View Source

<div class="banner_general_fiche"><div class="table-wrap"><table class="ficheTable" style="width: 99.1985%;"><colgroup><col style="width: 60%;"><col style="width: 20%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td class="confluenceTd"><h1 style="text-align: center;" title="" id="banner_title"></h1></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>


<script>
var title = $('#title-text').find('a').text();
var mytitle = title.replace('_',' ');
$('#banner_title').text(mytitle + ' Fiche');

</script>

<style>
.banner_general_fiche { 
  height: 194px;  
  padding-right: 20px;
  background-color: #00afef;
 }
.banner_general_fiche h1 {
  position: relative;
  font-size: 1.7 !important;
  font-family: corbel;
  color: #ffffff !important;
  letter-spacing: -0.01em;
  font-weight: normal;
  line-height: 1.25;
  top: 64px;
  font-weight: bold;
  margin-left: 30px;
}
#banner_title {
   text-transform: uppercase; 
}
.table-wrap {
    overflow-x: hidden;
    overflow-y: hidden;
}
.banner_general_fiche td { 
    border: 0px !important;
	height: 170px;
	width: 100%;
}  
.content-wrapper {
  font-family: corbel;
  position: relative;
}
</style>

<style>
.highlight-green {
   color: #000000;
   background-color: #92d050 !important;
}
table.confluenceTable td.confluenceTd.highlight-green>p {
    background-color: #92d050 !important;
}
.highlight-red {
   color: #000000 !important;
   background-color: #ff0000 !important;
}
table.confluenceTable td.confluenceTd.highlight-red>p {
    background-color: #ff0000 !important;
}
.highlight-yellow {
   color: #000000;
   background-color: #ffc000 !important;
}
table.confluenceTable td.confluenceTd.highlight-yellow>p {
    background-color: #ffc000 !important;
}
.highlight-grey {
   color: #000000 !important;
   background-color: #a4a4a4 !important;
}
table.confluenceTable td.confluenceTd.highlight-grey>p {
    background-color: #a4a4a4 !important;
}

#Agroforestry_GENERAL-GENERALFICHE-AGROFORESTRY {
  color: #F8F8FF !important;

}
#main-content { font-family: corbel; }

.wiki-content img.confluence-embedded-image { cursor: default !important;}  

</style>

Data extracted in September 2021
Fiche created in December 2023

Note to the reader: This general fiche summarises all the environmental and climate impacts of GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT found in a review of 33 synthesis papers[1]. These papers were selected from an initial number of 1022 obtained through a systematic literature search strategy, according to the inclusion criteria reported in section 4. The impacts reported here are those for which there is scientific evidence available in published synthesis papers, what does not preclude the farming practice to have other impacts on the environment and climate still not covered by primary studies or by synthesis papers.

The synthesis papers review a number of primary studies ranging from 12 to 141. Therefore, the assessment of impacts relies on a large number of results from the primary studies, obtained mainly in field conditions, or sometimes in lab experiments or from model simulations.

