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Chapter Four - Soil research challenges in response to emerging agricultural soil management practices

  • Agricultural management is a key force affecting soil processes and functions. Triggered by biophysical constraints as well as rapid structural and technological developments, new management practices are emerging with largely unknown impacts on soil processes and functions. This impedes assessments of the potential of such emerging practices for sustainable intensification, a paradigm coined to address the growing demand for food and nonfood products. In terms of soil management, sustainable intensification means that soil productivity is increased while other soil functions and services, such as carbon storage and habitat for organisms, are simultaneously maintained or even improved. In this paper we provide an overview of research challenges to better understand how emerging soil management practices affect soil processes and functions. We distinguish four categories of soil management practices: spatial arrangements of cropping systems, crops and rotations, mechanical pressures, and inputs into the soil. Key research needsAgricultural management is a key force affecting soil processes and functions. Triggered by biophysical constraints as well as rapid structural and technological developments, new management practices are emerging with largely unknown impacts on soil processes and functions. This impedes assessments of the potential of such emerging practices for sustainable intensification, a paradigm coined to address the growing demand for food and nonfood products. In terms of soil management, sustainable intensification means that soil productivity is increased while other soil functions and services, such as carbon storage and habitat for organisms, are simultaneously maintained or even improved. In this paper we provide an overview of research challenges to better understand how emerging soil management practices affect soil processes and functions. We distinguish four categories of soil management practices: spatial arrangements of cropping systems, crops and rotations, mechanical pressures, and inputs into the soil. Key research needs identified for each include nutrient efficiency in agroforestry versus conventional cropping systems, soil-rhizosphere microbiome elucidation to understand the interacting roles of crops and rotations, the effects of soil compaction on soil–plant–atmosphere interactions, and the ecotoxicity of plastics, pharmaceuticals and other pollutants that are introduced into the soil. We establish an interdisciplinary, systemic approach to soil science and include cross-cutting research activities related to process modeling, data management, stakeholder interaction, sustainability assessment and governance. The identification of soil research challenges from the perspective of agricultural management facilitates cooperation between different scientific disciplines in the field of sustainable agricultural production.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Anja-K. Techen, Katharina HelmingORCiDGND, Nicolas Brüggemann, Edzo Veldkamp, Barbara Reinhold-Hurek, Marco Lorenz, Stephan Bartke, Uwe Heinrich, Wulf Amelung, Katja Augustin, Jens Boy, Marife Corre, Rainer Duttman, Robin Gebbers, Norman Gentsch, Rita Grosch, Georg Guggenberger, Jürgen Kern, Ralf Kiese, Michael Kuhwald, Peter Leinweber, Michael Schloter, Martin Wiesmeier, Traud Winkelmann, Hans-Jörg Vogel
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2020.01.002
ISSN:0065-2113
Parent Title (English):Advances in Agronomy
Publisher:Elsevier
Editor:Donald L. Sparks
Document Type:Part of a Book
Language:English
Year of Completion:2020
Publishing Institution:Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde
Release Date:2023/10/04
Tag:Agricultural management; Future; Research challenges; Soil functions
Issue:161
Page Number:62
First Page:179
Last Page:240
Institutions / Departments:Fachbereich Landschaftsnutzung und Naturschutz
University Bibliography:University Bibliography
Peer-Review / Nicht ermittelbar
Licence (German):License LogoUrheberrechtsschutz
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