The environmental consequences of adopting conservation tillage in Europe: reviewing the evidence

Conservation tillage (CT) is practised on 45 million ha world-wide, predominantly in North and South America but its uptake is also increasing in South Africa, Australia and other semi-arid areas of the world. It is primarily used as a means to protect soils from erosion and compaction, to conserve moisture and reduce production costs. In Europe, the area cultivated using minimum tillage is increasing primarily in an effort to reduce production costs, but also as a way of preventing soil erosion and retain soil moisture. A large proportion (16%) of Europe’s cultivated land is also prone to soil degradation but farmers and governments are being slow to recognise and address the problem, despite the widespread environmental problems that can occur when soils become degraded. Conservation tillage can improve soil structure and stability thereby facilitating better drainage and water holding capacity that reduces the extremes of water logging and drought. These improvements to soil structure also reduce the risk of runoff and pollution of surface waters with sediment, pesticides and nutrients. Reducing the intensity of soil cultivation lowers energy consumption and the emission of carbon dioxide, while carbon sequestration is raised though the increase in soil organic matter (SOM). Under conservation tillage, a richer soil biota develops that can improve nutrient recycling and this may also help combat crop pests and diseases. The greater availability of crop residues and weed seeds improves food supplies for insects, birds and small mammals. All these aspects are reviewed but detailed information on the environmental benefits of conservation tillage is sparse and disparate from European studies. No detailed studies have been conducted at the catchment scale in Europe, therefore some findings must be treated with caution until they can be verified at a larger scale and for a greater range of climatic, cropping and soil conditions.