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE FARMING PRACTICE

Description:
- Grasslands are areas of land predominantly covered by communities of grass-like plants and forbs and may include sparsely occurring trees and shrubs. In the Eurostat classification, percentages of area covered by such canopies are limited to less than 10 % in the case of trees and to less than 20 % in the case of shrubs (i.e., low woody plants capable of reaching heights of up to 5 metres)[2] or shrubs and trees together.[3] However, in the scientific literature reviewed here, grasslands are usually more broadly defined and might not fully meet such canopy limits.
- This review includes a wide variety of grassland types: savannah, grassy deserts, seasonally flooded grasslands, prairies, meadows, pastures, rangelands, salt-marshes, bioenergy perennial grasslands, calcareous grasslands and wooded grasslands. Grasslands differ in terms of: management intensity (natural, semi-natural, improved and intensively managed); management history: permanent and temporary; successional stage (old successional and secondary grasslands); biomes and climates (semi-arid, temperate, tropical, Mediterranean, tundra, alpine, subalpine, artic and subartic).
- Fodder crops are not included as grasslands.
- This review includes several interventions on grasslands:
  - Soil organic amendments are materials of plant or animal origin that can be added to soil, such as manures, biosolids, green wastes, and composts, to improve the soil quality in terms of its structure and biochemical function.[4] This includes also biochar, which is charcoal produced by pyrolysis of biomass in the absence of oxygen.
  - Enhanced-efficiency fertilisers (EEF) are different types of fertilisers or products associated to fertilisers, which have been developed to better synchronize fertiliser nitrogen (N) release with crop uptake, offering the potential for enhanced N-use efficiency (NUE) in crops and reduce losses[5]. This review includes the use of different types of EEF, namely nitrification inhibitors, urease inhibitors and polymer-coated fertilisers.
  - Fertilisers are natural or synthetic substances containing chemical elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) that are applied to soils to improve growth and productiveness of plants.[6] This review includes the use of both mineral and organic conventional fertilisers.
  - Mowing is a harvesting practice consisting on cutting the grass.
  - Grazing is a method of animal husbandry in which livestock are allowed to feed outdoors consuming wild vegetation. Please, note that in this set of fiches grazing is only explored when compared to mowing. Grazing and different grazing intensity are explored in a separate set of fiches.
  - Increasing grass/forb species richness is a practice normally used to improve the agronomical performance of some grasslands. It consists on reseedings, generally with pluriannual grasses and legumes.[7]
- Key descriptors:
  - This review does not include other practices conducted in grasslands such as grazing nor the conversion of other agricultural land uses to grasslands, which are assessed in separate sets of fiches.
  - The management practices reviewed here are only conducted in grasslands. However, the use in croplands (i.e., with no distinction between arable lands and grasslands) of nitrification inhibitors and other enhance-efficiency fertilisers, biochar and other soil organic amendments and fertilisers, are assessed in other sets of fiches.
  - For greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the use of fertilisers is explored separately for N and P fertilisers as effects slightly differ.
  - This review does not include grazing or other management practices (i.e, soil amendment and fertilisation, mowing, increasing grass species richness) conducted in grasslands, which are assessed in separate sets of fiches.

2. EFFECTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

We reviewed the impacts in grasslands of different soil management practices (namely, the use of enhanced-efficiency fertilisers, soil organic amendments and conventional fertilisers) compared to grasslands without such management. We also reviewed the impacts in grasslands of grazing, mowing more or less than once a year compared to grasslands mowed once a year. Finally, we reviewed the impacts in grasslands of practices pursuing to increase grass/forb species richness compared to grasslands with lower or only one species.

The table below shows the number of synthesis papers with statistical tests reporting i) a significant difference between the Intervention and the Comparator, that is to say, a significant statistical effect, which can be positive or negative; or ii) a non-statistically significant difference between the Intervention and the Comparator. In addition, we include, if any, the number of synthesis papers reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects. Details on the quality assessment of the synthesis papers can be found in the methodology section of this WIKI.

All selected synthesis papers included studies conducted in Europe , and 32 have a quality score higher than 50%.

Table 1: Summary of effects. Number of synthesis papers reporting positive, negative or non-statistically significant effects on environmental and climate impacts. The number of synthesis papers reporting relevant results but without statistical test of the effects are also provided. When not all the synthesis papers reporting an effect are of high quality, the number of synthesis papers with a quality score of at least 50% is indicated in parentheses. Some synthesis papers may report effects for more than one impact, or more than one effect for the same impact.

