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The adoption of conservation tillage in the United Kingdom

A discussion paper on current knowledge on the use of conservation tillage within the United Kingdom its potential benefits.

Year of Publication2009

The aim of this paper is to discuss the current knowledge on the use of conservation tillage within the United Kingdom and some of the potential benefits of using such a system. Historically much of the arable land area in the UK has been ploughed because the plough has many benefits including the complete burial of trash, management of weed seeds (in particular grass-weeds) and it produces a level even surface suitable for seedbed preparation. However, in recent times, under economic and environmental pressure much has been done to develop conservation tillage to reduce establishment costs and help to manage the environmental concerns, such as soil erosion and diffuse pollution often associated with bare, exposed soils. Those drivers, and statutory legislation (Water Framework Directive and the Soil Framework Directive) are seen as key in the implementation and use of conservation tillage. The article includes a short case study.

This item is categorised as follows

• Subject Collection > Arable & industrial crops
• Subject Collection > Soils & water > Soil management
• Subject Collection > Soils & water

Additional keywords/tags

soil structuresoil stabilityconservation tillage