Abstract
Describing the impact of farming on soil quality is challenging, because the model should consider changes in the physical, chemical, and biological status of soils. Physical damage to soils through heavy traffic was already analyzed in several life-cycle assessment studies. However, impacts on soil structure from grazing animals were largely ignored, and physically based model approaches to describe these impacts are very rare. In this study, we developed a new modeling approach that is closely related to the stress propagation method generally applied for analyzing compaction caused by off-road vehicles. We tested our new approach for plausibility using a comprehensive multi-year dataset containing detailed information on pasture management of several hundred Swiss dairy farms. Preliminary results showed that the new approach provides plausible outcomes for the two physical soil indicators “macropore volume” and “aggregate stability”.
Highlights
Soils are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems and provide multiple ecosystem services to humans, such as provisioning of food, timber, and freshwater
The available data allowed 881 assessments for soil compaction caused by grazing cattle at the farmStpoecrkyineagrDleevnesli.ty Grazing Event Duration Daily Grazing Hours and Figure 3 displays the distrib(uLtUio/nhao)f the mounMtaienanregions
We developed a new approach for estimating the extent of soil compaction due to grazing animals based on the soil mechanical method for calculating stress distribution in soils under wheel tracks of agricultural vehicles
Summary
Soils are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems and provide multiple ecosystem services to humans, such as provisioning of food, timber, and freshwater. Soil is a natural resource and the basis for agriculture and agricultural food production. Quantitative and qualitative protection of soils is essential for food security, and for other soil functions such as supporting biodiversity, storing and filtering water, and sequestering carbon. Protection of soils can be achieved by sustainable agricultural land management, which prevents degradation of soils, safeguards food production, and preserves soil functions. Linked to land use and land-use change due to agricultural practices, is a serious problem worldwide [1,2,3]. To maintain a multifunctional productive soil, it is, essential to reduce negative impacts on soil quality
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