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Sustainability

Bodenverdichtung

How does compacted soil recover?

It takes mere seconds to compact a soil, but years or even decades for it to recover. Biological activities by plant roots and soil organisms (earthworms) as well as physical effects like drying out and rewetting phases, and freezing-thawing cycles are vital for natural regeneration. Exactly how recovery happens is being investigated in a long-term field trial. For this, an observational infrastructure with hundreds of soil probes – the Soil Structure Observatory (SSO) – was set up in 2014 together with ETH Zurich. After the initial compaction event, a fallow, a permanent grassland and a crop rotation with and without tillage were set up. This allows to analyse e.g. the influence of plants and tillage on recovery.

Bodenfruchtbarkeit und Bodenschutz
SoilStructureObservatory
Regeneration verdichteter Böden

Publikation Arbeitshaltung Melken

Ergonomics in the milking parlour

Milkers frequently suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, especially in the area of the shoulders and arms.  Agroscope therefore investigated whether appropriate working heights can reduce workload in the milking parlour. For this, the angle of flexion of various joints during milking was recorded in one experiment, whilst a second experiment recorded muscle contractions at three different heights. The study showed that although a lower working height in the milking parlour has no effect on forearms or upper arms, it significantly reduces strain on the shoulders. 

Numéro du projet: 22.01.17.03.01

Optimisation de la gestion de la pâture pour les services écosystémiques

The project aims to investigate the potential of new management systems and technologies to optimize the role of grazing to counteract shrub-encroachment. Different robust livestock categories adapted to specific vegetation contexts will be used to enhance foraging efficiency and grazing pressure on shrub-encroached vegetation. Considering the lack of available workforce nowadays, the different systems and technologies will aim to reduce the labour-intensive livestock management operations required under mountain conditions (e.g. fencing over steep areas). Moreover, the project aims to assess the forage utilization efficiency of different cattle crossbreeds managed under contrasting management intensities, a key topic to optimize beef cattle husbandry on pasture-based systems.

Nom, Prénom Site
Bérard Joël Posieux
Dubois Sébastien Posieux
Mariotte Pierre Posieux
Probo Massimiliano Posieux
Schneider Manuel K. Reckenholz

Svensk M., Mariotte P., Terranova M., Pittarello M., Nota G., Frund D., Dubois S., Manzocchi E., Napoleone F., Meese S., Lombardi G., Allan E., Probo M.
Alnus viridis: An encroaching species with valuable nutritional value reducing livestock greenhouse gas emissions.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 364, 2024, 1-12.

Nota G., Svensk M., Barberis D., Frund D., Pagani R., Pittarello M., Probo M., Ravetto Enri S., Lonati M., Lombardi G.
Foraging behavior of Highland cattle in silvopastoral systems in the Alps.
Agroforestry Systems, In Press, 2023, 1-15.

Zehnder T., Schneider M. K., Lüscher A., Giller K., Silacci P., Messadène-Chelali J., Bérard J., Kreuzer M.
The effects of Alnus viridis encroachment in mountain pastures on the growth performance, carcass and meat quality of Dexter cattle and Engadine sheep.
Animal Production Science, 63, (12), 2023, 1248-1260.

Svensk M., Pittarello M., Mariotte P., Nota G., Schneider M. K., Frund D., Dubois S., Allan E., Probo M.
Nitrogen translocation by Highland cattle grazing in Alnus viridis‑encroached pastures.
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 126, 2023, 127-141.

Galasso G., Domina G., Andreatta S., Argenti C., Astuti G. , Bacaro G., Bacchetta G., Bagella S., Banfi E., Barberis D., Bartolucci F., Probo M.
Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 14.
Italian Botanist, 14, 2022, 99-118.

Svensk M., Mariotte P., Frund D., Probo M.
Le projet ROBUSTALPS - Résultats.
Dans: Salon des Alpages 2022. 15. octobre, Les Diablerets. 2022.

Svensk M., Mariotte P., Frund D., Probo M.
Le projet ROBUSTALPS.
Dans: Salon des Alpages 2022. 15. octobre, Les Diablerets. 2022.

Svensk M., Mariotte P., Frund D., Probo M.
Pâture ciblée des vaches Highland sur les alpages embroussaillés par l'aulne vert.
Dans: Cours montagne 2022. 23. août, Ed. AGRIDEA, 2022, 1-17.

Napoleone F., Probo M., Mariotte P., Ravetto Enri S., Lonati M., Argenti G., Burrascano S.
Agri-environmental payments drive the conservation and forage value of semi-natural grasslands by modifying fine-scale grazing intensity.
Biological Conservation, 269, 2022, 1-10.

Svensk M., Nota G., Mariotte P., Pittarello M., Barberis D., Lonati M., Allan E., Perotti E., Probo M.
Use of molasses-based blocks to modify grazing patterns and increase Highland cattle impacts on Alnus viridis-encroached pastures.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, (849809), 2022, 1-11.

Pauler C., Zehnder T., Staudinger M., Lüscher A., Kreuzer M., Bérard J., Schneider M. K.
Thinning the thickets: Foraging of hardy cattle, sheep and goats in green alder shrubs.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 59, (5), 2022, 1394-1405.

Rinder Fuetterung

Optimised feed reduces environmental impacts

On behalf of Micarna SA, Agroscope analysed the environmental impacts of beef, pork and poultry production. With beef production, feed intensity was crucial. In the case of pork and poultry production, the quantity of feed used per kg of meat had the greatest influence on environmental impacts. The use of European soya with its shorter transport distances had a positive effect. 

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