Reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers through local nutrient recycling : analysis of organic farms’ nutrient supply strategies
type: Dataset
description: From the second half of the 20th century, massive application of artificial fertilisersworldwide has contributed to crop yield increases but also to accumulation of nutrients inagricultural systems. Preventing such accumulation is possible through better nutrientrecycling within agrosystems. Organic farming bans artificial fertilisers and may beconsidered as prototype of agriculture that recycles nutrients efficiently. The objective of thisPhD was to identify the strategies of organic farmers to source nutrients. This objective hasbeen broken down into three tasks: (i) identification of the fertilising materials and feedsinputs of organic farms, (ii) identification of the determinants of these inputs and (iii)assessment of their efficiency in recycling nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This workwas based on interviews with 63 organic farmers about their inputs and outputs (nature andamounts of trade products, type of suppliers and collectors). In order to account for theimportance of the local context, the interviews were conducted in three French agriculturaldistricts defined by their farming specialisation: these districts were specialised either in cropproduction or animal production or were kept mixed. Local nutrient recycling has beenassessed through two indicators: the autonomy was defined as the ratio between the amount ofnutrients coming from exchanges among farms and the sum of inputs to the organic farms ofthe district. The cycling index was defined as the proportion of nutrients flowing at least twicethrough the same farm. The analysis was implemented at two different scales. At farm scale,the analysis focused on the nutrient supply of organic farms. Results showed that arableorganic farms imported large amounts of organic fertilising materials from conventionalfarming. At regional scale, results showed that the proximity between arable and animal farmsfostered exchanges among farms. These exchanges increased local autonomy. However, evenfor the mixed d…
identifier: NNT: 2013BOR15243
issued: 2026-05-05T13:23:50.288543
language: fr
modified: 2026-05-05T13:23:50.288547
contact point: Organization
  fn: CCSD
keyword: agriculture-biologique
keyword: analyse-des-reseaux
keyword: artificial-fertilisers
keyword: azote
keyword: conception-de-systemes-agricoles
keyword: cycle-des-elements-mineraux
keyword: engrais-de-synthese
keyword: farming-system-design
keyword: infoeu-reposemanticsdoctoralthesis
keyword: network-analysis
keyword: nitrogen
keyword: nutrient-cycling
keyword: organic-farming
keyword: phosphore
keyword: phosphorus
keyword: potassium
keyword: sdvotlife-sciences-q-bioother-q-bioot
keyword: theses
landing page: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00982802

Reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers through local nutrient recycling : analysis of organic farms’ nutrient supply strategies
type: Distribution
format: HTML
issued: 2026-05-05T13:23:50.296684
modified: 2026-05-05T13:23:50.269623
access URL: https://theses.hal.science/tel-00982802

test_moissonnage_selune
type: Agent