Oficina de Proyectos Internacionales

1.To conduct 18 case studies across Europe based on established field experiments, which inform about and validate new cropping system designs and provide a focal point for the local development on the role of legumes in new cropping systems.

2.To design new cropping systems for Europe’s pedoclimatic zones using model-drawing from data of the case studies networked by the project.

3.To identify the wider environmental effects (e.g. carbon and nitrogen cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, soil quality, biodiversity, effects on pests and diseases) of legume use within farming systems, including systematic measurements of nitrous oxide emissions.

4.To provide a comprehensive and complete assessment of the potential of legumes in the non-food sector and the implication of this potential on the design of cropping systems.

5.To facilitate access to the wider knowledge base on legumes and disseminate information about new agronomic, environmental and social impacts of legumes in farming systems.

6.To develop and enhance legume knowledge resources through the collection and linkage of data and knowledge leading to the establishment of a European Legume Crop Biological Resources Centre.

Role of andalusian partner

Case study on cropping system: field long-term experiment “Malagón” (located in Córdoba, Southern Spain).

Impact

The aim of this research is to deliver an integrated knowledge base that will enable legumes to contribute fully to the sustainable development of European farming systems. European farming currently consumes the equivalent of about 45 million tons of soybeans and uses about 11 million tons of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer . In addition to the economic costs of these resources, these two inputs alone represent the root cause of key environmental burdens arising from the European agricultural systems. In addition, European cropping systems have become less diverse in terms of the species they use, contributing to declines in farmland biodiversity.