				Statistically tested			Non-statistically tested
Impact	Metric	Intervention	Comparator	Significantly positive	Significantly negative	Non-significant	Non-statistically tested
Decrease Air pollutants emissions	Ammonia emissions	Enhance-efficiency fertilisers	No enhance-efficiency fertilisers	0	0	0	1 (0)
Increase Biodiversity	Biodiversity	Delayed first mowing date	Early first mowing date	1	0	1	0
		Fertilisation	No fertilisation	1	4	1	0
		Grazing	Mowing once per year	0	0	1	0
		Mowing less than once a year	Mowing once per year	0	1	0	0
		Mowing more than once a year	Mowing once per year	1	0	0	0
		Soil organic amendment	No amendment	0	0	2	0
Increase Carbon sequestration	Soil organic carbon	Increased grass species richness	Mono- and low grass species richness	1	0	2	0
Increase Carbon sequestration	Soil organic carbon	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	1	0	0	0
Decrease GHG emissions	GHG emissions	Enhance-efficiency fertilisers	No enhance-efficiency fertilisers	3	0	2	0
		N fertilisation	No fertilisation	0	3	0	0
		NP fertilisation	No fertilisation	0	1	0	0
		P fertilisation	No fertilisation	0	0	1	0
		Soil organic amendment	No biochar	0	0	1	0
Increase Grassland production	Crop yield	Enhance-efficiency fertilisers	No enhance-efficiency fertilisers	1	0	0	0
		Fertilisation	No fertilisation	7	0	4	0
		Increased grass species richness	Mono- and low grass species richness	3	0	0	0
		Soil organic amendment	No amendment	2	0	0	0
		Soil organic amendment	No biochar	0	1	0	0
Decrease Heavy metals pollution	Heavy metals	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	0	1	0	0
Decrease Nutrient leaching and run-off	NO3 leaching	Enhance-efficiency fertilisers	No enhance-efficiency fertilisers	1	0	0	0
Decrease Nutrient leaching and run-off	Nutrient loss	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	0	1	0	0
Increase Pests and diseases	Pests	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	0	0	1	0
Increase Plant nutrient uptake	Nutrient use efficiency	N fertilisation	No fertilisation	1	0	0	0
Increase Soil biological quality	Soil microorganisms	Increased grass species richness	Mono- and low grass species richness	4	0	3	0
Increase Soil biological quality	Soil microorganisms	N fertilisation	No fertilisation	2	2	4	0
Decrease Soil erosion	Soil erosion	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	1	0	0	0
Increase Soil nutrients	Soil nutrients	Fertilisation	No fertilisation	2	1	1	0
Increase Soil nutrients	Soil nutrients	Increased grass species richness	Mono- and low grass species richness	1	0	1	0
Increase Soil water retention	Soil water retention	N fertilisation	No fertilisation	0	0	1	0
Increase Soil water retention	Soil water retention	Soil organic amendment	No amendment	1	0	0	0

3. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTS ON CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The factors significantly influencing the size and/or direction of the effects on the impacts, according to the synthesis papers included in this review, are reported below. Details about the factors can be found in the summaries of the meta-analyses available in this WIKI.

Table 2: List of factors reported to significantly affect the size and/or direction of the effects on environmental and climate impacts, according to the synthesis papers reviewed. The reference number of the synthesis papers where those factors are explored is given in parentheses.

Impact	Factors
Biodiversity	Climate (Ref25), Date of the early cut (Ref30), Disturbance prior to restoration (Ref3), Duration of treatment (Ref25), Fertiliser type (Ref25), Geographical area (Ref27), Grassland type (Ref27), Historical management (Ref27), Interaction between time since treatment and seeding prior to restoration (Ref3), Mowing date (Ref27), N application rate (Ref32), N content in amendment (Ref13), N fertiliser application rate (Ref25), Organism (Ref27) and Recent management (Ref27)
Carbon sequestration	Amendment rate (Ref13), Duration of treatment (Ref9, Ref10), Grass plant species richness (Ref9, Ref10), Interaction between grass plant species richness and experimental duration (Ref9), N content in amendment (Ref13) and Time between treatment and measurement (Ref13)
GHG emissions	Deposition season (Ref19), Excreta type (Ref19) and N fertiliser application rate (Ref18)
Grassland production	Amendment rate (Ref13), Aridity index (Ref10), Burned before treatment (Ref3), Climate (Ref8, Ref21), Crop type (Ref8), Duration of treatment (Ref9, Ref10), Grass plant species richness (Ref9, Ref10), Interaction between grass plant species richness and experimental duration (Ref9), Mean annual temperature (Ref3), N application rate (Ref21), P fertiliser application rate (Ref8), Plot area (Ref10), Seeding prior to restoration (Ref3), Soil Olsen P levels (Ref8), Study duration (Ref19), Study type (Ref19), Time between treatment and measurement (Ref13), Time since treatment (Ref3) and Timing of application (Ref19)
Heavy metals pollution	N content in amendment (Ref13)
Nutrient leaching and run-off	Application rate (Ref19), Deposition season (Ref19), N content in amendment (Ref13) and Timing of application (Ref19)
Plant nutrient uptake	N fertiliser application rate (Ref28)
Soil biological quality	Duration of treatment (Ref23 and Ref29)
Soil erosion	Amendment rate (Ref13) and N content in amendment (Ref13)
Soil nutrients	Climate (Ref21) and N application rate (Ref21)
Soil water retention	Duration of treatment (Ref21)

4. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEARCH STRATEGY

Table 3: Systematic review search strategy - methodology and search parameters.

