Soil, water and nutrient loss under conventional and organic vegetable production managed in small farms

Agricultural systems with conventional tillage and intensive use of agrochemicals, especially those on high slopes and with shallow soils, have the potential to release pollutants. This study aimed at evaluating the soil, water and nutrient lost via agricultural runoff in large plots (small catchments) under conventional and organic farming of vegetables as well as under forest (control) system in a Cambisol in the Campestre catchment. Samples of runoff were collected biweekly for one year through a Coshocton wheel. The soil and water losses from the conventional farming were 218 and 6 times higher, respectively, than forest. Under organic farming the soil and water losses were 12 and 4 times higher, respectively, than forest. However the soil losses (0.5 to 114 kg ha^(−1) year^(−1)) are considered low in agronomy but environmentally represent a potential source of surface water contamination by runoff associated pollutants. The concentrations and losses of all forms of phosphorus (P) were higher in the conventional system (9.5, 0.9 and 0.3 mg L^(−1) of total P for conventional, organic and forest systems, respectively), while the organic system had the highest concentrations and losses of soluble nitrogen (4.7, 38.6 and 0.4 mg L^(−1) of NO_3-N, respectively). The percentage of bioavailable P was proportionally higher in the organic system (91% of total P lost was as bioavailable P), indicating greater potential for pollution in the short term.

Effects of different tillage treatments on labile soil organic matter pools and stabilization processes

An improved understanding of soil organic carbon (Corg) dynamics in interaction with the mechanisms of soil structure formation is important in terms of sustainable agriculture and reduction of environmental costs of agricultural ecosystems. However, information on physical and chemical processes influencing formation and stabilization of water stable aggregates in association with Corg sequestration is scarce. Long term soil experiments are important in evaluating open questions about management induced effects on soil Corg dynamics in interaction with soil structure formation. The objectives of the present thesis were: (i) to determine the long term impacts of different tillage treatments on the interaction between macro aggregation (>250 µm) and light fraction (LF) distribution and on C sequestration in plots differing in soil texture and climatic conditions. (ii) to determine the impact of different tillage treatments on temporal changes in the size distribution of water stable aggregates and on macro aggregate turnover. (iii) to evaluate the macro aggregate rebuilding in soils with varying initial Corg contents, organic matter (OM) amendments and clay contents in a short term incubation experiment. Soil samples were taken in 0-5 cm, 5-25 cm and 25-40 cm depth from up to four commercially used fields located in arable loess regions of eastern and southern Germany after 18-25 years of different tillage treatments with almost identical experimental setups per site. At each site, one large field with spatially homogenous soil properties was divided into three plots. One of the following three tillage treatments was carried in each plot: (i) Conventional tillage (CT) with annual mouldboard ploughing to 25-30 cm (ii) mulch tillage (MT) with a cultivator or disc harrow 10-15 cm deep, and (iii) no tillage (NT) with direct drilling. The crop rotation at each site consisted of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) - winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) - winter wheat. Crop residues were left on the field and crop management was carried out following the regional standards of agricultural practice. To investigate the above mentioned research objectives, three experiments were conducted: Experiment (i) was performed with soils sampled from four sites in April 2010 (wheat stand). Experiment (ii) was conducted with soils sampled from three sites in April 2010, September 2011 (after harvest or sugar beet stand), November 2011 (after tillage) and April 2012 (bare soil or wheat stand). An incubation study (experiment (iii)) was performed with soil sampled from one site in April 2010. Based on the aforementioned research objectives and experiments the main findings were: (i) Consistent results were found between the four long term tillage fields, varying in texture and climatic conditions. Correlation analysis of the yields of macro aggregate against the yields of free LF ( ≤1.8 g cm-3) and occluded LF, respectively, suggested that the effective litter translocation in higher soil depths and higher litter input under CT and MT compensated in the long term the higher physical impact by tillage equipment than under NT. The Corg stocks (kg Corg m−2) in 522 kg soil, based on the equivalent soil mass approach (CT: 0–40 cm, MT: 0–38 cm, NT: 0–36 cm) increased in the order CT (5.2) = NT (5.2) < MT (5.7). Significantly (p ≤ 0.05) highest Corg stocks under MT were probably a result of high crop yields in combination with reduced physical tillage impact and effective litter incorporation, resulting in a Corg sequestration rate of 31 g C-2 m-2 yr-1. (ii) Significantly higher yields of macro aggregates (g kg-2 soil) under NT (732-777) and MT (680-726) than under CT (542-631) were generally restricted to the 0-5 cm sampling depth for all sampling dates. Temporal changes on aggregate size distribution were only small and no tillage induced net effect was detectable. Thus, we assume that the physical impact by tillage equipment was only small or the impact was compensated by a higher soil mixing and effective litter translocation into higher soil depths under CT, which probably resulted in a high re aggregation. (iii) The short term incubation study showed that macro aggregate yields (g kg-2 soil) were higher after 28 days in soils receiving OM (121.4-363.0) than in the control soils (22.0-52.0), accompanied by higher contents of microbial biomass carbon and ergosterol. Highest soil respiration rates after OM amendments within the first three days of incubation indicated that macro aggregate formation is a fast process. Most of the rebuilt macro aggregates were formed within the first seven days of incubation (42-75%). Nevertheless, it was ongoing throughout the entire 28 days of incubation, which was indicated by higher soil respiration rates at the end of the incubation period in OM amended soils than in the control soils. At the same time, decreasing carbon contents within macro aggregates over time indicated that newly occluded OM within the rebuilt macro aggregates served as Corg source for microbial biomass. The different clay contents played only minor role in macro aggregate formation under the particular conditions of the incubation study. Overall, no net changes on macro aggregation were identified in the short term. Furthermore, no indications for an effective Corg sequestration on the long term under NT in comparison to CT were found. The interaction of soil disturbance, litter distribution and the fast re aggregation suggested that a distinct steady state per tillage treatment in terms of soil aggregation was established. However, continuous application of MT with a combination of reduced physical tillage impact and effective litter incorporation may offer some potential in improving the soil structure and may therefore prevent incorporated LF from rapid decomposition and result in a higher C sequestration on the long term.

