Nutrient Management in Agroecosystems
Methods / Infrastructure
Long-Term Trials – What We Can Read Between the Lines
Agroscope maintains and supervises several long-term trials in Switzerland to enable the investigation of longer-term changes in soil quality and in the soil functions that depend on these.
Earth Observation of Agroecosystems
The ‘Earth Observation of Agroecosystems’ team at Agroscope contributes to the improved sustainability of our land-management practices by providing essential information for targeted decision-making.
Principles of fertilisation of agricultural crops in Switzerland
Fertiliser application in plant production is of vital importance for agricultural practitioners and advisers. With the new ‘Principles of Agricultural Crop Fertilisation in Switzerland’ (GRUD/PRIF 2017), Agroscope has for the first time combined fertilisation recommendations for all crops grown in Switzerland in a single interpretative document.
Research Focus
Nutrient Availability and Fertilisation
Improved nutrient efficiency in agroecosystems is a key challenge in agricultural research. Our research focuses on plant nutrition in different cropping systems, organic and recycled fertilisers, yield responses to nutrient availability and site characteristics, mineralisation processes in the soil and site-specific fertilisation.
Nutrient Dynamics in the Root Zone
An in-depth understanding of root distribution in the soil, below-ground nitrogen and carbon inputs, and their residual effects is the basis for targeted nutrient management, efficient resource use and sustainability assessment in agroecosystems.