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Stocktake study of current fertilisation recommendations across Europe and discussion towards a more harmonised approach |
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| Authors: | Suzanne Higgins Saskia D. Keesstra Žydrė Kadziuliene Lionel Jordan-Meille David Wall Alessandra Trinchera Heide Spiegel Taru Sandén Andreas Baumgarten Johannes L. Jensen Juliane Hirte Frank Liebisch Susanne Klages Philipp Löw Katrin Kuka Maarten De Boever Karoline D'Haene Sevinc Madenoglu Hesna Özcan Wieke Vervuurt Janjo de Haan Willem van Geel Bo Stenberg Pascal Denoroy Rok Mihelič Alar Astover Raquel Mano Cristina Sempiterno Fatima Calouro Giuseppe Valboa Helena Aronsson Tore Krogstad Stanislav Torma Jose Gabriel Peter Laszlo Nils Borchard Bartosz Adamczyk Anna Jacobs Beata Jurga Bożena Smreczak Bruno Huyghebaert Morgan Abras Raimonds Kasparinskis Eloise Mason Claire Chenu |
| Affiliation: | 1. Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Belfast, UK;2. Team Soil, Water and Land Use, Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands;3. Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Kėdainiai, Lithuania;4. UMR 1391 ISPA, INRAE, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, Bordeaux, France;5. Teagasc, Crops, Land Use and Environment Programme, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland;6. Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia Agraria, Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente (CREA-AA), Rome, Italy;7. Department for Soil Health and Plant Nutrition, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Vienna, Austria;8. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark;9. Agroscope, Agroecology and Environment, Water Protection and Substance Flows, Zürich, Switzerland;10. agri.kultur, Messel, Germany;11. Coordination Unit Climate and Soil, Johann Heinrich von Thüenen Institute, Braunschweig, Germany;12. Julius-Kühn-Institute (JKI)—Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Coordination Unit Grassland, Braunschweig, Germany;13. Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Plant Sciences Unit, Merelbeke, Belgium;14. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), Ankara, Turkey;15. Wageningen University Field Crops, Lelystad, The Netherlands;16. Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Skara, Sweden;17. Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia;18. Chair of Soil Science, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia;19. National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinarian Research (INIAV, I.P.), Oeiras, Portugal;20. Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway;21. National Agricultural and Food Centre, Soil Science and Conversation Research Institute, Prešov, Slovakia;22. Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain;23. Institute for Soil Sciences Centre for Agricultural Research, Budapest, Hungary;24. German Agricultural Society, Frankfurt, Germany Lisbon School of Economics and Management, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal;25. Natural Research Institute (Luke), Helsinki, Finland;26. Coordination Unit Climate and Soil, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Braunschweig, Germany Institute for Sugar Beet Research, Göttingen, Germany;27. Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation State Research Institute, Pulawy, Poland;28. Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques (CRAW), Gembloux, Belgium;29. Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia;30. INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Ecosys, Université Paris-Saclay, Palaiseau, France |
| Abstract: | The European Commission has set targets for a reduction in nutrient losses by at least 50% and a reduction in fertiliser use by at least 20% by 2030 while ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility. Within the mandate of the European Joint Programme EJP Soil ‘Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils’, the objective of this study was to assess current fertilisation practices across Europe and discuss the potential for harmonisation of fertilisation methodologies as a strategy to reduce nutrient loss and overall fertiliser use. A stocktake study of current methods of delivering fertilisation advice took place across 23 European countries. The stocktake was in the form of a questionnaire, comprising 46 questions. Information was gathered on a large range of factors, including soil analysis methods, along with soil, crop and climatic factors taken into consideration within fertilisation calculations. The questionnaire was completed by experts, who are involved in compiling fertilisation recommendations within their country. Substantial differences exist in the content, format and delivery of fertilisation guidelines across Europe. The barriers, constraints and potential benefits of a harmonised approach to fertilisation across Europe are discussed. The general consensus from all participating countries was that harmonisation of fertilisation guidelines should be increased, but it was unclear in what format this could be achieved. Shared learning in the delivery and format of fertilisation guidelines and mechanisms to adhere to environmental legislation were viewed as being beneficial. However, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to harmonise all soil test data and fertilisation methodologies at EU level due to diverse soil types and agro-ecosystem influences. Nevertheless, increased future collaboration, especially between neighbouring countries within the same environmental zone, was seen as potentially very beneficial. This study is unique in providing current detail on fertilisation practices across European countries in a side-by-side comparison. The gathered data can provide a baseline for the development of scientifically based EU policy targets for nutrient loss and soil fertility evaluation. |
| Keywords: | fertilisation fertilisation recommendations nutrient management nutrient use efficiency precision agriculture |