Downscaling and Modeling the Effects of Climate Change on Hydrology and Water Resources in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia

The Upper Blue Nile River Basin (UBNRB) located in the western part of Ethiopia, between 7° 45’ and 12° 45’N and 34° 05’ and 39° 45’E has a total area of 174962 km2 . More than 80% of the population in the basin is engaged in agricultural activities. Because of the particularly dry climate in the basin, likewise to most other regions of Ethiopia, the agricultural productivity depends to a very large extent on the occurrence of the seasonal rains. This situation makes agriculture highly vulnerable to the impact of potential climate hazards which are about to inflict Africa as a whole and Ethiopia in particular. To analyze these possible impacts of future climate change on the water resources in the UBNRB, in the first part of the thesis climate projection for precipitation, minimum and maximum temperatures in the basin, using downscaled predictors from three GCMs (ECHAM5, GFDL21 and CSIRO-MK3) under SRES scenarios A1B and A2 have been carried out. The two statistical downscaling models used are SDSM and LARS-WG, whereby SDSM is used to downscale ECHAM5-predictors alone and LARS-WG is applied in both mono-model mode with predictors from ECHAM5 and in multi-model mode with combined predictors from ECHAM5, GFDL21 and CSIRO-MK3. For the calibration/validation of the downscaled models, observed as well as NCEP climate data in the 1970 - 2000 reference period is used. The future projections are made for two time periods; 2046-2065 (2050s) and 2081-2100 (2090s). For the 2050s future time period the downscaled climate predictions indicate rise of 0.6°C to 2.7°C for the seasonal maximum temperatures Tmax, and of 0.5°C to 2.44°C for the minimum temperatures Tmin. Similarly, during the 2090s the seasonal Tmax increases by 0.9°C to 4.63°C and Tmin by 1°C to 4.6°C, whereby these increases are generally higher for the A2 than for the A1B scenario. For most sub-basins of the UBNRB, the predicted changes of Tmin are larger than those of Tmax. Meanwhile, for the precipitation, both downscaling tools predict large changes which, depending on the GCM employed, are such that the spring and summer seasons will be experiencing decreases between -36% to 1% and the autumn and winter seasons an increase of -8% to 126% for the two future time periods, regardless of the SRES scenario used. In the second part of the thesis the semi-distributed, physically based hydrologic model, SWAT (Soil Water Assessment Tool), is used to evaluate the impacts of the above-predicted future climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the UBNRB. Hereby the downscaled future predictors are used as input in the SWAT model to predict streamflow of the Upper Blue Nile as well as other relevant water resources parameter in the basin. Calibration and validation of the streamflow model is done again on 1970-2000 measured discharge at the outlet gage station Eldiem, whereby the most sensitive out the numerous “tuneable” calibration parameters in SWAT have been selected by means of a sophisticated sensitivity analysis. Consequently, a good calibration/validation model performance with a high NSE-coefficient of 0.89 is obtained. The results of the future simulations of streamflow in the basin, using both SDSM- and LARS-WG downscaled output in SWAT reveal a decline of -10% to -61% of the future Blue Nile streamflow, And, expectedly, these obviously adverse effects on the future UBNRB-water availibiliy are more exacerbated for the 2090’s than for the 2050’s, regardless of the SRES.

