Nándor Fodor

Neglecting legumes has compromised human health and sustainable food production

The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (grain legumes) under the banner ‘nutritious seeds for a sustainable future’. A second green revolution is required to ensure food and nutritional security in the face of global climate change. Grain legumes provide an unparalleled solution to this problem because of their inherent capacity for symbiotic atmospheric nitrogen fixation, which provides economically sustainable advantages for farming. In addition, a legume-rich diet has health benefits for humans and livestock alike. However, grain legumes form only a minor part of most current human diets, and legume crops are greatly under-used. Food security and soil fertility could be significantly improved by greater grain legume usage and increased improvement of a range of grain legumes. The current lack of coordinated focus on grain legumes has compromised human health, nutritional security and sustainable food production.

PLANTS AND BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUST INFLUENCE THE HYDROPHYSICAL PARAMETERS AND WATER FLOW IN AN AEOLIAN SANDY SOIL

This study tested the hypothesis that the changes in hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil have the same trend as the process of succession. Three sub-sites were demarcated at the area of about 50 m x 50 m. The first sub-site was located at the pine-forest glade covered with a biological soil crust and represented the initial stage of succession. The second sub-site was located at the grassland and represented more advanced stage of succession. The third sub-site was located at the pine forest with 30-year old Scots pines and represented advanced stage (close to climax) of succession. The sandy soil at the surface was compared to the soil at the pine-forest glade at 50 cm depth, which served as a control because it had a similar texture but limited impact of vegetation or organic matter. It was found that any type of vegetation cover studied had a strong influence on hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil during hot and dry spells. The changes in some hydrophysical parameters (WDPT, R, k(-2 cm), Sw(-2 cm), ECS and DPF) and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil had the same trend as the process of succession, but it was not so in the case of Ksand Se(-2 cm), probably due to the higher content of smaller soil particles in grassland soil in comparison with that content at other sub-sites. Both the persistence and index of water repellency of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The highest repellency parameter values in forest soil resulted in the lowest value of both the water sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity in this soil in comparison with other soils studied. The highest value of ethanol sorptivity and the lowest value of saturated hydraulic conductivity in the grassland soil in comparison with other soils studied were due to the higher content of fine-grained (silt and clay) particles in the grassland soil. The effective cross section and the degree of preferential flow of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The change in soil hydrophysical parameters due to soil water repellency resulted in preferential flow in the grassland, glade and forest soils, while the wetting front in pure sand area exhibited a form typical of that for stable flow. The latter shape of the wetting front can be expected in the studied soils in spring, when soil water repellency is alleviated substantially. The columnar shape of the wetting front, which can be met during heavy rains following long dry and hot spells, was attributed to redistribution of applied water on the surface to a series of micro-catchments, which acted as runon and runoff zones. V príspevku sa testovala hypotéza, že zmeny hydrofyzikálnych parametrov a heterogenita prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde majú rovnaký trend ako proces sukcesie. Na ploche asi 50 m x 50 m sa vytýčili tri parcely. Prvá parcela sa nachádzala na čistine pokrytej biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a reprezentovala počiatočné štádium sukcesie. Druhá parcela sa nachádzala na zatrávnenej ploche a reprezentovala rozvinutejšie štádium sukcesie. Tretia parcela sa nachádzala v borovicovom lese a reprezentovala rozvinuté štádium sukcesie (blízke ku klimaxovej vegetácii). Piesočnatá pôda na povrchu parciel sa porovnávala s pôdou z čistiny v hĺbke 50 cm, ktorá slúžila ako kontrola, pretože mala skoro rovnakú textúru, avšak veľmi malý vplyv vegetácie alebo organickej hmoty. Zistili sme, že akýkoľvek typ študovaného vegetačného pokryvu mal veľký vplyv na hydrofyzikálne parametre a heterogenitu prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde počas horúcich a suchých období. Zmeny niektorých hydrofyzikálnych parametrov (WDPT, R, k(-2 cm), Sw(-2 cm), ECS a DPF) a heterogenity prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde mali rovnaký trend ako proces sukcesie, neplatilo to však v prípade Ksa Se(-2 cm), pravdepodobne v dôsledku vyššieho obsahu malých pôdnych častíc v pôde s trávnatým pokryvom v porovnaní s inými parcelami. Stálosť aj index vodoodpudivosti čistého piesku sa štatisticky významne líšili od hodnôt týchto parametrov v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami. Najvyššie hodnoty parametrov vodoodpudivosti v tráve pod borovicami mali za následok najnižšie hodnoty sorptivity pre vodu a hydraulickej vodivosti v tejto pôde v porovnaní s ostatnými študovanými pôdami. Najvyššie hodnoty sorptivity pre etanol a najnižšie hodnoty nasýtenej hydraulickej vodivosti v pôde pod trávou v porovnaní s inými pôdami boli pravdepodobne spôsobené vyšším obsahom malých pôdnych častíc v tejto pôde. Efektívny prierez (ECS) a stupeň preferovaného prúdenia (DPF) čistého piesku sa štatisticky významne líšili od hodnôt týchto parametrov v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami. Zmeny hydrofyzikálnych parametrov pôdy v dôsledku jej vodoodpudivosti mala za následok preferované prúdenie v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami, zatiaľ čo čelo omáčania v čistom piesku malo tvar typický pre stabilné prúdenie. Takýto tvar čela omáčania možno vo všetkých študovaných pôdach očakávať na jar, keď je vodoodpudivosť pôdy podstatne znížená v dôsledku jej zvýšenej vlhkosti. Čelo omáčania v tvare prstov, ktoré možno očakávať počas prívalových dažďov nasledujúcich po dlhých suchých a horúcich obdobiach, možno pričítať redistribúcii vody na povrchu pôdy do viacerých mikropovodí, ktoré sa správali ako vtokové a odtokové oblasti.

