Publication Date
1997
Description
N balance in a full-scale experiment with conventional and ecological farming systems at Öjebyn in northern Sweden was calculated with a nutrient flow model. Due to increased milk production there was a yearly increase in both N-input and output. Nfixation was on average twice as large in the ecological system. The farm N balance was increasingly positive in the conventional system and negative in the ecological. The soil N balance was more negative in the ecological system and less positive in the conventional system. Conclusions are: (1) ecological farming is possible without immediate DM yield reductions, but with negative effects on N balances, (2) sustainability is measured more stringently by soil balance than by farm balance, (3) estimates of N-losses need to be adjusted for north Swedish conditions.
Citation
Fagerberg, B, "Nitrogen Cycling in a Ley-Dominated Production System" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1997-2023). 9.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1997/session20/9
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Nitrogen Cycling in a Ley-Dominated Production System
N balance in a full-scale experiment with conventional and ecological farming systems at Öjebyn in northern Sweden was calculated with a nutrient flow model. Due to increased milk production there was a yearly increase in both N-input and output. Nfixation was on average twice as large in the ecological system. The farm N balance was increasingly positive in the conventional system and negative in the ecological. The soil N balance was more negative in the ecological system and less positive in the conventional system. Conclusions are: (1) ecological farming is possible without immediate DM yield reductions, but with negative effects on N balances, (2) sustainability is measured more stringently by soil balance than by farm balance, (3) estimates of N-losses need to be adjusted for north Swedish conditions.