Effects of grassland conversion and tillage intensities on soil microbial biomass, residues and community structure

Agricultural intensification has a strong impact on level of soil organic matter (SOM), microbial biomass stocks and microbial community structure in agro-ecosystems. The size of the microbial necromass C pool could be about 40 times that of the living microbial biomass C pool in soils. Due to the specificity, amino sugar analysis gives more important information on the relative contribution of fungal and bacterial residues to C sequestration potential of soils. Meanwhile, the relationship between microbial biomass and microbial necromass in soil and its ecological significance on SOM are not fully understood and likely to be very complex in grassland soils. This thesis focuses on the effects of tillage, grassland conversion intensities and fertilisation on microbial biomass, residues and community structure. The combined analyses of microbial biomass and residue formation of both fungi and bacteria provided a unique opportunity to study the effect of tillage, grassland conversion and fertilisation on soil microbial dynamics. In top soil at 0-30 cm layer, a reduction in tillage intensity by the GRT and NT treatments increased the accumulation of saprotrophic fungi in comparison with the MBT treatment. In contrast, the GRT and NT treatments promoted AMF at the expense of saprotrophic fungi in the bottom soil layer at 30-40 cm depth. The negative relationship between the ergosterol to microbial biomass C ratio and the fungal C to bacterial C ratio points to the importance of the relationship between saprotrophic fungi and biotrophic AMF for tillage-induced changes in microbial turnover of SOC. One-season cultivation of winter wheat with two tillage events led to a significant loss in SOC and microbial biomass C stocks at 0-40 cm depth in comparison with the permanent grassland, even 5 years after the tillage event. However, the tillage induced loss in microbial biomass C was roughly 40% less in the long-term than in the short-term of the current experiment, indicating a recovery process during grassland restoration. In general, mould board tillage and grassland conversion to maize monoculture promoted saprotrophic fungi at the expense of biotrophic AMF and bacteria compared to undisturbed grassland soils. Slurry application promoted bacterial residues as indicated by the decreases in both, the ergosterol to microbial biomass C ratio and the fungal C to bacterial C ratio. In addition, the lost microbial functional diversity due to tillage and maize monoculture was restored by slurry application both in arable and grassland soils. I conclude that the microbial biomass C/S ratio can be used as an additional indicator for a shift in microbial community. The strong relationships between microbial biomass and necromass indices points to the importance of saprotrophic fungi and biotrophic AMF for agricultural management induced effects on microbial turnover and ecosystem C storage. Quantitative information on exact biomass estimates of these two important fungal groups in soil is inevitably necessary to understand their different roles in SOM dynamics.

