Alley cropping - a promising multifunctional form of land use for reclaimed lignite mine sites in Germany

Alley Cropping – A promising

multifunctional form of land use

for reclaimed lignite mining sites

in Germany

Michael Kanzler, Christian Böhm, Ansgar Quinkenstein

Chair of Soil Protection and Recultivation

 lignite mining >80,000 ha affected

 large post-mining landscapes evolved

 conventional crop production restricted

 increasing demand for woody biomass for

 sustainable supply of bioenergy wood with

black locust trees is possible

 short rotation coppice, alley cropping

 Positive impacts on agricultural crop

productivity, soil fertility and protection ?

 25 km south-west of Cottbus

 dominant substrat: sandy loam

 humus- and nutrient-poor

 Ø annual precipitation sum of 560 mm

 mean annual temperature of 9.3 °C

Picture source: Materna/Ribbe (1995)

 25 km south-west of Cottbus

 dominant substrat: sandy loam

 humus- and nutrient-poor

 Ø annual precipitation sum of 560 mm

 mean annual temperature of 9.3 °C

 approx. 7 ha Alley Cropping (2007)

 alleys 24 m (width)

 alfalfa, spring barley, oat and winter rye

 hedgerows 10 m (width), black locust

 approx. 7 ha Alley Cropping (2007)

 alleys 24 m (width)

 alfalfa, spring barley, oat and winter rye

 hedgerows 10 m (width), black locust

 aboveground biomass crop yields

 soil samples (0 - 30 cm depth), spring

 hot water extractable organic carbon

(HWC

_org

) and nitrogen (HWN

_org

)

 CN-analyzer (Shimadzu)

sampling

area

Centre

West

(leeward)

East

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

~ 59 %

w

in

d

velocity

[m

s

-1

]

relat

ion

to

the

open

fi

eld

[%

3m West N-S24m Centre N-S24m 3m East N-S24m 0 2 4 6 8

Alfalfa yield in 2010

Oat yield in 2012

+ 32 %

+ 9 %

+ 5 %

+ 18 %

+ 20 %

+ 32 %

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

b

a

Max/Min Value

WEST

CENTRE

EAST

biomass

y

iel

d

[t

D

M ha

-1

]

hedgerows 3m West N-S24m Centre N-S24m 3m East N-S24m 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

S

to

c

k

s

o

f

H

W

C

a

n

d

H

W

N

(k

g

h

a

HWN

2011

a

b

a

b

a

a

a

b

a

a

a

b

a

a

a

a

+51 %*

_{+17 %}

+23 %

+8 %

+474 %*

+264 %

+266 %

+163 %

HEDGEROWS

WEST

CENTRE

EAST

stocks

of

HWC

org

+

HWN

org

[kg



black locust trees ≥ alfalfa

 humus accumulation

 wind erosion control

 higher crop productivity (peripheral areas)

 site heterogeneity  lower crop yield

compared to undisturbed sites

Christian Böhm , Michael Kanzler, Dirk Freese 16 _{Michael Kanzler, Christian Böhm, Ansgar Quinkenstein}

support soil protection and fertility

woody biomass and crop production

intercrop productivity

rehabilitation and agricultural reuse of

marginal sites

Thank you for your

attention