In large parts of the dry steppes of Eurasia, black fallow is common as part of the crop rotation. The ecological effects of different fallows need to be characterized and evaluated to establish sustainable cropping systems. Within a ReKKS extension, the study area in northern Kazakhstan was extended to croplands in Mongolia. For this purpose, the Mongolian University of Life Sciences partners established a crop rotation experiment in May 2020, which was sampled for the first time together in July 2022. Additionally, a meterological station was set up to collect constanly measure weather related parameters at the test site. We thank our project partners for the good organization and cooperation.
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Now, the laboratory analyses will follow to answer the following questions regarding soil quality and susceptibility to erosion:
- What are the differences in soil physics when cultivated with and without black fallow in the crop rotation?
- What are the effects of the different fallow variants?
- Do duration and frequency of fallow increase the erosion risk?
