341

interdisciplinary approach has yet to be developed. The contributions are

not giving an answer to this complex and unique problem but are rather
trying to pave the way for a real interdisciplinary approach by a first step:
the collection of the different views of the relevant disciplines. Thus, the
proceedings of the conference can be considered a good compendium and
source of information for production specialists, ecologists, economists and
planning and managing personnel, who are engaged in developing alternative
approaches of a complex nature, which have yet to be developed. Within the
different sections of the volume, the attempt to develop evaluation methods
considering both qualitative and quantitative aspects is remarkable. It shoulct
be mentioned that the problems dealt with are limited to the agro-ecological
situation of the temperate climatic zones of industrialized countries. The use
of the present volume as a reference book is facilitated by a comprehensive
subject index, not to forget the extensive reference lists added to each con-
tribution.

O. KIRSCH
(tleidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany)

MANURING OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

The Spreading of Animal Excrement on Utilized Agricultural Areas of the

Community. III. Summary and Conclusions. Official Publications of the
European Communities, Luxembourg, 1979. Dfl. 4.20 ISBN 92-825-
0664-9.

This is the report of a valuable investigation which has been made under
the study programme of the Director-General for Agriculture and the
Environment and Consumer Protection Service of the Commission of the
European Communities, carried out jointly by the Instituut voor Bodem-
vruchtbaarheid te Haren (Groningen) and the Institut f[ir Strukturforschung
der Bundesforschungsanstalt fiir Landwirtschaft, Braunschweig-VSlkenrode.
The report is based on two separate studies, the work in the Netherlands
being concerned with the determination of the maximum level of manuring
of agricultural land, and also quantifying the possible manure surpluses. The
work in the Federal Republic of Germany identified those areas of the EEC
in which livestock densities are high relative to the available area of land.
The areas selected were also classified on the basis of the type of soil, climate,
land use, livestock numbers and species.
It is pertinent to summarize briefly the conclusions of this work. Firstly,
the studies set out standards and methods of calculation for identification of
areas with manure surpluses. The standards used, derived from the results of
scientific research and discussed and explained in detail are based on the
criteria that, to avoid unnecessary pollution of the soil, ground water and
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surface water and harm to crops and livestock, no more manure must be ap-
plied to the land than is necessary to obtain m a x i m u m crop product i on
c o m men s u r ate with acceptable quality. It was also shown t hat limits are set
to the application o f animal manure by the a m o u n t of nitrogen on arable
land with regard to crop p r o d u c t i o n and by the a m o u n t of potash on grass-
land. The only case where pollution of the soil is of concern is with pig
manure that contains c oppe r and if it is used regularly on the same soil.
The report shows that where the a m o u n t o f manure necessary for maximum
crop p r o d u c t i o n is used, the shallow ground water is liable to be polluted
with nitrate. Deep ground water is not normally at risk and so this aspect of
ground water pollution m ay be disregarded, at least in the short term. On the
o t h er hand, the risk of pollution of surface water arises mainly from phos-
phorus reaching the water by runoff. Since, however, no practicable standards
are yet available for this, the phosphorus tolerance of the soil has been as-
signed only a very minor part in the calculations. Phosphorus pollution by
leaching is n o t expected in the short term.
It is stated that for the calculation o f permissible am ount s of manure it is
desirable to express the crops' requirements of nitrogen and potash in terms
o f stocking rate, for which purpose one livestock unit (LU) is defined as one
adult cow with an annual p r o d u c t i o n of 90 kg N, 40 kg P2Os and 100 kg
K20 in the slurry. The am ount s of these minerals in the manure of other
species can then be expressed in cattle equivalent (CE).
With the aid o f information on livestock numbers and species, areas of
cultivated land, ratio of arable land to grassland and cropping systems, it is
then possible to determine whether a farm or zone has a surplus and, if so,
to calculate its size in CE. A hierarchical classification has been established
in the form o f a dendrogram in which the tolerance limits are shown for a
farm or a zone. T he n u m b e r of zones not conforming to the standards can
be determined from the dendrogram by a process of elimination. 292 zones
are located within the EEC which have particularly high livestock intensities,
and statistics are gdven on their size, agricultural structure, land use, com-
position, and size of livestock population and a m o u n t o f N, P and K pro-
duced in the manure in these zones. 89 zones in the EEC are revealed in
which possible manure surpluses could not be ruled out. The R e p o r t con-
cludes with a series of bases and r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s and y o u r reviewer com-
mends this whole p r o d u c t i o n as being a t h o r o u g h l y useful and well laid out
publication.

D.W.B. SAINSBURY
(Cambridge, Great Britain)