and Seed Quality of Oilseed Rape Are Impacted by Sulfur Fertilization and Its Interactions With Nitrogen Fertilization

“…S fertilization in crops has been of concern since the 1980s as a result of environmental policies that aimed to reduce atmospheric sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) from industrial emissions (Schnug et al, 1993; McGrath and Zhao, 1996; McGrath et al, 2002). As a consequence, S deposition into the soil was strongly reduced (McNeill et al, 2005) leading to increasing occurrence of S deficiency in crops, mainly in Western Europe. Oilseed rape ( Brassica napus L.) is a high S-demanding crop because of its high contents in sulfate and S-containing secondary metabolites compared to other species like wheat (Oenema and Postma, 2003).…”

Multi‐omics analyses of sid2 mutant reflect the need of isochorismate synthase ICS1 to cope with sulfur limitation in Arabidopsis thaliana

“…For many years, research in plant nutrition have focused efforts on nitrogen use efficiency, as large amounts of nitrate fertilizers are used worldwide and represent important costs for farmers and important issues for climate change (Hav e et al, 2017). The decline of industrial sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions in the past decades is leading to the reduction of sulfate content in the soils (McNeill et al, 2005). This starts to have a negative impact on crop yield and seed quality (Dubousset et al, 2009) as well as some negative side-effects on nitrogen uptake (Dubousset et al, 2010;Gironde et al, 2014;Sorin et al, 2015).…”