Improved phosphorus resource efficiency in organic agriculture via recycling and enhanced biological mobilization

The purpose of the project is to develop strategies to balance P cycles in organic farming with recycling fertilizers. The background is that many long term organic managed farms show a strong decrease in soil P levels affecting long term sustainability. The main regions of investigation are Central and Northern European countries.

• IMPROVE-P will help to halt the decline in P availability of organically farmed soils by identifying sustainable agronomic practices in organic farming and suitable APF.
• By addressing the issue of P availability in OF systems, IMPROVE-P will contribute to the development of more resilient cropping systems with higher yields and yield stability.
• IMPROVE-P will make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge on APF that will be applicable in the conventional sector as well as the organic farming sector. Trials will generate data on plant growth after application of APF and plant bioavailability of P in APF in soils. This will be a major scientific innovation since such data are scarce in Europe.
• IMPROVE-P will deliver scientifically validated recommendations on: a) the most suitable APF b) the best approaches to assess the quality of APF in relation to the benefits from their use, and c) optimized agronomic practices, techniques and technologies adapted to different crop production systems under different pedo-climatic conditions in the participating countries.
• IMPROVE-P will deliver a ranking of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) able to mobilize soil P under different pedo-climatic conditions and crops.
• IMPROVE-P will contribute to developing sustainable approaches to close nutrient cycles between urban and agricultural areas in Europe.
• IMPROVE-P will generate science-based knowledge on APFs and PGPRs suitable for organic farming, and provide a solid basis for a discussion of EU regulations.

• CORE ORGANIC 2

• CORE Organic II/ Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG)

• Newcastle University, United Kingdom
• Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Switzerland
• FiBL, Switzerland
• University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Bioforsk, Norway
• FiBL, Austria
• BOKU, Austria 

• Mäder Paul (Department of Soil Sciences)

• Mäder Paul (Department of Soil Sciences)
• Petris-Symanczik Sarah (Department of Soil Sciences)
• Thonar Cécile (Department of Soil Sciences)

Research and coordination in WP02 and WP05

www.coreorganic2.org

• Nutrient Management & Symbiosis (Department of Soil Sciences, FiBL Switzerland)