Aspekte des Prozesses der N-Freisetzung aus Humus-Vorratsabbau

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Auswirkungen von Umweltveränderungen in einem N-gesättigten Buchenwaldökosystem über Basalt (Braunerde) untersucht. Unter veränderten Umweltbedingungen sind hier vor allem Bestandesdachauflösung, immissions- oder waldbaulich bedingt, und Klimaveränderung zu verstehen, die eine Erwärmung des Oberbodens zur Folge haben. Die Änderungen der Umweltbedingungen werden in diesem Versuchsansatz durch einen waldbaulichen Eingriff simuliert, durch den eine Bestandeslücke entsteht, die in einer Erwärmung des Bodens resultieren und damit den Wasser- und Elementhaushalt insgesamt beeinflussen. Es wird deutlich, dass die in der vorliegenden Arbeit untersuchten Flächen als N-gesättigt bezeichnet werden können, da die N-Verluste aus dem System die Größe der Einträge überschreiten. In der Folge ist es zu einer Entkopplung des Stoffhaushalts und damit zu erhöhter N-Mobilisierung gekommen. Diese konnte vor allem im hydrologischen Jahr 1996 dokumentiert werden; der Überschuss-N-Output liegt auf der Auflichtungsfläche bei bis zu 50 kg N/(ha*a)! Die beobachteten hohen N-Austräge erfolgten trotz eines ebenfalls beobachteten Anwachsens des mikrobiellen Stickstoff-Pools und des Aufwachsens einer krautigen und strauchigen Vegetation auf der Auflichtungsfläche. Im Jahresgang konnten auf der Auflichtungsfläche in 0 - 30 cm Bodentiefe maximale Änderungen im Nmic-Vorrat von 130 kg N/(ha*a) beobachtet werden. Das im Frühjahr beginnende quantitative Anwachsen des mikrobiellen Stickstoff-Pools mit dem Jahresgang zeigt vor allem dessen Temperaturabhängigkeit auf. Die am Ende der Vegetationsperiode deutlich ansteigenden Austragsraten zeigen jedoch an, dass der freigesetzte Stickstoff auch von den Mikroorganismen nicht dauerhaft im System gehalten werden kann, da mit fallender Temperatur auch die Mikroorganismen absterben und der in ihrer Biomasse gespeicherte Stickstoff freigesetzt wird. Aufwachsende Vegetation auf der Auflichtungsfläche konnte einen Großteil des Netto-Stickstoff-Jahreseintrages aufnehmen. Da die "Netto-Jahres-Mineralisation" 1996 leicht über der Wurzelaufnahme liegt, verbleibt ein Rest, der nicht von der aufwachsenden krautigen Vegetation der Auflichtungsfläche aufgenommen werden kann. Ergebnis ist damit, dass die auf Lochhieben aufwachsende krautige und strauchige Vegetation eine temperaturbedingte Stickstoffmobilisierung nur teilweise kompensieren kann. Allein aufwachsende verholzende Vegetation kann Stickstoff langfristig im System binden.

Studies on arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) in the Alentejo (Portugal) using pea mutants resistant to AM fungi as a control tool for field conditions

