Agroforestry systems have multifunctional roles in enhancing agronomic productivity, co-production of diversity of food and non-food products and provision of ecosystem services. The knowledge of the performance of agroforestry systems compared with monoculture is scarce and scattered. Hence, the objective of the study was to analyze the agronomic productivity and economic viability of diverse agroforestry systems in Europe. A network of five agroforestry systems integrating arable crops, livestock and biomass trees was investigated to assess the range of agricultural products in each agroforestry system. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was used to measure the agronomic productivity, whereas gross margin was used as an indicator for economic viability assessment. LER values ranged from 1.36–2.00, indicating that agroforestry systems were more productive by 36–100% compared to monocultures. Agroforestry gross margin was lower in Denmark (€112 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) compared to United Kingdom (€5083 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) and the crop component yielded higher returns compared to negative returns from the tree component in agroforestry. Hence, the study provided robust field-based evidence on agronomic productivity and economic viability assessment of agroforestry systems in diverse contexts for informed decision making by land managers, advisory services, farmers and policymakers.

Conservation tillage is often discussed as an effective tool to improve the soil quality in agriculture. Four sites across Europe (in Germany, Romania, Spain, and Sweden) were investigated as case studies for country-specific reductions in tillage intensity. Conventional tillage (CT) by mouldboard ploughing was compared with shallow and deep non-inversion minimum tillage (MT) and/or no-tillage (NT). In Sweden, NT and MT had positive effects on the concentrations of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in the upper 20 cm compared with CT. At the German site, MT increased SOC, N, and MBC concentrations in the top 10 cm. In contrast, CT increased MBC contents and bulk density between 20 and 30 cm soil depth. At the Romanian site, soil parameters showed no differences between inverse tillage (CT) and non-inverse tillage (MT), both with a working depth of 25 to 30 cm. At the Spanish site, the use of NT significantly increased the concentrations as well as the stocks of C, N, and MBC compared to CT. In conclusion, reduced tillage improved soil microbial properties in most cases. However, the effectiveness of reduced tillage appears to be highly dependent on site conditions such as pH, soil texture, and climatic conditions.

Background: Most epidemiological studies on tick-borne pathogens involve collection of ticks from the environment. An efficient collection method is essential for large sample pools. Our main aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a new method, where traditional flagging was enhanced by the use of CO₂ dispersed into the white flannel. The CO₂ was spread through a rubber hose network inserted into the flag blanket. The research was conducted in spring, in March-April 2011 in two locations from Cluj County, Romania. Methods: The research was conducted in March-April 2011 in two locations from Cluj County, Romania. The flag to be tested contained a fine silicone rubber hose network which dispersed the CO₂ in the shaft. On each collection site n=30 samplings were performed. Each sampling consisted in the simultaneous use of both flags (with and without CO₂) by two persons. The CO₂ concentration level on the flag canvas surface was measured. The efficacy of the method was determined by counting comparatively the total number of ticks and separate developmental stage count. Results: Using the CO₂ improved flag, 2411 (59%) Ixodes ricinus and 100 (53.8%) Dermacentor marginatus ticks were captured, while the CO₂-free flag accounted for the collection of 1670 I. ricinus (41%) and 86 (46.2%) D. marginatus ticks. The addition of CO₂ prompted a concentration difference on the surface of the flag ranging between 756.5 and 1135.0 ppm with a mean value of 848.9 ppm. Conclusion: The study showed that the CO₂ enhanced sweep flag increased the ability of I. ricinus (p < 0001) but not of D. marginatus to be attracted to the flag blanket.