Daniel Plaza-Bonilla

Universitat de Lleida | UDL · Department of Vegetal Production and Forestry Science

The reduction in crop diversity and specialization of cereal-based cropping systems have led to high dependence on synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer in many areas of the globe. This has exacerbated environmental degradation due to the uncoupling of carbon (C) and N cycles in agroecosystems. In this experiment, we assessed impacts of introducing gra...

The sensitivity of C and N mineralization in soil to water potential is mostly described in simulation models as a linear function independent of the pedoclimatic conditions. We hypothesized that water sensitivity could be site-specific and dependent of climate or soil properties. In this study, we characterized the responses of C and N mineralizat...

Soil-crop models are widely used as valuable tools to assess the combined effects of cropping practices, soil management and climate on the agro-environmental indicators. They provide a wide range of predictive information that are useful to design and evaluate innovative cropping systems. However, intercropping modeling is still under development,...

A significant challenge in our time is to produce sufficient agricultural products on limited farmable land to meet the needs for food, feed, fiber, and industrial uses in the face of a changing climate. Conventional cropping systems mostly rely on inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, to boost crop yields. However, excessive inputs increase...

Gas diffusion can be used to quantify soil quality and structural development that is strongly affected by soil use and management practices. There is a lack of information about the quantitative effect of tillage combined with crop sequences on soil structure. This study aimed to quantify the effects of tillage and crop sequences on soil bulk dens...

A significant challenge in our time is to produce sufficient agricultural products on limited farmable land to meet the needs for food, feed, fiber, and industrial uses in the face of a changing climate. Conventional cropping systems mostly rely on inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, to boost crop yields. However, excessive inputs increase...

Adequate fertilization strategies are paramount to fulfill increasing demands for food, feed and fiber while reducing environmental impacts. However, their optimization under Mediterranean no-till systems has received little attention. The objective of this work was to assess winter cereal yield and water and N use efficiencies in a rainfed semiari...

Contribution (Abstract) to the 1st ISTRO Working Group – Conservation Soil Tillage Workshop in Croatia, 8-9th September 2020

Contribution (oral presentation) in the European Society for Agronomy Congress 2020

Agricultural activities represent a significant fraction of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere, with a preponderant impact on nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes. The production of these gases in the soil is controlled by different soil characteristics (O2 availability, mineral N content, temperature, pH, organic carbo...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 21 years of tillage and N fertilization and the conversion from a rainfed to an irrigated cropping system on soil organic C (SOC). The study was carried out in NE Spain in a long-term tillage and N rate field experiment established in 1996 under barley rainfed conditions which in 2015 was converte...

Irrigation as well as soil tillage management are considered two possible strategies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2) and methane (CH 4) emissions from the soil in Mediterranean agroecosystems. The objective of this work was to assess the impact of the irrigation system (i.e. flood, F; and sprinkler, S) and the soil tillage system (i.e. conventional...

Irrigation and soil management can impact soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Flood and sprinkler irrigation systems together with conventional tillage are the main practices used in the high yielding maize systems in Mediterranean Spain. The objective of this field work was to quantify the effect of the irrigation system (i.e., flood, F; and sprin...

This report addresses the following questions: What are the reasons why measures to protect land and especially soils are not fully taken up by land managers? What are the barriers hindering the implementation of sustainable soil management (SSM) measures and the reasons behind them?

Major constraints to rainfed production systems in the world’s drylands include low and highly variable rainfall, nutrient deficiencies and land degradation by wind and water erosion. Although the same principles to cope with these limitations could be in theory applied to all dryland situations, there is no a universal recipe for sustainable dryla...

In irrigated Mediterranean conditions there is a lack of knowledge about the best combination of tillage and N fertilization practices to reduce soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions while maintaining maize productivity. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of different soil management practices and synthetic N fertilization rates on so...

This report presents evidence of the societal challenges of transboundary impacts, the drivers, and consequences of soil degradation, as well as data and knowledge gaps. The message conveyed by the report is that there is clear evidence of transboundary impacts and drivers of soil degradation and that it has physical, ecological, economic and socia...

Mediterranean rainfed areas are transformed into irrigation to stabilize or increase crop yields. The gradual occupation of irrigation leads to an increase in nitrogen use and intensity of tillage. The aim of this work was to evaluate the combined impact of tillage systems and mineral N fertilization rates on maize grain yield, water and nitrogen u...

