Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis
Food insecurity, soil fertility depletion and strong competition for biomass are commonly observed in smallholder crop-livestock systems. The objective of this study was to explore options to improve farm-level nitrogen cycling, productivity and economic performance through the analysis of N flows w...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2014
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28974 |
| _version_ | 1855541956392779776 |
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| author | Álvarez, S. Rufino, Mariana C. Vayssières, Jean-François Salgado, P. Tittonell, Pablo A. Tillard, E. Bocquier, F. |
| author_browse | Bocquier, F. Rufino, Mariana C. Salgado, P. Tillard, E. Tittonell, Pablo A. Vayssières, Jean-François Álvarez, S. |
| author_facet | Álvarez, S. Rufino, Mariana C. Vayssières, Jean-François Salgado, P. Tittonell, Pablo A. Tillard, E. Bocquier, F. |
| author_sort | Álvarez, S. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Food insecurity, soil fertility depletion and strong competition for biomass are commonly observed in smallholder crop-livestock systems. The objective of this study was to explore options to improve farm-level nitrogen cycling, productivity and economic performance through the analysis of N flows within four contrasting crop-livestock farm systems of Madagascar highlands. Farms were conceptualized as networks where the compartments were the household and their farming activities, all connected by N flows. Indicators assessing network size and cycling, and the organization and diversity of the N flows, were compared with system productivity, food self-sufficiency, and gross margins for the current situation and under four scenarios of intensification (i) dairy production increased by increasing N inputs as supplementary feed; (ii) crop production increased by increasing N inputs as mineral fertilizer; (iii) manure management improved to increase N conservation during storage and application to soils; (iv) a combination of the two most economically attractive scenarios (i and iii). The four case study farms represent local diversity differing widely in terms of network size, with total annual system N throughput ranging from 113 to 1037 kg N per capita, and in terms of N cycling, from 3 to 41 kg N per capita per year. They differed less in terms of external dependence, from 0.26 to 0.41 kg N kg N−1. Improving N conservation through improved manure management (scenario iii) had a positive impact on gross margin, and this in combination with increased concentrate supply (scenario iv) led to increases in whole-farm N use efficiencies from 2% to 50%, in N cycling from 9% to 68% and in food self-sufficiency from 12% to 37% across farm types. Gross margin was the most sensitive indicator to changes in management. Intensification through scenario iv had the highest impact on farm productivity, gross margin, food self-sufficiency, and environment sustainability (N use efficiency, capacity of the soil to stock N). |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace28974 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateRange | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace289742024-05-01T08:19:57Z Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis Álvarez, S. Rufino, Mariana C. Vayssières, Jean-François Salgado, P. Tittonell, Pablo A. Tillard, E. Bocquier, F. livestock crops Food insecurity, soil fertility depletion and strong competition for biomass are commonly observed in smallholder crop-livestock systems. The objective of this study was to explore options to improve farm-level nitrogen cycling, productivity and economic performance through the analysis of N flows within four contrasting crop-livestock farm systems of Madagascar highlands. Farms were conceptualized as networks where the compartments were the household and their farming activities, all connected by N flows. Indicators assessing network size and cycling, and the organization and diversity of the N flows, were compared with system productivity, food self-sufficiency, and gross margins for the current situation and under four scenarios of intensification (i) dairy production increased by increasing N inputs as supplementary feed; (ii) crop production increased by increasing N inputs as mineral fertilizer; (iii) manure management improved to increase N conservation during storage and application to soils; (iv) a combination of the two most economically attractive scenarios (i and iii). The four case study farms represent local diversity differing widely in terms of network size, with total annual system N throughput ranging from 113 to 1037 kg N per capita, and in terms of N cycling, from 3 to 41 kg N per capita per year. They differed less in terms of external dependence, from 0.26 to 0.41 kg N kg N−1. Improving N conservation through improved manure management (scenario iii) had a positive impact on gross margin, and this in combination with increased concentrate supply (scenario iv) led to increases in whole-farm N use efficiencies from 2% to 50%, in N cycling from 9% to 68% and in food self-sufficiency from 12% to 37% across farm types. Gross margin was the most sensitive indicator to changes in management. Intensification through scenario iv had the highest impact on farm productivity, gross margin, food self-sufficiency, and environment sustainability (N use efficiency, capacity of the soil to stock N). 2014-04 2013-05-06T18:23:42Z 2013-05-06T18:23:42Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28974 en Limited Access Elsevier Alvarez, S., Rufino, M.C., Vayssières, J., Salgado, P., Tittonell, P., Tillard, E. and Bocquier, F. 2014. Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis. Agricultural Systems 126:25-37. |
| spellingShingle | livestock crops Álvarez, S. Rufino, Mariana C. Vayssières, Jean-François Salgado, P. Tittonell, Pablo A. Tillard, E. Bocquier, F. Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title | Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title_full | Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title_fullStr | Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title_short | Whole-farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop-livestock systems in the highlands of Madagascar: An application of network analysis |
| title_sort | whole farm nitrogen cycling and intensification of crop livestock systems in the highlands of madagascar an application of network analysis |
| topic | livestock crops |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/28974 |
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