Stocktaking of European mid- and long-term experiments dealing with the application of external organic matter (EOM4SOIL, Deliverables 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3)


  • Van Der Smissen, H. , Hardy, B. , Huyghebaert, B. & Houot, S. (2024). Stocktaking of European mid- and long-term experiments dealing with the application of external organic matter (EOM4SOIL, Deliverables 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3).Walloon Agronomic Research Center (CRA-W), National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAe),
Type Report
Year 2024
Title Stocktaking of European mid- and long-term experiments dealing with the application of external organic matter (EOM4SOIL, Deliverables 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3)
Institution Walloon Agronomic Research Center (CRA-W), National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAe)
Abstract Extending and optimizing recycling of organic wastes in agriculture is a key element in shifting conventional agriculture towards systems adapted to both energy depletion and climate change. Long-term field experiments (LTEs) play a crucial role in assessing and modelling the effects of repeated exogenous organic matter (EOM) application to soil, which allows to formulate locally adapted recommendations of use. Nevertheless, a specific database focussing on LTEs dealing with organic fertilization in Europe were missing. To close this gap, we listed LTEs dealing with repeated application of EOM from existing online databases, and collected and harmonized all available metadata. The aim of this work was threefold: (1) to facilitate connections between comparable LTEs to foster data harmonization and compilation, (2) to map the diversity of pedoclimatic contexts and experimental designs in the LTE list and, (3) to highlight current knowledge gaps and research needs. Data were collected from five online databases, allowing us to describe 201 LTEs. Key characteristics such as trial name, responsible institution, location, pedoclimatic context, duration, crop type and availability of online resources are well-described in contrast to LTE goal and owner contact, experimental design, soil type, studied EOM and monitored parameters (EOM characteristics, soil and crop properties), which are more difficult to gather and harmonize. The analysis of LTE metadata highlighted first that substantial harmonization efforts are required, particularly regarding the reporting of soil, crop and EOM properties over time. Second, the survey outlines that some European regions are poorly represented in the database, which may result either from an absence of LTE or from a lack of reporting. To close this gap, we call LTE managers to complete the current database with any missing relevant LTE or additional metadata, using the editable online repository attached to this document. In the future, improvement of predictive models could contribute to provide recommendations of EOM use to uncovered situations, whether in terms of soil, climate or type of EOM. Third, long-term effects on soil properties such as changes in soil biology composition or accumulation of organic contaminants (PFAS, microplastics, antibiotics, ...) appear to be poorly documented. LTEs have a key role to play in answering these emerging questions, having the potential to provide the rationale to fix acceptable thresholds in soils and EOMs for emerging pollutants and accordingly provide the best possible guidelines for the use of EOM in agriculture. Dataset available at https://zenodo.org/records/14161752
Fichier
Lien https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14161379
Authors Van Der Smissen, H., Hardy, B., Huyghebaert, B., Houot, S.

Team