Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T20:04:40.627Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The potential for Swedish farms to eliminate the use of artificial fertilizers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Artur Granstedt
Artur Granstedt
Affiliation:
State Extension Specialist in Alternative Agriculture, Department of Research Information, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Get access

Abstract

This paper discusses data on plant-nutrient conservation in Sweden between 1950 and 1980 and on plant-nutrient balances in conventional and alternative farming. The amounts of plant nutrients supplied in the form of artificial fertilizer in Sweden increased severalfold between 1950 and 1980. The amounts of N and P applied were four times higher than those recovered in agricultural products. This difference not only represents a loss to farmers but also a burden on the environment. This problem is a consequence of the increased separation of crop management from animal husbandry in Sweden. The flow of plant nutrients through the agroecosystem can be represented as follows: Artificial Fertilizers- > Crop Production-> Animal Husbandry- > Losses (air, water, or immobilization).

This paper suggests that all farms in Sweden can operate effectively without relying on applications of highly soluble plant nutrients. By recirculating plant nutrients in manure and cultivating nitrogen-fixing species, the need for artificial fertilizers can be eliminated while minimizing nutrient losses and their associated adverse effects on the environment. Successful alternative farms provide practical examples of how a farming system can eliminate its dependence on applications of highly soluble plant nutrients by stressing effective nutrient economy and biological activity. The strategies they use include: matching animal management practices to the farm's own production of feed, thereby reducing net removal of plant nutrients per unit area (in Sweden 0.6–0.8 animal units per ha); minimizing nutrient losses through careful manure management and by using cover crops; and supplying N by nitrogen-fixing ley species, and P and K by soil weathering and by applying supplementary soil improvement materials.

Keywords

Ecosystemscase studiesnitrogennitrogen fixationorganic farmingSweden
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 1991 , pp. 122 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Andersson, R. 1986. Förluster av kväve och fosfor från åkermark i Sverige. Omfattning, orsaker och förslag till åtgärder. (Losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from arable land in Sweden: Magnitude, factors regulating and measures proposed. With English summary.) Dissertation, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Soil Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
2.Beck, T. 1986. Bodenmikrobiologische Untersuchungen. Vergleichende Bodenuntersuchungen von konventionell und alternative bewirtschafteten Betriebsschlägen. (Soil microbiological investigations. Comparative soil studies of conventional and alternative managemerit.) Bayerisches Landwirtschaftliches Jahrbuch 63(8):996–1002. BLV, Munich, Germany.Google Scholar
3.Dlouhy, J. 1981. Alternativa odlingsformerväxters kvalitet vid konventionell och biodynamisk odling. (Alternative forms of agriculture—quality of plant products from conventional and biodynamic growing. With English summary.) Dissertation, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Plant Husbandry, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
4.Eriksson, S., Sanne, S., and Thomke, S.. 1972. Fodermedlen: Sammansättning, näringsvärde, användbarhet. Stockholm. LTs förlag.Google Scholar
5.Granstedt, A. 1983. Jordbruksalternativ för bättre resurshållning. Alternativa utvecklingsvägar för svenskt jordbruk. (Agricultural alternatives for improved resource management. Alternative development paths for Swedish agriculture.) Ekonomidagen, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
6.Granstedt, A. 1990a. Case studies on nitrogen supply in alternative farming (English summary). Dissertation, Alternative Agriculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Soil Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
7.Granstedt, A. 1990b. Nödvändigheten av en naturresursbaserad jordbrukspolitik. (The need for an agricultural policy based on natural resources.) Alternative Agriculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Soil Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.Google Scholar
8.Jansson, S. L. 1983. Kväve och fosforbudget för två regioner i Sverige (Malmöhus och Värmlands län) med särskild hänsyn till jordbrukets roll. (Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets for two regions in Sweden, with special consideration to agricultural conditions. With English summary.) Kungl. Skogs- och Lantbruksakademiens tidskrift (Stockholm) 122(5):293–302.Google Scholar
9.Kaffka, S., Koepf, H., and Sattler, F.. 1988. Nährstoffbilanz und Energiebedarft im landwirtschaftlichen Betriebsorganismus. (Farm nutrient balance and energy requirements.) Lebendige Erde Heft 1, 2, 4 and 5/1988. Darmstadt, Germany.Google Scholar
10.Pettersson, B. D. 1982. Konventionell och biodynamisk odling. Jämförande försök mellan två odlingssystem, 1971–1979. (Investigations within Conventional and Biodynamic Farming Systems, 1971–1979. With English summary.) Nordisk Forskningsring, Järna.Google Scholar
11.Pettersson, B. D., and von Wistinghausen, E.. 1977. Bodenuntersuchungen zu einem landjährigen Feldversuch in Järna, Schweden. (Soil studies in a long-term field trial at Järna, Sweden.) Forschungsring für Biol.-Dyn. Wirtschaftsweise, Darmstadt, Germany.Google Scholar
12.Statens, Livsmedelsverk. 1981. Livsmedelstabeller. Helsingborg.Google Scholar
13.Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. 1990. Action programme for marine pollution. Solna.Google Scholar
14.Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics. 1989. Official Statistics of Sweden, National Central Bureau of Statistics, Stockholm, Sweden.Google Scholar