Parameter	Details
Keywords	WOS: (TS=("grazing" OR "grassland" OR "pasture" OR "rangeland")) AND TS=(("meta-analy" OR "systematic* review" OR "evidence map" OR "global synthesis" OR "evidence synthesis" OR "research synthesis")) and SCOPUS: (TITLE-ABS-KEY ( "grazing" OR "grassland" OR "pasture" OR "rangeland") AND TITLE-ABS-KEY ( ( "meta-analy" OR "systematic review*" OR "evidence map" OR "global synthesis" OR "evidence synthesis" OR "research synthesis")))
Time reference	No time restriction.
Databases	Web of Science and Scopus: run on 21 September 2021
Exclusion criteria	The main criteria that led to the exclusion of a synthesis paper are: 1) The topic of the meta-analysis is out of the scope of this review., 2) The paper is neither a systematic review nor a meta-analysis of primary research., 3) The analysis is not based on pairwise comparisons, 4) The paper is not written in English., 5) The full text is not available, 6) The article deals with animal health/welfare and 7) The article deals with feeding strategies. They go only in animal feeding. The search returned 1020 synthesis papers from WOS and SCOPUS on Grassland management plus other 2 retrieved in the search of other farming practices, potentially relevant for the practice object of our fiche. From the 1022 potentially relevant synthesis papers, 657 were excluded after reading the title and abstract, and 216 after reading the full text according to the above-mentioned criteria. Finally, 33 synthesis papers were selected.

5. SYNTHESIS PAPERS INCLUDED IN THE REVIEW

Table 4: List of synthesis papers included in this review. More details can be found in the summaries of the meta-analyses.

