Hubert Tunney

Sustainability in Irish Agriculture

Recent decades have seen increasing intensification in Irish agriculture, resulting in some degradation of natural resources. Concerns resulting from this have led to a current emphasis on sustainable agriculture which is a food production and distribution system that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to do likewise. In a soil fertility context, sustainable agriculture entails the maintenance of the balance between nutrients being removed by crops or animal produce and nutrient inputs from fertilisers and nutrient recycling. Phosphorus and nitrogen are key elements in agricultural productivity, but if used to excess can lead to pollution of rivers and lakes, and require greater monitoring, as well as close attention to rates and times of application. An integral part of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is the increased emphasis on environmental conservation through measures aimed at integrating environmental and agricultural policy...

Using GIS and Geostatistics to Optimize Soil Phosphorus and Magnesium Sampling in Temperate Grassland

Abstract Soil sampling design is an important issue for agricultural management and environmental monitoring. In this study, a total of 537 soil samples were collected based on a 30 × 30–m grid from a permanent dairy farm in southeastern Ireland. Five different subsample experiments at lower densities based on the original data set were performed to study the optimal soil sampling design for soil P and Mg using geostatistics and a GIS (geographical information system). Soil P ranged from 1.3 to 35.7 mg L−1, with a CV value of 0.68. Soil Mg ranged from 134.7 to 685.2 mg L−1, with a small CV value of 0.28. Soil P followed neither a normal nor a lognormal distribution. Box-Cox transformation was applied to achieve normality. On the other hand, soil Mg followed a normal distribution, as did its subdata. For soil P, an omnidirectional spherical model was used to describe the spatial autocorrelation. For soil Mg, a nested model (an exponential model combined with a Gaussian model) was used to fit the variograms. Further soil P interpolated maps revealed that soil grid sampling interval could increase to 90 m without a significant loss of spatial information, whereas soil Mg sampling interval could increase to 120 m, confirming that soil Mg had much stronger spatial structure than soil P. According to this study, a grid of 90 × 90 m was recommended for soil sampling, which was confirmed in other practical grassland farms. The spatial structure information was very useful to optimize soil sampling design for practical grassland management.

Field-scale variability of soil test phosphorus and other nutrients in grasslands under long-term agricultural managements

Field-scale variation of soil nutrients in grassland is becoming important because of the use of soil-nutrient information as a basis for policies such as the recently introduced EU Nitrates Directive. This study investigates the field-scale variability of soil-test phosphorus (STP) and other nutrients in two grasslands with a long-term history of poultry litter application. Two fields (field 1 for silage and field 2 for grazing pasture) were selected, and soil samples were collected based on 12 m by 12 m (field 1) and 15 m by 15 m (field 2) grids. Data were analysed using conventional statistics, geostatistics, and a geographic information system (GIS). In field 1, STP values ranged from 12.4 to 90 mg L–1 (average 38.5 mg L–1). In field 2, STP values ranged from 4.3 to 130.0 mg L–1 (average 21.4 mg L–1). Attention should be paid to long-term poultry application, as the average STP values in both fields were much greater than the recommended agronomic optimum STP status in Ireland of 8 mg L–1. Coefficient of variation values of soil nutrients in field 2 were much higher than those in field 1. Log-transformation and Box–Cox transformation were applied to achieve normality. Statistically significant (P < 0.01), positive correlations between P and other nutrients were found in both fields. Exponential and spherical models were fitted to the experimental variograms of STP in fields 1 and 2, respectively. Compared with the counterparts in field 1, soil nutrients in field 2 had larger ‘nugget-to-sill’ values, revealing that sheep grazing could weaken the spatial auto-correlation of soil nutrients. A grid of 60 m by 60 m was recommended for soil sampling in grassland, based on this study. High STP concentrations in field 1 were in the north-eastern side, which was related to uneven poultry litter application. Strong spatial similarity of low STP, magnesium, and pH values in their spatial distribution were found in field 2, confirming their strong statistical correlation.

Variation of soil P and other nutrients in a long-term grazed grassland P experiment field

Field-scale variation of soil phosphorus (P) information is very important for P fertilizer application and its soil sampling design in grassland. A total of 108 soil samples were collected from a long-term (41 years) grazed grassland P experiment field at Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland, in March 2009. There were six P treatments (P0-0, P0-30, P15-15, P15-5, P30-30, and P30-0) since 1968, with changes since 1999. Each treatment had 6 replicate plots (a total of 36 plots, 3 soil samples per plot). The samples were analyzed for available (Morgan’s) P, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), lime requirement (LR), and pH. The highest mean available P concentration was found in the P30-30 (30 kg P ha−1 pre- and post-1998) plots, and the lowest mean available P concentration was found in the P0-0 (no P fertilizer since 1968) plots. Significant differences of mean P, Mg, LR, and pH values in different treatments were observed. There was a positive proportional effect for both the 36 plots and the 6 treatments for the P data: the local standard deviation increased with the increase of local mean. The proportional effect should be considered in order to optimize sampling design. Fewer samples can reflect soil P status in fields with low soil P levels, while more attention should be paid to the fields with high P levels in order to reduce environmental consequences of uniform applications.

Policies related to agriculture and environment in the European Community

This paper summarizes recent EC policy relating to agriculture and the environment. The important changes in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy are outlined and in particular the agri-environmental measures that provide for Member States to aid farmers that take measures to reduce pollution from intensive agriculture and improve the rural environment. The Nitrate Directive, which is the first EC Directive relating to agriculture and the environment, is summarized. Other water directives relevant to agriculture and the aquatic environment as they relate to nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in water are also outlined. The EC Fifth Action Programme on the Environment as it relates to agriculture is also considered. Finally, an attempt is made to assess the likely impact of these policies on agriculture and the aquatic environment.