It’s a win-win situation for the environment and the economy when it comes to introducing legumes into agricultural systems, says new research published in Frontiers in Plant Science, carried out by an international team of scientists as part of the European Union project, Legume Futures.
To demonstrate applicability in different regions, they used five case study areas in Europe with contrasting climatic conditions and cropping systems. The team confirmed the environmental benefits to introducing legumes and found that in such cropping systems, overall nitrous oxide emissions reduced by approximately 20-30% and fertiliser use was down by 25% to almost 40% in some cases. The systems developed did not show increased nitrate leaching into groundwater supplies, and in some systems with forage legumes leaching was even reduced. Most significantly, the gross margins evaluated show an increase in all of the forage agriculture systems modelled, and in two out of the five arable systems.
Contrary to popular belief, these findings show that the benefits of diversifying cropping systems through the inclusion of legumes can be both environmental and economic. Based on real case-study regions, the results demonstrate great potential for implementation.
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Source: Frontiersin.org