Conservation agriculture in Catalonia

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1 Mid-term Conference Life HelpSoilproject Conservation agriculture, enhancement of soil functions, reduction of production costs Jaume Boixadera Soils and Agrarian Production Environmental Affairs Service Riccagoia, 24 june 2015 Functions of the Soils and Agrarian Production Environmental Affairs Service Service of the Catalan Ministry of Agriculture. Charged, among other functions, to promote the use of best management practices in agricultural production. 2

2 Catalonia: physiography and land use PHYSIOGRAPHY Pyrenees mountain Catalan coastal ranges Ebro basin 3 CATALONIA : Some statistics Population: Municipalities: 940 7,1 million inhabitants Area: km 2 Land use: 59% forest and natural vegetation 29% farm land 7% urban 5% other (water, bare land ) 4

3 Catalonia, limitations to agricultural land use: altitude, slope and rainfall 5 Crop statistical data - Utilised agricultural area Permanent crops: ha Olive: ha Vineyard: ha Almond: ha Orchards: ha Herbaceous crops (arable land ): ha Barley: ha Wheat: ha Maize: ha Lucerne: ha Permanent grassland: ha 6

4 Conservation agriculture Other measures for soil conservation 7 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia 8

5 * Minimum and reduced tillage is the common practice in most parts of Catalonia. * Conservation agriculture are used for field crops, mostly dry land cereals, but for: - Irrigated cereals and forages - Irrigated fruits: stone fruits, citrus, pears - Vineyards and olive trees a soil cover is used. 9 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Dryland cereals: - More than 25 years experience. - Similar yields or slightly higher in the long run. - Some delay in the crop cycle. - Adopted in the area with annual rainfall 450 to 600 mm/year. Much less in the drier (350 mm/year) where is not considered a suitable alternative (Moreno et al,2008) or moister (650 mm/year). - Good control of soil erosion. - Occasional tillage is needed in some cases (soil compaction, weed control). - Now some rotation has been adopted: rape, peas,... - Adoption highly dependent of available inputs specially farm machinery. - Problems with weed control in shallow, marginal soils. 10

6 Average yields of 15 years from tillage systems and nitrogen fertilization trials in a dry land area Moldboard tillage, minimum tillage and no-tillage (Cantero et al 2011) Kg/ha Moldboard tillage Minimum tillage No tillage 11 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Good control of soil erosion Rotation: peas, rape... 12

7 Cynodon dactylon 13 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Bromus sp 14

8 Bromus: mechanical control 15 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Soil organic carbon After more than 17 years experiments in two sites in a semiarid area ( mm/year): - Total SOC (0-40 cm) are the same under CT (conventional tillage) than in NT (no tillage). - Higher SOC content (0-5 cm) in NT than CT. (Plaza-Bonilla et al, 2010 ) 16

9 Control of concentrated runoff: stone wall terraces 17 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Irrigated field crops: few areas 18

10 No-tillage maize (J. Lloveras. IRTA) 19 Barley (future maize FAO-400) Maize (FAO-700)

11 Orchards, vineyards and olives - Availability of water is the limiting factor (vineyards and olives). - Enhancement of traficability (irrigated). - Avoids (helps) problems of iron chlorosis (highly calcareous soils). 21 Conservation agriculture in Catalonia Orchards, vineyards and olive trees 22

12 Conservation agriculture Other measures for soil conservation 23 Soil conservation in Catalonia Terraces under forest 24

13 Soil conservation in Catalonia Erosion in broken terraces 25 Soil conservation in Catalonia Full stone wall terraced olive planted landscape (Les Garrigues) 26

14 Soil conservation in Catalonia Full stone wall terraced olive planted landscape (Les Garrigues) 27 Soil conservation in Catalonia Stone wall terraces in vineyards 28

15 Soil conservation in Catalonia New terraces in vineyards 29 Catalan Rural Development Plan No provisions exists for conservation agriculture 30

16 Final agricultural production in Catalonia: only 12.7% are cereals and forages Source: Dades bàsiques de l agroalimentació a Catalunya Departament d Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca, Alimentació i Medi Natural 31 Generalitat de Catalunya Departament d'agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca, Alimentació i Medi Natural