4M-software package for modelling cropping systems

4M is an easy-to-handle software that has been designed for both educational and scientific purposes. Our main goal in developing 4M was to preserve the features of CERES in a user-friendly software that can be easily extended with additional modules. The package has several characteristics that make it more than a simple crop model. 4M offers optional routines for several processes of the described soil-plant-atmosphere system. The users can build different system models, according to specific purposes. 4M includes input data generators for estimating soil and weather input data that are difficult to measure. 4M is able to simulate crop rotations by using the final conditions of the system after crop harvest as initial conditions for the following crop.

Simulation of Soil Temperature Dynamics with Models Using Different Concepts

This paper presents two soil temperature models with empirical and mechanistic concepts. At the test site (calcaric arenosol), meteorological parameters as well as soil moisture content and temperature at 5 different depths were measured in an experiment with 8 parcels realizing the combinations of the fertilized, nonfertilized, irrigated, nonirrigated treatments in two replicates. Leaf area dynamics was also monitored. Soil temperature was calculated with the original and a modified version of CERES as well as with the HYDRUS-1D model. The simulated soil temperature values were compared to the observed ones. The vegetation reduced both the average soil temperature and its diurnal amplitude; therefore, considering the leaf area dynamics is important in modeling. The models underestimated the actual soil temperature and overestimated the temperature oscillation within the winter period. All models failed to account for the insulation effect of snow cover. The modified CERES provided explicitly more accurate soil temperature values than the original one. Though HYDRUS-1D provided more accurate soil temperature estimations, its superiority to CERES is not unequivocal as it requires more detailed inputs.

Coupling the 4M crop model with national geo-databases for assessing the effects of climate change on agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary

The 4M crop model was used to investigate the prospective effects of climate change on the agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary. The model was coupled with a detailed meteorological database and spatial soil information systems covering the whole territory of Hungary. Plant-specific model parameters were determined by inverse modeling. Future meteorological data were produced from the present meteorological data by combining a climate change scenario and a stochastic weather generator. Using the available and the generated data, the present and the prospective agro-ecological characteristics of Hungary were determined. According to the simulation results, average yields will decrease considerably (~30%) due to climate change. The rate of nitrate leaching will prospectively decrease as well. The fluctuations of both the yields and the annual nitrate leaching rates will most likely increase approaching the end of the twenty-first century. On the basis of the simulation results, the role of autumn crops is likely to become more significant in Hungary. The achieved results can be generalized for more extended regions based on the concept of spatial (geographical) analogy.

Evaluation of Different Fertilizer Recommendation Systems on Various Soils and Crops in Hungary

The World Phosphorus Institute (IMPHOS) financed a 3‐year program for the testing of various Hungarian fertilizer recommendation systems [the four levels of the new Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry (RISSAC)–Agricultural Research Institute (RIA) system, the Talajerőgazdálkodás integrated soil fertility management system, and the intensive MÉM NAK system developed in the late 1970s by experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food] when applied to three major crops (winter wheat, maize, spring barley) grown on three characteristic Hungarian soils (brown forest soil, chernozem, meadow soil). The first six treatments in the experiment represented a classical deficiency experiment, aimed at checking the correctness of the nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK)–supplying categories determined by the various systems. On all three soils and for all three crops, the IMPHOS experiments confirmed the basic principles of the new cost‐saving, environmentally friendly RISSAC‐RIA fertilizer recommendation system and the correctness of the methods used for calculating fertilizer rates. The new RISSAC‐RIA system resulted in good yields, on par with those obtained using the intensive MÉM NAK system, with total NPK rates that were sometimes as little as 40–60% of the intensive recommendations. Consequently, the greatest incomes per unit area were also achieved using the recommendations given by the new, cost‐saving, environmentally friendly RISSAC‐RIA system.