The utilization and management of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) symbiosis may improve production and sustainability of the cropping system. For this purpose, native AM fungi (AMF) were sought and tested for their efficiency to increase plant growth by enhanced P uptake and by alleviation of drought stress. Pot experiments with safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) and pea (Pisum sativum) in five soils (mostly sandy loamy Luvisols) and field experiments with peas were carried out during three years at four different sites. Host plants were grown in heated soils inoculated with AMF or the respective heat sterilized inoculum. In the case of peas, mutants resistant to AMF colonization were used as non-mycorrhizal controls. The mycorrhizal impact on yields and its components, transpiration, and P and N uptake was studied in several experiments, partly under varying P and N levels and water supply. Screening of native AMF by most probable number bioassays was not very meaningful. Soil monoliths were placed in the open to simulate field conditions. Inoculation with a native AMF mix improved grain yield, shoot and leaf growth variables as compared to control. Exposed to drought, higher soil water depletion of mycorrhizal plants resulted in a haying-off effect. The growth response to this inoculum could not be significantly reproduced in a subsequent open air pot experiment at two levels of irrigation and P fertilization, however, safflower grew better at higher P and water supply by multiples. The water use efficiency concerning biomass was improved by the AMF inoculum in the two experiments. Transpiration rates were not significantly affected by AM but as a tendency were higher in non-mycorrhizal safflower. A fundamental methodological problem in mycorrhiza field research is providing an appropriate (negative) control for the experimental factor arbuscular mycorrhiza. Soil sterilization or fungicide treatment have undesirable side effects in field and greenhouse settings. Furthermore, artificial rooting, temperature and light conditions in pot experiments may interfere with the interpretation of mycorrhiza effects. Therefore, the myc- pea mutant P2 was tested as a non-mycorrhizal control in a bioassay to evaluate AMF under field conditions in comparison to the symbiotic isogenetic wild type of var. FRISSON as a new integrative approach. However, mutant P2 is also of nod- phenotype and therefore unable to fix N2. A 3-factorial experiment was carried out in a climate chamber at high NPK fertilization to examine the two isolines under non-symbiotic and symbiotic conditions. P2 achieved the same (or higher) biomass as wild type both under good and poor water supply. However, inoculation with the AMF Glomus manihot did not improve plant growth. Differences of grain and straw yields in field trials were large (up to 80 per cent) between those isogenetic pea lines mainly due to higher P uptake under P and water limited conditions. The lacking N2 fixation in mutants was compensated for by high mineral N supply as indicated by the high N status of the pea mutant plants. This finding was corroborated by the results of a major field experiment at three sites with two levels of N fertilization. The higher N rate did not affect grain or straw yields of the non-fixing mutants. Very efficient AMF were detected in a Ferric Luvisol on pasture land as revealed by yield levels of the evaluation crop and by functional vital staining of highly colonized roots. Generally, levels of grain yield were low, at between 40 and 980 kg ha-1. An additional pot trial was carried out to elucidate the strong mycorrhizal effect in the Ferric Luvisol. A triplication of the plant equivalent field P fertilization was necessary to compensate for the mycorrhizal benefit which was with five times higher grain yield very similar to that found in the field experiment. However, the yield differences between the two isolines were not always plausible as the evaluation variable because they were also found in (small) field test trials with apparently sufficient P and N supply and in a soil of almost no AMF potential. This similarly occurred for pea lines of var. SPARKLE and its non-fixing mycorrhizal (E135) and non-symbiotic (R25) isomutants, which were tested in order to exclude experimentally undesirable benefits by N2 fixation. In contrast to var. FRISSON, SPARKLE was not a suitable variety for Mediterranean field conditions. This raises suspicion putative genetic defects other than symbiotic ones may be effective under field conditions, which would conflict with the concept of an appropriate control. It was concluded that AMF resistant plants may help to overcome fundamental problems of present research on arbuscular mycorrhiza, but may create new ones.

Field measurements of the CO2 evolution rate under different crops during an irrigation cycle in a mountain oasis of Oman

For millennia oasis agriculture has been the backbone of rural livelihood in the desertic Sultanate of Oman. However, little is known about the functioning of these oasis systems, in particular with respect to the C turnover. The objective was to determine the effects of crop, i.e. alfalfa, wheat and bare fallow on the CO2 evolution rate during an irrigation cycle in relation to changes in soil water content and soil temperature. The gravimetric soil water content decreased from initially 24% to approximately 16% within 7 days after irrigation. The mean CO2 evolution rates increased significantly in the order fallow (27.4 mg C m^−2 h^−1) < wheat (45.5 mg C m^−2 h^−1) < alfalfa (97.5 mg C m^−2 h^−1). It can be calculated from these data that the CO2 evolution rate of the alfalfa root system was nearly four times higher than the corresponding rate in the wheat root system. The decline in CO2 evolution rate, especially during the first 4 days after irrigation, was significantly related to the decline in the gravimetric water content, with r = 0.70. CO2 evolution rate and soil temperature at 5 cm depth were negatively correlated (r = -0.56,n = 261) due to increasing soil temperature with decreasing gravimetric water content.

