Quantifying trade-offs among on-farm and off-farm fertility sources to make vegetable organic farming systems more sustainable

Maltais‐Landry, Gabriel; Nesic, Zoran; Grant, N.J.; Godinez, Matthew; Thompson, Brianna; Hsu, Li‐Yun; Smukler, Sean

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.106657

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Although several authors published papers about how OA could collaborate on avoiding the threat of global climate change (e.g., reducing environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions) [37][38][39][40][42][43][44], these results were a consequence of local empirical strategies of positive evidence presented. Furthermore, these studies just focused on some key areas and not encompassed a global strategy viable to different countries, climates, characteristics of farming, and public support.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Implementing this method provides efficient nutrients, especially nitrogen, through animal excrements, thereby contributing substantially to increased crop productivity. The use of green manure throughout the year and legume-based crops both contribute to increasing production [43,44].…”

Section: Improved Crop Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Silva and Delate [37]; Navarro-Miró et al [38]; Canali et al [39]; Feiziene et al [40]; Lori et al [41]; Chocano et al [42]; Shah et al [43]; Maltais-Landry et al [44] Life cycle analyses Life cycle analyses are often used to estimate efficient conversion to OA.…”

Section: Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

2021

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The opportunities for the global growth of the bioeconomy (BE) are generated by the need to expand the food supply for an increasing world population without compromising the environment even further. Organic agriculture (OA) claims to be more environmentally friendly than conventional agriculture and capable of addressing sustainable development objectives by using green technologies, resulting in economic, social, and ecological benefits. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between OA and BE through a systematic literature review. We addressed the benefits of OA under perspective of the main aspects of BE. As demonstrated by previous papers assessed on this review, OA can be a means to facilitate strategies for the use of renewable resources to mitigate the emergencies arising from global warming, as claimed by the BE concept. This article introduces a necessary discussion due the lack of previous studies reporting the capacity of OA to connect with the BE. As a final contribution, we present a conceptual framework characterizing potential benefits of OA under the perspective of BE, for organic farmers and researchers to advance in sustainability and green innovation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Improved Crop Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

2021

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“…However, these inputs have a range of biochemical properties, and unknown or uncertain nutrient content, that make it difficult to predict nutrient supply and match crop nutrient demand (Gale et al, 2006;Maltais-Landry et al, 2016). Vegetable crops-the focus of this study-require relatively high amounts of soil mineral N [ammonium (NH + 4 ) and nitrate (NO − 3 )] during the growing season, but excess amounts post-harvest can be lost to the surrounding environment, especially through NO − 3 leaching in regions with high rainfall (Maltais-Landry et al, 2019). For any nutrient management approach, a careful assessment of production, economic, and environmental outcomes that accounts for variation in local conditions is required to reduce potential trade-offs and ensure sustainability goals are met.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs in organic nutrient management strategies across mixed vegetable farms in Southwest British Columbia

Norgaard¹,

Lewis²,

Borden³

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Balancing economic and environmental objectives can present trade-offs for organic farmers maximizing crop yields while maintaining core principles of ecology and health. A primary challenge for achieving this balance is nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) management. Meeting crop N requirements with compost can build soil carbon (C) and soil health but often over-applies P and increases soil P and associated environmental risks. Alternatively, high-N organic fertilizers can provide N without surplus P but can be expensive and lack C inputs that composts supply. We evaluated these potential trade-offs in 2-year field trials on 20 mixed vegetable farms across three regions of Southwest British Columbia, Canada, capturing a range of climatic-edaphic conditions and organic amendments. Three nutrient management strategies were evaluated: High Compost: compost applied to meet crop N removal, Low Compost + N: compost applied to meet crop P removal plus an organic fertilizer to meet crop N removal, and Typical: varying combinations of composts and/or organic fertilizers (“typical” nutrient application on the farm). Nutrient strategies were evaluated in terms of yield, input costs, and soil properties [permanganate oxidizable C (labile C responsive to soil management), and post-season available N and P]. Soil P was 21% higher with High Compost than Low Compost + N. In one region characterized by inexpensive but nutrient-rich composts and soils high in P, input costs were lowest with Typical, but in the second year, High Compost outperformed Typical in crop yield. Principal component analysis showed a divergence in post-season NO3- between nutrient strategies in relation to compost and soil properties: High Compost using high-N composts increased post-season NO3- (0–30 cm), whereas relative yields in High Compost tended to be higher on farms with lower soil C and lower C:N composts, while yields with Typical were higher under opposite conditions but associated with higher post-season NO3-. Combining input types (e.g., Low Compost + N) can meet environmental objectives in reducing surplus soil P without short-term yield or cost trade-offs compared to High Compost. However, maintaining soil C needs to be investigated to achieve effective ecological nutrient management in organic vegetable production with improved nutrient balances.

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“…However, both at larger and smaller scales, stoichiometry of plants, and soil chemistry may complicate matters. For instance, the application of animal manures or composts to adjust soil fertility for one plant nutrient may lead to an excess or deficiency for other nutrient elements (Maltais-Landry et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Circularity of Nutrient Flows Across Nested Scales for Four Food System Scenarios in the Okanagan Bioregion, BC Canada

Harder

Mullinix

Smukler

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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In light of continued nutrient pollution in water bodies and anticipated insecurities related to future nutrient supplies, there is an increasing awareness of the need to use nutrients in a more circular way. As part of a food system design study in the Okanagan bioregion, BC Canada we set out to evaluate different food system scenarios for the year 2050 in terms of nutrient circularity. In doing so, the objective was to evaluate the circularity of nutrient flows not only in the Okanagan, but also in relation to exogenous regions, insofar as nutrient flows relate to feed and food consumption and production in the Okanagan. This is important because feed and food trade means that nutrient inputs to crop production in the Okanagan may make their way into organic residuals outside the Okanagan, and vice versa. If not accounted for, this may lead to a distorted picture when analyzing nutrient circularity. To this effect, we applied an analytical framework and calculation model that explicitly tracks nutrients from crop production to organic residual generation. The results of the study suggest that assessing nutrient circularity across nested scales was critical for two reasons. First, changes in overall nutrient flows in response to population increase and dietary change were found to be more pronounced outside the Okanagan. Second, our analysis clearly revealed the extent to which feed and food trade boost nutrient self-reliance in the Okanagan at the expense of nutrient self-reliance outside the Okanagan. This kind of analysis should therefore be useful to explore, ideally together with food system and organic residual management actors, how different food system and organic residual management scenarios perform in terms of nutrient circularity, in the geographical area being considered, but also how it impacts nutrient flows and circularity in the places with which feed and food are traded.

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Quantifying trade-offs among on-farm and off-farm fertility sources to make vegetable organic farming systems more sustainable

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

Benefits of Organic Agriculture under the Perspective of the Bioeconomy: A Systematic Review

Trade-offs in organic nutrient management strategies across mixed vegetable farms in Southwest British Columbia

Assessing the Circularity of Nutrient Flows Across Nested Scales for Four Food System Scenarios in the Okanagan Bioregion, BC Canada

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