Irrigation management may influence soil greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Solid-set sprinkler irrigation systems allow to modify the irrigation time and frequency. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of two irrigation times (daytime, D; nighttime, N) and two irrigation frequencies (low, L; high, H) on soil carbon dioxide (CO2), me...

The main objective of this research was to analyse the effect of soil management on soil sealing and on soil water content under contrasting tillage practices, and its influence on corn yield. The experimental research was carried out in a field cultivated with irrigated corn differentiated into three zones representing a gradient of soil texture (...

In newly irrigated Mediterranean agroecosystems, the combined effect of tillage and N fertilization on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes is at present poorly understood. The goal of this study was to quantify both soil CO2 and CH4 emissions as well as crop performance under different tillage systems and N fertilization rates during...

Most emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) are linked to the use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser in agriculture, highlighting a need for agricultural management practices that reduce emissions while maintaining agronomic productivity. A new study has assessed the long-term impact of conventional tillage (CT — where soil is prepared for agriculture via mechan...

Agriculture contributes to a significant proportion of global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) but can also participate in climate change mitigation. The introduction of legumes in crop rotations reduces the dependence on N fertilizers and may mitigate the carbon (C) footprint of cropping systems. The aim of this study was to quantify the C foot...

See Page of the Proceedings The optimization of cash crop successions and rotations is crucial for designing efficient cropping systems providing supporting ecosystem services instead of using external chemical inputs. The reintroduction of legumes is a relevant means for increasing the nitrogen resources. The interests of legumes are well known, h...

Tillage and organic fertilization impact short-term soil CO2 fluxes. However, the interactive effect of these two management practices has been rarely studied under field conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of tillage (NT, no-tillage, and CT, conventional tillage) and fertilization strategy (PS, pig slurry, and MF, mi...

There is a strong need to identify agricultural management practices that maintain agronomic productivity while diminishing soil N2O emissions. The yield-scaled N2O emissions (YSNE) indicator can help to evaluate the adequacy of a given agricultural practice under both aspects. Long-term (18-yr) soil water and mineral N dynamics, crop biomass and y...

Tillage and organic fertilization impact short-term soil CO2 fluxes. However, the interactive effect of these two management practices has been rarely studied under field conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of tillage (NT, no-tillage, and CT, conventional tillage) and fertilization strategy (PS, pig slurry, and MF, mi...

The main objective of this study was to determine soil carbon (C) dynamics in different land uses in a southern European dryland agroecosystem. In order to address this objective, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and soil carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions were measured over 18 months (Dec. 2011-Jun. 2013) in a representative dryland...

This paper aimed at synthetizing: i. Impact of sole grain legume at the rotation level, ii. Potential of grain legume intercrops for improving yield and cereal protein content and iii. Potential of cover crops including intercropped forage legume to achieve simultaneously nitrate capture and green manuring ecosystem services.

View recording: https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2017am/videogateway.cgi/id/31975?recordingid=31975 Soil tillage and N fertilization play an important role on the agronomic and environmental sustainability of dryland Mediterranean agriculture. A series of long-term field experiments were established in NE Spain to compare different tillage systems...

Poster

En los ambientes mediterráneos de secano, en los que la productividad se ve limitada por la disponibilidad hídrica, la siembra directa es una técnica ventajosa para la conservación de agua en el suelo y su utilización de forma más eficiente por parte del cultivo, llevando a mayores rendimientos que el laboreo convencional. Esa mayor productividad e...

The aim of this study was to determine the most appropriate soil management to reduce the structural degradation of soils susceptible to crusting in Mediterranean areas recently transformed into irrigation. A long-term field experiment (LTE) under rainfed conditions was established in 1996 in NE Spain to compare three tillage systems (no-tillage, N...

In Mediterranean agroecosystems, limited information exists about possible impacts of climate change on soil N2O emissions under different land uses. This paper presents a modelling study with a dual objective. Firstly, the biogeochemical Daycent model was evaluated to predict soil N2O emissions in different land uses in a typical Mediterranean agr...