Konstruktive und funktionale Entwicklung eines selbststeuernden Unterflurbewässerungsverfahrens

Unter Einfluss des gegenwärtigen Klimawandels sowie dem Anstieg der Erdbevölkerung ist der effiziente Umgang mit den vorhandenen Wasserressourcen ein zentrales Thema in der Bewässerungslandwirtschaft. Die Unterflurbewässerung ist ein seit Jahrtausenden bekanntes Verfahren, bei dem das Bewässerungswasser unterhalb der Erdoberfläche aufgebracht wird und der Pflanze direkt im Wurzelraum zur Verfügung steht. Die Gefäßbewässerung ist ein selbststeuerndes Verfahren wobei die Wassergabe aus dem unglasierten Tongefäß aufgrund der im umgebenden Boden anliegenden Saugspannung erfolgt. Diese wassersparende und dem Wasserbedarf der Pflanze angepasste Bewässerungsweise ist Grundlage der Überlegungen und Untersuchungen der vorliegenden Arbeit. Ausgehend von dem Gedanken der Kombination der Vorteile der Gefäßbewässerung mit denen moderner Materialien, die eine maschinelle Installation ermöglichen und eine lange Lebensdauer aufweisen, wurde die Entwicklung einer selbststeuernden Bewässerung verfolgt. Materialrecherchen und eine Auswahl als geeignet identifizierter Materialien führten zu Laboruntersuchungen an Hand derer die Darcy-Eigenschaften (linearer Zusammenhang zwischen Volumenstrom und anliegendem Druck) überprüft wurden. Membranen erwiesen sich danach als geeignet, so dass an einer ausgewählten Schlauchmembran weitergehende Untersuchungen zum Einsatz für die Bewässerung vorgenommen wurden. Diese umfassten Langzeitlaborversuche im Boden zur Untersuchung der Entwicklung der Durchlässigkeit der Schlauchmembran über die Zeit, sowie zum Nachweis der Selbststeuerung des Systems. Mit den gewonnenen Ergebnissen war es möglich großmaßstäbliche Versuche im Gewächshaus zu realisieren, bei der die Schlauchmembran im Vergleich zur Tropfbewässerung hinsichtlich Wasserverbrauch und Ernteertrag an Standorten in Deutschland und Algerien getestet wurde. Diese Gewächshausversuche zeigten vielversprechende Ergebnisse für die Membranschlauchbewässerung mit im Vergleich zur Tropfbewässerung erhöhten Erträgen bei gleichzeitig geringerem Wasserverbrauch. Dies wurde besonders bei Verwendung von Bewässerungswasser mit erhöhtem Salzgehalt deutlich. Sorgfältiger Beachtung bedarf die Wasserqualität, da die Membranschlauchbewässerung auf Wasserverunreinigungen mit Durchflussverminderung reagiert, die sich nachteilig auf die Pflanzenentwicklung auswirkt. Aufgabe weiterer Forschungen muss es demnach sein, technische Verfahren zu entwickeln, die die langfristige Leistungsfähigkeit der Membran im Bewässerungsbetrieb aufrechterhalten.

Application of biogas slurries from energy crops to arable soils and their impact on carbon and nitrogen dynamics