Spatial variability of hydrophysical properties of fallow sandy soils

Abstract Spatial heterogeneity of soil hydrophysical properties was estimated in 2 fallow sandy soils at Csólyospálos and Örbottyán, Hungary. Significant differences in small particle (= silt + clay) content (5.0% vs. 13.7%), organic matter content (1.62% vs. 0.91%), and CaCO3 content (3.1% vs. 5.1%) measured at Csólyospálos and Örbottyán, respectively, resulted in a higher persistence of water repellency in the Csólyospálos soil. It also resulted in a significantly higher water sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity of the Örbottyán soil. The spatial heterogeneity of soil hydrophysical properties was significant reaching 3 orders of magnitude differences due to the variances of soil properties. The water repellency cessation time was inversely related to the hydraulic conductivity and water sorptivity at Csólyospálos site.

Compilation of Functional Soil Maps for the Support of Spatial Planning and Land Management in Hungary

The tasks of national spatial planning (i.e., delineation of areas with natural constraints or areas with excellent productivity; support of irrigation strategies; flood, drought, and climate change impact risk assessment) increasingly demand advanced or new kinds of spatial soil information, which cannot be fully satisfied by legacy soil maps or formerly elaborated databases. Due to the lack of recent, extended, nationwide mapping, the data of previous surveys should be exploited thoroughly. Digital soil mapping integrates geographic information systems (GIS), geostatistical, and data mining tools and makes possible the elaboration of target-specific soil maps with improved and/or specific thematic, spatial, and temporal accuracy as opposed to former, more general soil maps. For the satisfaction of the recent demands, soil conditions of Hungary have been digitally mapped based on various available recent and legacy soil datasets, and spatially exhaustive, environmental, and auxiliary information. The produced digital soil property maps have been miscellaneously utilized in various regional planning activities.

Crop Nutrient Status and Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Balances Obtained in Field Trials Evaluating Different Fertilizer Recommendation Systems on Various Soils and Crops in Hungary

Based on correlations calculated from the database of long-term fertilization experiments carried out in Hungary between 1960 and 2000, a new, cost-saving, and environmentally friendly fertilizer recommendation system was developed. The aim of the new system is to apply the lowest possible nitrogen (N)–phosphorus (P)–potassium (K) rates required to achieve good yields and maximum income per unit area. The World Phosphorus Institute (IMPHOS) agreed to finance a 3-year program to test various Hungarian fertilizer recommendation systems (the new RISSAC-RIA [Research for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry‐Research Institute for Agriculture] system, the Talajerőgazdálkodás integrated soil fertility management system, and the intensive MÉM NAK [Department of Plant Protection and Agricultural Chemistry of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture] system) when applied to three major crops grown on three characteristic Hungarian soils. The first five treatments in the experiment represented a classical deficiency experiment, aimed at checking the correctness of the NPK supply categories determined by the various systems. On all three soils and for all three crops the IMPHOS experiments confirmed the basic principles of the new cost-saving, environmentally friendly fertilizer recommendation system and the correctness of the methods used for calculating fertilizer rates. In this article, diagnostic plant analysis, soil analysis data, and NPK balances obtained in the different recommendations are discussed. In most cases the plant NPK contents of all the recommendations exceeded the lower limits of the good NPK supply category for wheat and barley shoot as well as for corn leaf. Crop NPK contents in Talajerőgazdálkodás and MÉM NAK treatments (with greater recommended NPK doses) were most cases better than in the RISSAC-RIA treatments; however, the better crop NPK status did not result in extra grain yield in the former treatments. Taking into account that similarly high yields were obtained using the RISSAC-RIA system and the Talajerőgazdálkodás integrated system with much smaller NPK doses than those recommended by the intensive MÉM NAK system, it was more advantageous from agronomic, environmental protection, and economic points of view. Differences in PK balances correlated well with the differences in the measured soil ammonium lactate (AL)–PK contents after the third year of the experiment.

Applications of the MVWG Multivariable Stochastic Weather Generator

Weather generators (WG) became significant modules of crop models and decision support systems in the past decade. Using a large meteorological database from North America; two basic problems, related to the applicability of WGs in case of short or lacking data series, were investigated in the framework of the Multivariable weather generator (MVWG). First, the minimum data series length, required for adequate parameterization of the WG, was determined. Our results suggest that 15 years of observed data are enough for adequate parameterization of the MVWG. We then investigated a possibility of spatial interpolation of WG parameters using the outputs of the WG for sites with no meteorological observations. Coupled with the presented interpolation technique, MVWG was able to generate realistic weather data for sites with no measurements situated in climatically and geographically homogeneous regions.