Summary
This long-term field study compared greenhouse gas emissions from biodynamic and bioorganic farming systems against conventional mineral and mixed farming approaches in Switzerland. Organic systems achieved substantially lower area-scaled N₂O emissions (40.2% reduction), though this advantage diminished when emissions were normalised by yield. The findings suggest organic farming can contribute meaningfully to agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation, with soil quality properties (pH, organic carbon, microbial biomass) emerging as key determinants of N₂O release beyond nitrogen input alone.
UK applicability
The DOK trial's Swiss context—temperate climate, grass-clover rotations, and silage maize production—shares sufficient agronomic similarity with UK mixed farming to inform domestic policy on organic conversion and emissions intensity. However, UK soil types, rainfall patterns, and farm scale diversity may modulate the magnitude of emissions reductions observed.
Key measures
N₂O and CH₄ fluxes (measured via manual chambers); cumulated emissions per hectare and per unit yield; soil properties (pH, organic carbon, microbial biomass); N input rates
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil-derived nitrous oxide and methane fluxes over 571 days across five farming systems (biodynamic, bioorganic, mineral-only, mixed with farmyard manure, and unfertilised control) in a long-term Swiss field trial. Results demonstrated a 40.2% reduction in area-scaled N₂O emissions for organic compared to non-organic systems, though yield-scaled N₂O emissions were similar between system types.
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