The effect of delaying sowing date and maturity class on no-till (NT) winter cereal performance was studied over two periods of 3 yr each. A 3 (sowing date) × 2 (maturity class) randomized complete block design was run for 3 yr with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) (B-) (2006–2007 to 2008–2009) and soft wheat (Triticum sp.) (W-) (2009–2010 to 2011–2012)...

Revisión de las principales estrategias de reducción de GEI en sistemas agrícolas mediterráneos, tanto agronómicas como estructurales. Evaluación de barreras y oportunidades de implementación.

V Workshop sobre Mitigación de Emisión de Gases de Efecto Invernadero provenientes del Sector Agroforestal. Remedia Workshop.

Huella de carbono de sistemas de cultivo de bajos insumos en el valle del Garona, Francia: rol de las leguminosas grano y cultivos cubierta

INTRODUCCIÓN METODOLOGÍA Reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) del suelo a la atmósfera en los sistemas agrícolas mediterráneos implica identificar cuáles son las prácticas de manejo que no solo lleven a esa disminución sino también que permitan mantener los rendimientos óptimos de los cultivos. Por ello, el objetivo de este tr...

Tillage and N fertilization strategies including mineral and organic sources need to be studied in combination given their importance on the production cost that farmers face and their potential interaction on crop performance. A four-year (2010–2014) experiment based on barley monocropping was carried out in NE Spain in a typical rainfed Mediterra...

An integrated assessment of the potential of different management practices for mitigating specific components of the total GHG budget (N2O and CH4 emissions and C sequestration) of Mediterranean agrosystems was performed in this study. Their suitability regarding both yield and environmental (e.g. nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilization) susta...

Inserting legumes in low-input innovative cropping systems can represent a good strategy to reduce current N fertilizer dependency while enhancing ecosystem services. However, although the impact of the use of legumes as cover crops has been broadly studied, very little is known about the effects of grain legume-based rotations on soil organic carb...

Six cropping systems (CS) of three 3-year rotations based on durum wheat and sunflower inserting 0, 1 (pea or fababean) and 2 grain legumes (GL) (pea and soybean), and with or without cover crops (CC) were compared at INRA Toulouse from 2004. This experiment is still on going for a twelfth year. We demonstrated that 6 key points. 1) Pea as a preced...

Increasing concern about climate change and environmental impacts requires transformation of cropping systems. Introducing more legumes (grain or cover crop forage) grown alone or in intercropping (IC) is an interesting option to benefit from N2 fixation and also for break crop effects. Rotational position of legumes needs to be carefully analyzed...

Abstracts Topics Nitrogen dynamics in different farming systems Authors Bedoussac L., Tribouillois H., Plaza-Bonilla D., Journet E.-P., Justes E. DESIGNING AND EVALUATING ARABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS WITH CASH AND COVER CROP LEGUMES IN SOLE CROP AND INTERCROP TO IMPROVE NITROGEN USE [1] Plaza-Bonilla, D. et al. 2015. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environn...

19th Nitrogen Workshop

In this work, appropriate management practices for crop production under the variable climate conditions of the Mediterranean region, in particular rainfall, were tested with the use of a modelling system applied to long-term (i.e. 18 years) field data. The calibration of the CropSyst model was performed using data collected from 1996 to 1999 at th...

Agricultural soils emit greenhouse gases (GHG). Excessive application of N fertilizer may lead to the accumulation of mineral N in the soil, which is susceptible to loss to the environment. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of two levels of available mineral N before planting (L, low; H, high) and two rates of ammonium nitrate...

This study focuses on the quantification of soil water storage and crop yield under different tillage systems in dryland semiarid Mediterranean conditions. Three long-term tillage experiments based on cereal production were initiated in 1987, 1990 and 1992, at three different locations in the Ebro river valley (NE Spain): El Canós, Selvanera and Ag...

La maîtrise des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) provenant des systèmes de production de grande culture revêt un double enjeu. Du point de vue environnemental, l’atténuation du réchauffement moyen planétaire est devenue un objectif national et international, afin de limiter au maximum les conséquences néfastes du changement climatique. Du po...

Dryland areas cover about 41 % of the Earth’s surface and sustain over 2 billion inhabitants. Soil carbon (C) in dryland areas is of crucial importance to maintain soil quality and productivity and a range of ecosystem services. Soil mismanagement has led to a significant loss of carbon in these areas, which in many of them entailed several land de...