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Polish Presidency in the EU
Discussion participants
represented all EU
Member States
economy in Europe and the World. Soil organic
matter has been one of the essential drivers for
the ability of soil to perform its functions-e.g. biomass
production, retention, filtering and buffering,
biodiversity”.
During last decades the
gradual loss of soil organic
matter has been observed
in many areas of Europe.
Major factors negatively
affecting the balance of
soil organic matter in last period are:
increased mineralization due to ground water
level decline,
lower biomass input due to monocultures,
a decrease of perennial forage crops in the
cropping structure,
changes in tillage practices – degradation of
soil structure and physical quality,
expansion of farming systems based on
crop production with no animal production,
urbanization of best quality agricultural
soils – lowering global OM pool and sequestration
potential of agriculture.
Consequences of organic matter decline are:
increased levels of atmospheric CO 2
(GHG
effect),
soil erosion,
soil compaction,
nutrients leaching,
biodiversity decline,
decline of overall productivity,
pressure on productivity loss compensation
measures – increased inputs.
There is very strong demand for intensified
research cooperation between scientific institutions
and key target players in Europe. There
should be more coherence in policies as regard
organic carbon management.
More quantitative
and verified assessment
of OM content and decline
across Europe is needed.
A consolidation and verification
of quantitative data
on the impact of various management practices
on OM pool is urgently needed for different
physio-geographic regions in Europe.
Region specific policies and instruments mitigating
OM decline in European soils should be
developed.
Need for specific instrument – paying for the
value of OM.
Worth of consideration and analysis is a policy
support for:
traditional crop rotation systems including
grass mixtures with leguminous plants,
green manures,
reduced tillage systems-need critical review
in socio-economic and environmental context,
improvement of water retention in a landscape
and wetlands in particular”.
All Conference materials are available at:
www.soilconference.eu.
Institute of Soil Science
and Plant Cultivation
– State Research Institute (IUNG) in Puławy
Autumn 2011 17