Development of a method for balancing soil organic matter in organic agriculture for practical application

Summary

A cooperative research project was started on balancing of soil organic matter in organic agriculture. Existing balancing methods do often not produce plausible results, especially when applicated to organic farming. Therefore the project aim is to evaluate balancing methods and to characterize soil organic matter reproduction in organic farming on the basis of examination of field trials and practice farms in order to revise and adapt coefficients and algorythms in the balance methods. First tentative results from the project confirm the need for a revision and improvement of balancing methods since they did not reflect the actual organic matter dynamic in selected trials sufficiently. Significant differences in soil organic matter reproduction could be observed between conventional and organic farming and in connection to cultivation system, mode of fertilizing, and amount of legumes in crop rotation.