Study on variation of manure N efficiency throughout Europe
Abstract
The overall objective of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the different ways in which manure-N efficiency is defined and the methods by which it is determined throughout the EU 27, including variation at regional levels where applicable. The consortium consists of seven institutes: AEA (UK; lead), Alterra (the Netherlands), BOKU (Austria), NEIKER (Spain), the University of Aarhus (Denmark), ITP (Poland) and JTI (Sweden). Members of the team are actively involved in assessments of the utilization and environmental impacts of livestock manures with respect to implementation of the Nitrates and IPPC Directives and the Gothenburg protocol by the EU-27. Each national Action Plan will be examined by means of a structured reviewed in order to elicit any information given in the AP regarding manure-N efficiency. Liaison with government departments and research organizations in each MS will be divided among the collaborators to optimize the knowledge and understanding of manure use in agriculture in the MS and the language skills available within the collaboration. The output from Task 1 will be a summary of: • how each MS takes account of manure-N efficiency in the APs; • regional differences in manure-N efficiency rates at MS and regional level; • a comprehensive overview of the calculation method and underpinning information for established manure-N efficiency rates; • comparison of the methods employed to estimate manure-N efficiency and suggestions for 'best practice' to be used in the estimation of manure-N efficiency. As well as evaluating manure-N use efficiency on the basis of of data available in the literature, manure-N efficiency may also be estimated by means of a conceptual model which can be used for all MS. The advantage of this approach is that we have a uniform approach for the whole EU, which makes comparison easier. The output from Task 2 will be an assessment of the extent to which differences in these factors lead to significant differences in the availability of manure-N for both crop uptake and nitrate leaching among the MS and regions of the EU, together with an explanation of the reasons behind any differences reported. We will carry out a systematic review to identify most effective measures and practices to improve manure-N efficiency. Systematic reviews have increasingly replaced traditional narrative reviews and expert commentaries as a way of summarising research evidence. The figure below presents a schematic of the project plan.
keywords animal manures nitrate N efficiency manure management
Publikationen
Project staff
Barbara Amon
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Barbara Amon
barbara.amon@boku.ac.at
BOKU Project Leader
01.09.2010 - 30.06.2011
BOKU partners
External partners
Alterrra Green World Research
Dr. Gerhard Velthof
partner
JTI - Swedish Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Lena Rhode
partner
NEIKER
none
partner
Institute of Technology and Life Sciences
none
partner
AEA Technology
Dr. J Webb
sub-coordinator
University of Aarhus
Dr. Nicholas Hutchings
partner