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Environment

Briner S., Hartmann M., Lehmann B.

Is agroforestry an economic opportunity for carbon-neutral animal production?

In Switzerland, agriculture is responsible for about 11 % of the emitted greenhouse gases. Agroforestry systems may improve the climate balance of Swiss agriculture by sequestering carbon. Agroforestry systems are a combination of a lignifying permanent crop with a crop or with grassland on the same area. One advantage is their capability to sequester carbon,…
Environment

Stünzi H.

Analytical studies of the CO2 test for P and K fertilisation

Extraction of soils with CO2-saturated water is one of the Swiss reference methods for phosphorus and potassium fertilizer recommendations. Laboratory experiments show that a significant role is played by interactions between CO2, calcium, phosphate, the only slightly soluble calcium phosphates and lime. Since soil air exhibits increased CO2 content, these solution equilibria also influence the…
Environment

Knauer K., Knauert S., Félix O., Reinhard E.

Pesticides risk assessment for aquatic ecosystem

The analyse of environmental risks aims to protect water, soils and the air so that the organisms living in these ecosystems do not suffer an unacceptable level of damage. To analyse the effects of plant protection substances in rivers and streams, studies focus on typical small waters adjacent to farmland. Risk assessment is based on…
Environment

Zurbuchen A., Müller A., Dorn S.

Close neighbourhood of nesting sites and foraging habitats enhances a diverse fauna of native bees

Native bees are essential pollinators of wild and crop plants providing high ecological and economical benefits. However, half of the 600 native bee species of Switzerland are endangered. Ongoing soil sealing and intensification of agricultural land use result in fewer suitable nesting sites and foraging habitats, which is expected to force female bees to cover…
Environment

Calanca P., Holzkämper A.

Swiss Plateau agrometeorological conditions from 1864 to 2050

Climate change will affect the agrometeorological conditions for crop and forage farming also in Switzerland. This can improve conditions for agricultural production but also increase weather-related risks. In this context, agrometeorological indices can help to better understand the interactions between crops and climate and thus serve as a basis for the development of adaptation strategies.…
Environment

Defila C

Phenological retrospective 2009

In 2009, average temperatures above the norm, and in particular the extremely warm months of April, May and August, significantly influenced the development of vegetation in Switzerland. In contrast, the drought that prevailed temporarily did not influence this development. The growing season began in normal or time or slightly delayed with hazel flowering in March…
Environment

Delabays N., Waldispühl S.

Ambrosia control: not only in agriculture!

The reaction of Ambrosia artimisiifolia L. was studied in recent years using field and greenhouse trials in Geneva and in Changins and 2009 in ring tests in various European countries within a EUPHRESCO project. The results showed that Ambrosia reacts on a non-lethal control with re-sprouting and is able to produce – even in reduced…
Environment

Stettler M., Stettler C., Huber-Eicher B.

Comparison between restored and naturally developed soils

The new Mattstetten-Rothrist rail line builded in the frame of “Railway 2000“ was one of the first large-scale construction projects to strictly implement soil protection regulations introduced about 10 years ago. Supervised by a pedological consultation team, this was realised from the planning of the project to subsequent soil management. The objective of this study…
Environment

Aldrich A. P.

Sensitivity of amphibians to pesticides

The sensitivity of amphibians is not being tested for the registration of pesticides. It is implicitly assumed that surrogate species are at least as sensitive as amphibians. Based on literature data, it will be shown that the acute sensitivity of amphibians is comparable to the sensitivity of fish and aquatic invertebrates. It can be said,…
Environment

Freléchoux F., Viret M., Linder-Berrebi Y., Miéville-Ott V.

PASTO: vegetation dynamics and expectations of the population in terms of landscape

The population barely perceives changes in vegetation that occur very quickly in subalpine regions. In recent decades, large areas have been invaded by woody plants, whilst demand for an open, attractive and readable landscape remains strong. The results of the modeling of vegetation dynamics carried out on the pasture of Larzey show a strong and…
Environment

Fuhrer J., Jasper K.

Irrigation needs for arable land and grassland under current climatic conditions

The demand for irrigation is increasing and a further increase is expected with future climate changes. To support the planning of technical and political measures, data for current and future irrigation water requirements are necessary. Here, a hydrological simulation model was used to determine the need for irrigation water across Switzerland for the period 1980-2006…
Environment

Mühlethaler U., Kamm U.

Innovative direct seeding method in the forest

Forest managers are used to planning for decennials and they need to consider possible climate change scenarios. In addition, storm and bark beetle damage may necessitate rejuvenating the forest earlier and faster than foreseen. As an alternative to traditional plantations, an innovative direct seeding method in the forest is proposed. Trials have been conducted with…
Environment

Hediger W., Peter S., Hartmann M., Weber M., Lehmann B.