Ref Num	Author(s)	Year	Title	Journal	DOI
Ref1	Chen, J; Feng, M; Cui, Y; Liu, G	2021	The impacts of nitrogen addition on upland soil methane uptake: A global meta-analysis	SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 795, 148863.	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148863
Ref2	Chen, XL; Chen, HYH; Searle, EB; Chen, C; Reich, PB	2021	Negative to positive shifts in diversity effects on soil nitrogen over time	NATURE SUSTAINABILITY, 4, 225–232.	10.1038/s41893-020-00641-y
Ref3	Ploughe, LW; Akin-Fajiye, M; Gagnon, A; Gardner, WC; Fraser, LH	2021	Revegetation of degraded ecosystems into grasslands using biosolids as an organic amendment: A meta-analysis	APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, 24(1), e12558.	10.1111/avsc.12558
Ref4	Barry, KE; van Ruijven, J; Mommer, L; Bai, YF; Beierkuhnlein, C; Buchmann, N; de Kroon, H; Ebeling, A; Eisenhauer, N; Guimaraes-Steinicke, C; Hildebrandt, A; Isbell, F; Milcu, A; Nesshover, C; Reich, PB; Roscher, C; Sauheitl, L; Scherer-Lorenzen, M; Schmid, B; Tilman, D; von Felten, S; Weigelt, A	2020	Limited evidence for spatial resource partitioning across temperate grassland biodiversity experiments	ECOLOGY, 101(1), e02905.	10.1002/ecy.2905
Ref5	Chen, XL; Chen, HYH; Chen, C; Ma, ZL; Searle, EB; Yu, ZP; Huang, ZQ	2020	Effects of plant diversity on soil carbon in diverse ecosystems: A global meta-analysis	BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, 95(1), 167-183.	10.1111/brv.12554
Ref6	Jia, XY; Zhong, YQW; Liu, J; Zhu, GY; Shangguan, ZP; Yan, WM	2020	Effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil microbial characteristics: From biomass to enzyme activities	GEODERMA, 366, 114256.	10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114256
Ref7	Prather, RM; Castillioni, K; Kaspari, M; Souza, L; Prather, CM; Reihart, RW; Welti, EAR	2020	Micronutrients enhance macronutrient effects in a meta-analysis of grassland arthropod abundance	GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, 29(12), 2273-2288.	10.1111/geb.13196
Ref8	Ros, MBH; Koopmans, GF; van Groenigen, KJ; Abalos, D; Oenema, O; Vos, HMJ; van Groenigen, JW	2020	Towards optimal use of phosphorus fertiliser	SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 10, 17804.	10.1038/s41598-020-74736-z
Ref9	Wang, C; Tang, YJ; Li, XN; Zhang, WW; Zhao, CQ; Li, C	2020	Negative impacts of plant diversity loss on carbon sequestration exacerbate over time in grasslands	ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 15(10), 104055.	10.1088/1748-9326/abaf88
Ref10	Xu, S; Eisenhauer, N; Ferlian, O; Zhang, JL; Zhou, GY; Lu, XK; Liu, CS; Zhang, DQ	2020	Species richness promotes ecosystem carbon storage: Evidence from biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments	PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 287, 20202063.	10.1098/rspb.2020.2063
Ref11	Zhang, LH; Yuan, FH; Bai, JH; Duan, HT; Gu, XY; Hou, LY; Huang, Y; Yang, MG; He, JS; Zhang, ZH; Yu, LJ; Song, CC; Lipson, DA; Zona, D; Oechel, W; Janssens, IA; Xu, XF	2020	Phosphorus alleviation of nitrogen-suppressed methane sink in global grasslands	ECOLOGY LETTERS, 23(5), 821-830.	10.1111/ele.13480
Ref12	Chen, C; Chen, HYH; Chen, XL; Huang, ZQ	2019	Meta-analysis shows positive effects of plant diversity on microbial biomass and respiration	NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 10, 1332.	10.1038/s41467-019-09258-y
Ref13	Gravuer, K; Gennet, S; Throop, HL	2019	Organic amendment additions to rangelands: A meta-analysis of multiple ecosystem outcomes	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 25[3), 1152-1170.	10.1111/gcb.14535
Ref14	Jiang, J; Wang, YP; Yang, YH; Yu, MX; Wang, C; Yan, JH	2019	Interactive effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on plant growth vary with ecosystem type	PLANT AND SOIL, 440(1-2), 523-537.	10.1007/s11104-019-04119-5
Ref15	Midolo, G; Alkemade, R; Schipper, AM; Benitez-Lopez, A; Perring, MP; De Vries, W	2019	Impacts of nitrogen addition on plant species richness and abundance: A global meta-analysis	GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, 28(3), 398-413.	10.1111/geb.12856
Ref16	Zheng, MH; Zhou, ZH; Luo, YQ; Zhao, P; Mo, JM	2019	Global pattern and controls of biological nitrogen fixation under nutrient enrichment: A meta-analysis	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 25(9), 3018-3030.	10.1111/gcb.14705
Ref17	Talle, M; Deak, B; Poschlod, P; Valko, O; Westerberg, L; Milberg, P	2018	Similar effects of different mowing frequencies on the conservation value of semi-natural grasslands in Europe	BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION, 27(10), 2451-2475.	10.1007/s10531-018-1562-6
Ref18	Wang, JY; Chadwick, DR; Cheng, Y; Yan, XY	2018	Global analysis of agricultural soil denitrification in response to fertilizer nitrogen	SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 616, 908-917.	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.229
Ref19	Cai, YJ; Akiyama, H	2017	Effects of inhibitors and biochar on nitrous oxide emissions, nitrate leaching, and plant nitrogen uptake from urine patches of grazing animals on grasslands: A meta-analysis	SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION, 63(4), 405-414.	10.1080/00380768.2017.1367627
