Soil is an indispensable and irreplaceable resource both as a production basis for food and animal feed and in its function as a storage and buffer medium for the environment.

Ensuring the health of the soil is one of our essential core tasks. As the office of the advisory board for soil fertility and soil protection of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management (BML), we are significantly involved in the development of guidelines for the careful use of soil as a resource.

Through our diverse range of investigations , possible threats to the soil can be identified in good time. Based on the results of the investigations, a corresponding catalog of measures for soil management can be developed.

AgrarCommander helps you to determine the nutrient requirements of your soil based on the results of the soil analysis.

Humus content is a simple parameter for assessing the quality of the soil. An optimum humus content in the soil is an important prerequisite for sustainable agricultural production. Humus-conserving cultivation is therefore in the interest of every farmer.

On the one hand, humus in the soil has a "nutrient effect". This means that the vital nutrients contained in humus are gradually released and are available for plant growth in the long term. On the other hand, humus also has a soil-improving effect, because it has a favorable effect on soil life and the pore distribution of the soil, improves air circulation, heat balance and water storage capacity. In addition, humus stores carbon and thus acts as a sink for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Humus also contributes to a better bearing capacity and trafficability of the soil. It also plays a role in binding pollutants (e.g. heavy metals). This prevents them from being transferred to deeper soil layers or leaching into the groundwater.

Intensive tillage, erosion, humus-consuming crop rotations with sugar beet, potatoes and maize (especially silage maize), as well as the lack or low input of organic matter (crop residues, farmyard manure) contribute to humus depletion in the soil.

The aim is to build up an optimal humus content in the soil typical for the site by combining different management measures: organic/mineral fertilization including management of crop residues, tillage, crop rotation, establishment of green cover/intercrops. Minimum humus contents are 2.0% for light soils, 2.5% for medium soils and 3.0% for heavy soils.

The development of humus contents on arable soils in different regions over the past 15 to 25 years could be investigated on the basis of extensive humus data within the framework of the evaluation of ÖPUL (Austrian Program for Environmentally Sound Agriculture). Since effects on humus content due to management changes cannot be determined in the short term, but only in the medium to longer term, the period before the introduction of ÖPUL (1991 to 1995) was compared with the current data (2008 to 2012). For this purpose, a total of almost 38,000 humus data were available. Main or small production areas with available sample numbers from both periods were selected.

However, the data situation is quite different, since until the end of 2014 there was no funding obligation for the investigation of soil humus content within the framework of ÖPUL. The data presented here only came about because a sufficient number of farmers had the humus content of their soil samples examined. Within the framework of the ÖPUL evaluation, these results were summarized by region in cooperation with the Chambers of Agriculture.

Number of humus samples

HPG = Main production area KPG = Small production area

With regard to the influence of organic management of the soil, there are interesting results from Upper Austria. After at least ten years of organic management, the humus content is significantly higher - in the Alpine foothills by + 0.14 % and in the Mühlviertel by + 0.28 %.

These increases are mainly due to the 23 % higher proportion of field fodder crops and the 20 % lower proportion of maize in organic farming compared to conventional soil management.

If the nutrient status and acidity of the soil are known, the cost of phosphorus, potassium and lime fertilization can be minimized or these fertilizers can be used profitably: On sites highly supplied with phosphorus and potassium or neutral and alkaline, fertilizer costs can be saved entirely because the soil's nutrient resources can be used.

On acidic soils, the optimum pH value can be stabilized by targeted improvement lime application and regular maintenance lime applications every four to six years. At low nutrient levels, targeted phosphorus and potassium fertilization is economically advantageous on most soils because it can achieve yield effects of 8% for cereals and 15% for root crops.

For more information on soil testing, please visit our service page.