The use of renewable primary products as co-substrate or single substrate for biogas production has increased consistently over the last few years. Maize silage is the preferential energy crop used for fermentation due to its high methane (CH4) yield per hectare. Equally, the by-product, namely biogas slurry (BS), is used with increasing frequency as organic fertilizer to return nutrients to the soil and to maintain or increase the organic matter stocks and soil fertility. Studies concerning the application of energy crop-derived BS on the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization dynamics are scarce. Thus, this thesis focused on the following objectives: I) The determination of the effects caused by rainfall patterns on the C and N dynamics from two contrasting organic fertilizers, namely BS from maize silage and composted cattle manure (CM), by monitoring emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4 as well as leaching losses of C and N. II) The investigation of the impact of differences in soil moisture content after the application of BS and temperature on gaseous emissions (CO2, N2O and CH4) and leaching of C and N compounds. III) A comparison of BS properties obtained from biogas plants with different substrate inputs and operating parameters and their effect on C and N dynamics after application to differently textured soils with varying application rates and water contents. For the objectives I) and II) two experiments (experiment I and II) using undisturbed soil cores of a Haplic Luvisol were carried out. Objective III) was studied on a third experiment (experiment III) with disturbed soil samples. During experiment I three rainfall patterns were implemented including constant irrigation, continuous irrigation with periodic heavy rainfall events, and partial drying with rewetting periods. Biogas slurry and CM were applied at a rate of 100 kg N ha-1. During experiment II constant irrigation and an irrigation pattern with partial drying with rewetting periods were carried out at 13.5°C and 23.5°C. The application of BS took place either directly before a rewetting period or one week after the rewetting period stopped. Experiment III included two soils of different texture which were mixed with ten BS’s originating from ten different biogas plants. Treatments included low, medium and high BS-N application rates and water contents ranging from 50% to 100% of water holding capacity (WHC). Experiment I and II showed that after the application of BS cumulative N2O emissions were 4 times (162 mg N2O-N m-2) higher compared to the application of CM caused by a higher content of mineral N (Nmin) in the form of ammonium (NH4+) in the BS. The cumulative emissions of CO2, however, were on the same level for both fertilizers indicating similar amounts of readily available C after composting and fermentation of organic material. Leaching losses occurred predominantly in the mineral form of nitrate (NO3-) and were higher in BS amended soils (9 mg NO3--N m-2) compared to CM amended soils (5 mg NO3--N m-2). The rainfall pattern in experiment I and II merely affected the temporal production of C and N emissions resulting in reduced CO2 and enhanced N2O emissions during stronger irrigation events, but showed no effect on the cumulative emissions. Overall, a significant increase of CH4 consumption under inconstant irrigation was found. The time of fertilization had no effect on the overall C and N dynamics. Increasing temperature from 13.5°C to 23.5°C enhanced the CO2 and N2O emissions by a factor of 1.7 and 3.7, respectively. Due to the increased microbial activity with increasing temperature soil respiration was enhanced. This led to decreasing oxygen (O2) contents which in turn promoted denitrification in soil due to the extension of anaerobic microsites. Leaching losses of NO3- were also significantly affected by increasing temperature whereas the consumption of CH4 was not affected. The third experiment showed that the input materials of biogas plants affected the properties of the resulting BS. In particular the contents of DM and NH4+ were determined by the amount of added plant biomass and excrement-based biomass, respectively. Correlations between BS properties and CO2 or N2O emissions were not detected. Solely the ammonia (NH3) emissions showed a positive correlation with NH4+ content in BS as well as a negative correlation with the total C (Ct) content. The BS-N application rates affected the relative CO2 emissions (% of C supplied with BS) when applied to silty soil as well as the relative N2O emissions (% of N supplied with BS) when applied to sandy soil. The impacts on the C and N dynamics induced by BS application were exceeded by the differences induced by soil texture. Presumably, due to the higher clay content in silty soils, organic matter was stabilized by organo-mineral interactions and NH4+ was adsorbed at the cation exchange sites. Different water contents induced highest CO2 emissions and therefore optimal conditions for microbial activity at 75% of WHC in both soils. Cumulative nitrification was also highest at 75% and 50% of WHC whereas the relative N2O emissions increased with water content and showed higher N2O losses in sandy soils. In summary it can be stated that the findings of the present thesis confirmed the high fertilizer value of BS’s, caused by high concentrations of NH4+ and labile organic compounds such as readily available carbon. These attributes of BS’s are to a great extent independent of the input materials of biogas plants. However, considerably gaseous and leaching losses of N may occur especially at high moisture contents. The emissions of N2O after field application corresponded with those of animal slurries.