Biological Techniques to Increase the Fertility of Sandy Soils and Cropping Sustainability in Glacial Agricultural Landscapes of the Non-Chernozem Zone of Russia

Abstract

Many landscapes of the Russian Non-Chernozem zone are shaped by former glacial periods. The relief is sloped, soils are of sandy to loamy texture and some adverse factors restrict soil fertility and crop yield potentials, such as erosion risk, imbalanced water regime, and acidification. However, if located in the vicinity of big cities, they have potential for agriculture. Soil-conserving management approaches are required. We developed a system of innovative measures for improving soil fertility on sandy soils in a glacial landscape of Central European Russia. The measures enhance agricultural productivity and reduce the negative impacts of agriculture on the environment. They include landscape-specific cropping of perennial legumes and a comprehensive method for protecting sloped soils from water erosion. The method consists of using contour bands of crops on the slope, combined with the cultivation of perennial lupine as a green manure in bands between grain and tilled crops, and the technique of applying green manure as an organic fertilizer. We have tested this on eroded soddy-podzolic sandy soils in the Vladimir area. It is shown that sowings of perennial lupine not only prevent the erosion of soil and the leaching of mobile nutrients beyond the root layer: the test also had a positive effect on the productivity of winter rye and maize for silage, on indicators of soil fertility, on the agrophysical properties of soil, and on stocks of productive moisture in the vegetation period. The possible implementation of this approach in the landscape requires landscape planning and design work. This includes finding the optimum structure of cropped lands by distinguishing them further from arable land, in order to fully use the bioclimatic resources of an agrolandscape by cultural plants, on the one hand, and the achievements of compulsory improvement of the environmental features of the cultivated plant kinds, on the other. Agricultural experiments and the expertise of the All-Russian Research Institute of Organic Fertilizers and Peat are part of national and international innovation projects and monitoring programs. They provide a basis for the sustainable development of agricultural systems and the creation of landscape-adapted local food chains in Central Russia.KeywordsAgricultural landscapeSoil erosion by waterArable slopesPerennial lupinGreen manureSod-podzolic sandy loam soilSoil fertility