The reduction of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions

A recent study at the ETH Zurich shows that the development of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Switzerland will, also in the near future, mainly depend on the development of livestock populations. Current GHG reduction measures may only play a marginal role, given their relatively high cost. Furthermore, the results indicate that the target…
Environment

Ammann C., Neftel A., Spirig C., Leitfeld J., Fuhrer J.

Nitrogen balance of hay meadows with and without fertilization

In a paired field experiment in Oensingen (Switzerland), a fertilised and an unfertilised meadow had been established in 2001 after conversion from arable rotation. Beside the carbon budget, also the entire nitrogen budget of the two grassland fields with all input and output processes have been measured since 2006. Although the nitrogen input to the…
Environment

Bachmann H.J., Buschmann J., Mayer J., Bürge D., Annen D.

Soil analysis with X-ray fluorescence spectometry

The aim of this study was to characterize a field of Agroscope Reckenholz research station regarding its soil constituents with X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and other analytical methods. In addition, criteria for homogeneity were to be determined in order to assign homogeneous lots for long-term agricultural experiments. In the first part, a method was developed…
Environment

Dux D., Alig M., Herzog D.

Environmental impact of agricultural buildings

Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) are based on numerous databases in the energy, transport, waste disposal, chemicals, agricultural processes and facilities spheres. Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART has expanded the data specifically pertaining to agriculture in the ‘buildings’ sphere. The comparison of four different dairy barns shows that by opting for a multi-building loose-housing system in a…
Environment

Meyer M.

Rapeseed oil fuel – the crisis-proof home made eco-fuel

End of 2008 the CTI-project �Vegetable Oil Combined Heat and Power Unit� – completed by Agricultural Machinery department of SCA in close cooperation with its governmental funding and private industry partners – could successfully be completed. With the supply of locally produced Renewable Resources Rape Seed Oil and its conversion to power and heat, the…
Environment

Lüscher G., Walter T.

Indicators for ecological quality in alpine pastures

Vascular plants are helpful indicators for the ecological quality. In the context of the Ecological Quality Ordinance they are already used in the utilized agricultural area. Recently, criteria to assess the ecological quality of summer pastures have been discussed. ART has identified the vascular plant taxa, which best represent species richness, the occurrence of Red…
Environment

Peter M., Lüscher A.

Floristic evolution of nutrient-poor grasslands in the Alps

The nutrient-poor, semi-natural grasslands of the Swiss Alps are amongst the most species-rich habitats in Europe. To investigate changes over 25 years in the diversity and floristic composition of these plant communities, we repeated a total of 151 phytosociological relevés, originally recorded between 1975 and 1985 in Château-d’Oex, Grindelwald, Tujetsch und Sent. In this second…
Environment

Ramseier L., Chervet A., Sturny W. G., Weisskopf P., Sommer M.

Soil damage by tractor pulling

Between 2002 and 2006, tractor pulling events were carried out once a year on a deep luvisol on arable farm land in Niederbipp (BE). Since severe mechanical stress was anticipated particularly within the track area, the authorization of the event was subject to conditions stipulated by the cantonal soil protection service with the aim of…
Environment

Pellet D., Baux A., Grosjean Y., Hebeisen T., Hiltbrunner J., Hunziker H.

Temperature and nutritional quality of rapsed oil

In 2007, newspapers reported a decrease in oilseed rape Omega-3 fatty acid content, which was related to the breeding of modern varieties. The goal of the present paper was to evaluate this hypothesis and to document the role of temperature in the observed phenomenon. At Changins research Station, a significant decrease in alpha-linolenic acid content…
Environment

Ledermann T., Schneider F.

The spread of no-till farming in Switzerland

No-tillage, which has diverse ecological and economic advantages, is an effective measure for protecting against erosion that has become more important in Switzerland in recent years. Since the mid-1980s, the amount of land on which this method is used increased from a few hectares to about 12,000 hectares by 2006. Although this is still quite…
Environment

Meyer M.

From oats for horses to vegetable oil for farm machines

The Rapeseed Oil Combined Heat and Power Unit’ project is a public-private partnership. Its main success is the showcase presentation of the extraction of fuel-quality rapeseed oil and its failure-free application in diesel engines. Significant progress, recognised across Europe, has been made in the field of cold pressing with the setting up of the research…
Environment

Tobias S., Stettler M, Haberecht M., Meyer M., Ingensand H.

Measuring soil displacement due to passing over restored soils

The improved techniques of land restoration provide loose soils that have subsequently to be treated with extensive agricultural management for several years. We investigated the influence of the age of restored soils on their mechanical bearing capacity and their potential to recover from mechanical impacts. For this, we accomplished wheeling experiments with a tractor and…

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