Measures of plowless arable farming

The report examines ecological aspects of arable land management (e.g. effects on greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, pesticide and fertiliser use) all year round/permanently plowless. It can be seen that the use of this soil management together with new technologies (e.g. injection technology for the application of farm manure) has a great potential for climate protection. A possible greenhouse gas reduction of 296 Gg CO2 (equivalent to 3.9 % of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture) and a reduction of 55 % of the ammonia loss were calculated. In accordance with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), climate change mitigation and adaptation will be a priority in agriculture from 2015. On the basis of the results of the studies, it is therefore proposed to establish a measure “all-year/permanent plowless tillage” as a separate CAP instrument.