Ackerbau-Wettbewerb des Land Institute
Verfasst: Do 18. Feb 2016, 14:30
Das Land Institute hat einen Wettbewerb für neue Konzepte im Ackerbau gestartet:
http://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/page ... allenge-en
"The Challenge
While perennial polycultures hold considerable promise for addressing many of the intrinsic shortcomings of present-day annual grain production, we envision a long stretch of time when fields cropped to perennial grains will need replacement every five to ten years. This could occur simply because improved crop varieties have become available, or because a crop has accumulated a pathogen load or genetic load that suppresses yield, or the economics of particular crop choices have shifted. Regardless of the reason, the approach to replacing stands of perennial crops will prove to be critical, as neither of the two common approaches that exist today—the plow and the herbicide—are desirable in the long run.
Replacing perennial crops by terminating the old stand with a moldboard plow will result in substantial loss of soil organic matter, and a disruption of the later-successional soil microbial community, not to mention greater vulnerability to erosion. Replacing perennial crops by terminating the old stand with herbicides introduces a dependency on purchased, fossil-fuel based chemicals, most likely in potent mixtures or “cocktails” in order to kill well established perennial vegetation. While less detrimental to the soil resource, herbicides have their own Achilles’ heel. The recent finding that Roundup is a likely carcinogen, coupled with older conclusive reports detailing the health hazards associated with herbicides such as atrazine and 2-4-D, render chemical-facilitation of crop replacement a temporary solution at best.
The biomimicry design challenge we pose is this: How can we harness ecological processes to essentially promote “crop succession” in order to periodically renew perennial polycultures? The list that follows is not intended to be exhaustive or restrictive, rather it simply provides examples of what design solutions to this challenge might look like:
•Mimicking natural processes to weaken or kill extant perennial crops, opening up windows to introduce new seed.
•Designing a means to cut or remove perennial crowns just below the soil surface, killing the stand with minimal disturbance to the soil.
•Managing the annual cycle of perennial vegetative growth and senescense so that dead standing organic matter remains on and ultimately smothers the old crops while new seeds or seedlings are introduced into the plant community.
•Managing the timing and thickness of crop residues to effectively eliminate strips or patches of old crops with mulch. A complete replacement of the crop stand would happen over multiple years."
http://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/page ... allenge-en
"The Challenge
While perennial polycultures hold considerable promise for addressing many of the intrinsic shortcomings of present-day annual grain production, we envision a long stretch of time when fields cropped to perennial grains will need replacement every five to ten years. This could occur simply because improved crop varieties have become available, or because a crop has accumulated a pathogen load or genetic load that suppresses yield, or the economics of particular crop choices have shifted. Regardless of the reason, the approach to replacing stands of perennial crops will prove to be critical, as neither of the two common approaches that exist today—the plow and the herbicide—are desirable in the long run.
Replacing perennial crops by terminating the old stand with a moldboard plow will result in substantial loss of soil organic matter, and a disruption of the later-successional soil microbial community, not to mention greater vulnerability to erosion. Replacing perennial crops by terminating the old stand with herbicides introduces a dependency on purchased, fossil-fuel based chemicals, most likely in potent mixtures or “cocktails” in order to kill well established perennial vegetation. While less detrimental to the soil resource, herbicides have their own Achilles’ heel. The recent finding that Roundup is a likely carcinogen, coupled with older conclusive reports detailing the health hazards associated with herbicides such as atrazine and 2-4-D, render chemical-facilitation of crop replacement a temporary solution at best.
The biomimicry design challenge we pose is this: How can we harness ecological processes to essentially promote “crop succession” in order to periodically renew perennial polycultures? The list that follows is not intended to be exhaustive or restrictive, rather it simply provides examples of what design solutions to this challenge might look like:
•Mimicking natural processes to weaken or kill extant perennial crops, opening up windows to introduce new seed.
•Designing a means to cut or remove perennial crowns just below the soil surface, killing the stand with minimal disturbance to the soil.
•Managing the annual cycle of perennial vegetative growth and senescense so that dead standing organic matter remains on and ultimately smothers the old crops while new seeds or seedlings are introduced into the plant community.
•Managing the timing and thickness of crop residues to effectively eliminate strips or patches of old crops with mulch. A complete replacement of the crop stand would happen over multiple years."