Ref20	Chen, J; Luo, YQ; Li, JW; Zhou, XH; Cao, JJ; Wang, RW; Wang, YQ; Shelton, S; Jin, Z; Walker, LM; Feng, ZZ; Niu, SL; Feng, WT; Jian, SY; Zhou, LY	2017	Costimulation of soil glycosidase activity and soil respiration by nitrogen addition	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 23(3), 1328-1337.	10.1111/gcb.13402
Ref21	You, CM; Wu, FZ; Gan, YM; Yang, WQ; Hu, ZM; Xu, ZF; Tan, B; Liu, L; Ni, XY	2017	Grass and forbs respond differently to nitrogen addition: A meta-analysis of global grassland ecosystems	SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 7, 1563.	10.1038/s41598-017-01728-x
Ref22	Zhou, ZH; Wang, CK; Zheng, MH; Jiang, LF; Luo, YQ	2017	Patterns and mechanisms of responses by soil microbial communities to nitrogen addition	SOIL BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY, 115, 433-441.	10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.09.015
Ref23	Geisseler, D; Lazicki, PA; Scow, KM	2016	Mineral nitrogen input decreases microbial biomass in soils under grasslands but not annual crops	APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY, 106, 1-10.	10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.04.015
Ref24	Gilsanz, C; Baez, D; Misselbrook, TH; Dhanoa, MS; Cardenas, LM	2016	Development of emission factors and efficiency of two nitrification inhibitors, DCD and DMPP	AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT, 216, 1-8.	10.1016/j.agee.2015.09.030
Ref25	Humbert, JY; Dwyer, JM; Andrey, A; Arlettaz, R	2016	Impacts of nitrogen addition on plant biodiversity in mountain grasslands depend on dose, application duration and climate: A systematic review	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 22(1), 110-120.	10.1111/gcb.12986
Ref26	Li, Y; Niu, SL; Yu, GR	2016	Aggravated phosphorus limitation on biomass production under increasing nitrogen loading: A meta-analysis	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 22(2), 934-943.	10.1111/gcb.13125
Ref27	Talle, M; Deak, B; Poschlod, P; Valko, O; Westerberg, L; Milberg, P	2016	Grazing vs. mowing: A meta-analysis of biodiversity benefits for grassland management	AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT, 222, 200-212.	10.1016/j.agee.2016.02.008
Ref28	Tian, DH; Wang, H; Sun, J; Niu, SL	2016	Global evidence on nitrogen saturation of terrestrial ecosystem net primary productivity	ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 11(2), 24012.	10.1088/1748-9326/11/2/024012
Ref29	Thakur, MP; Milcu, A; Manning, P; Niklaus, PA; Roscher, C; Power, S; Reich, PB; Scheu, S; Tilman, D; Ai, F; Guo, H; Ji, R; Pierce, S; Ramirez, NG; Richter, AN; Steinauer, K; Strecker, T; Vogel, A; Eisenhauer, N	2015	Plant diversity drives soil microbial biomass carbon in grasslands irrespective of global environmental change factors	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 21(11), 4076-4085.	10.1111/gcb.13011
Ref30	Humbert, JY; Pellet, J; Buri, P; Arlettaz, R	2012	Does delaying the first mowing date benefit biodiversity in meadowland?	ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE, 1, 9.	10.1186/2047-2382-1-9
Ref31	Kim, DG; Saggar, S; Roudier, P	2012	The effect of nitrification inhibitors on soil ammonia emissions in nitrogen managed soils: A meta-analysis	NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, 93(1), 51-64.	10.1007/s10705-012-9498-9
Ref32	De Schrijver, A; De Frenne, P; Ampoorter, E; Van Nevel, L; Demey, A; Wuyts, K; Verheyen, K	2011	Cumulative nitrogen input drives species loss in terrestrial ecosystems	GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY, 20(6), 803-816.	10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00652.x
Ref33	Akiyama, H; Yan, XY; Yagi, K	2010	Evaluation of effectiveness of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers as mitigation options for N2O and NO emissions from agricultural soils: Meta-analysis	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 16(6) 1837-1846.	10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.02031.x

Disclaimer: These fiches present a large amount of scientific knowledge synthesised to assess farming practices impacts on the environment, climate and productivity. The European Commission maintains this WIKI to enhance public access to information about its initiatives. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However, the Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on these fiches and WIKI.

[1] Synthesis research papers include either meta-analysis or systematic reviews with quantitative results. Details can be found in the methodology section of the WIKI.

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Shrubland

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Grassland

[4] Diacono, M, and Montemurro, F. 2010. Long‐term effects of organic amendments on soil fertility. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30, 401–422.

[5] Li, T ; Zhang, W ; Yin, J ; et al. 2018. Enhanced‐efficiency fertilizers are not a panacea for resolving the nitrogen problem. Global Change Biology, 24, e511– e521.

[6] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Fertiliser

[7] Velthof, GL; Lesschen, JP; Schils, RLM; et al. 2014. Grassland areas, production and use. Methodological studies in the field of Agro-Environmental Indicators. Alterra, Wageningen.