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The potential for Swedish farms to eliminate the use of artificial fertilizers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Artur Granstedt
Artur Granstedt
Affiliation:
State Extension Specialist in Alternative Agriculture, Department of Research Information, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Abstract

This paper discusses data on plant-nutrient conservation in Sweden between 1950 and 1980 and on plant-nutrient balances in conventional and alternative farming. The amounts of plant nutrients supplied in the form of artificial fertilizer in Sweden increased severalfold between 1950 and 1980. The amounts of N and P applied were four times higher than those recovered in agricultural products. This difference not only represents a loss to farmers but also a burden on the environment. This problem is a consequence of the increased separation of crop management from animal husbandry in Sweden. The flow of plant nutrients through the agroecosystem can be represented as follows: Artificial Fertilizers- > Crop Production-> Animal Husbandry- > Losses (air, water, or immobilization).

This paper suggests that all farms in Sweden can operate effectively without relying on applications of highly soluble plant nutrients. By recirculating plant nutrients in manure and cultivating nitrogen-fixing species, the need for artificial fertilizers can be eliminated while minimizing nutrient losses and their associated adverse effects on the environment. Successful alternative farms provide practical examples of how a farming system can eliminate its dependence on applications of highly soluble plant nutrients by stressing effective nutrient economy and biological activity. The strategies they use include: matching animal management practices to the farm's own production of feed, thereby reducing net removal of plant nutrients per unit area (in Sweden 0.6–0.8 animal units per ha); minimizing nutrient losses through careful manure management and by using cover crops; and supplying N by nitrogen-fixing ley species, and P and K by soil weathering and by applying supplementary soil improvement materials.

Keywords

Ecosystemscase studiesnitrogennitrogen fixationorganic farmingSweden
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 1991 , pp. 122 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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