LEGUME ROOT IMPACT

Root longevity and the impact on soil N fertility

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Efficient utilization of nutrients in agricultural systems is essential in order to meet a sustainable production of food. Grain and forage legumes add nitrogen (N) to the soil via biological N2-fixation which reduces the need for energy demanding mineral fertilizers. Management of the increased soil fertility found after legumes requires knowledge of the processes underlying soil fertility build-up. One of the most important processes in soil fertility build-up under legumes is the growth, death, and turnover of legume root systems, which is at present poorly understood. In particular there is a lack of knowledge of the longevity and turnover of legume roots in forage mixtures, due to methodological difficulties in investigating the roots of one specific specie in a species mixture. The aim of the proposed project is to develop and test a new approach to estimate single species root longevity in forage mixtures, and use this new approach to estimate the longevity of legume roots in forage mixtures as well as quantify the deposition of C and N from legume roots. The proposed project will add a new state-of-the-art approach to study root longevity in species mixtures, and furthermore increase our knowledge regarding the processes involved in soil fertility build-up. Thus, this project will aid a development towards greater self-supply in European agriculture by reducing the energy consumption needed in the agricultural production, which is important for solving the present climate change challenge.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A recent research project investigated the movement of carbon and nitrogen from legume plant forage material into the soil. Scientists focused particularly on the root systems of these plants.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Forage mixtures (dead plant material placed on fields and pastures) are an important way to return essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen to pastures and fields. Legumes efficiently fix nitrogen through their roots, but what is not known is whether that nitrogen is efficiently transferred into the soil through forage.

The EU-funded 'Root longevity and the impact on soil N fertility' (LEGUME ROOT IMPACT) project aimed to develop new methods to estimate how long legume roots last in forage mixtures. It also aimed to measure nitrogen and carbon transfer to the soil.

An initial experiment was conducted to test whether radioactive labels could be used to track different chemical elements. Researchers found that bicarbonate with a single carbon-14 atom (a radioactive isotope) could be used to effectively label clover leaves. A similar process was used for tracking nitrogen atoms.

Researchers found that over eight months, no significant movement in carbon and nitrogen was observed from the roots of clover plants. They concluded that a longer experimental period would be needed to estimate root longevity.

In contrast, they found that nitrogen and carbon readily moved from the leaves of decaying clover into the soil. It is clear that movement of elements from leaves to soil plays a more important role than movement from the roots.

Despite not fulfilling all of the desired outcomes of the project, LEGUME ROOT IMPACT improved our understanding of the movement of elements from forage mixture into soil. In the long term, this will support further studies dedicated to bettering sustainable farming practices and decreased use of fertilisers.