Thicker strips of grass where humic acid has been applied. (Henk Leever (Oude Eibergseweg 13, 7273 PJ, Haarlo, Netherlands))

Humic acid application (Netherlands)

Toepassing van humuszuur (Dutch)

Description

Humic acid application is a technology that allows the farmer to supply organic matter to the soil, without supplying additional nitrogen and phosphorus.

The application of humic acids to the soil is a way to supply organic matter, without supplying additional nitrogen and phosphorus, which is disadvantageous for farmers under the current manure legislation, since this imposes a threshold for the entry of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Humic acids stimulate the binding of K, Mg, Na, Ca and trace elements to the soil complex, causing the soil to supply more nutrients to the plant roots. umic acids fix iron and calcium particles, preventing these to fix phosphorus. This enables the release of phosphorus for take up by plant roots.

Purpose of the Technology: Increasing grass yield and nutritional value of grass.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Solution is applied with a tractor sprayer approximately 33 metres apart. Only small strips are applied as this is a test by farmers. Strips are shifted and rotated each year. They spray with a density of 60 L/ha. Width of strip is only the width of the sprayer.

Natural / human environment: Humic acid is a by-product of the water company's treatment of drinking water.

Location

Location: Haarlo - Oude Eibergen, Gelderland, Netherlands

No. of Technology sites analysed:

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 6.59421, 52.10475

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (approx. < 0.1 km2 (10 ha))

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation: less than 10 years ago (recently)

Type of introduction

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Grazing land
    • Ranching
    • Improved pastures
Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation
Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
  • biological degradation - Bq: quantity/ biomass decline
  • water degradation - Hq: decline of groundwater quality
SLM group
  • integrated soil fertility management
SLM measures
  • agronomic measures - A2: Organic matter/ soil fertility

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
Sprayer on a tractor applies humic acid in short strips 35 metres appart.

Location: Wageningen. Gelderland

Date: March 20, 2015

Technical knowledge required for field staff / advisors: moderate (Quantity to apply is important.)

Technical knowledge required for land users: low (Easy to apply.)

Main technical functions: increase in organic matter

Secondary technical functions: increase in nutrient availability (supply, recycling,…)

Mineral (inorganic) fertilizers
Material/ species: Humic acid
Quantity/ density: 60 L/ha
Remarks: strips 35 metres apart.
Author: Jason Stuka, Wageningen University

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated:
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Euro
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 0.94 Euro
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 255.70
Most important factors affecting the costs
Price of product - humic acid.
Establishment activities
n.a.
Maintenance activities
  1. Spray humic acid on grasslands (Timing/ frequency: Once per year)
Maintenance inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Euro) Total costs per input (Euro) % of costs borne by land users
Equipment
Machine use ha 1.0 36.17 36.17 50.0
Fertilizers and biocides
Humic acid ha 1.0 140.43 140.43
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 176.6
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 187.87

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
182 days of precipitation annually.
Thermal climate class: temperate. Mean monthly temperatures vary between 2-17 °C (LGP 240-269 days, mean monthly temperatures vary between 2-17 °C)
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to:
Is salinity a problem?
  • Ja
  • Nee

Occurrence of flooding
  • Ja
  • Nee
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
x
good
education

poor
x
good
technical assistance

poor
x
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
x
good
markets

poor
x
good
energy

poor
x
good
roads and transport

poor
x
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
x
good
financial services

poor
x
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
fodder production
decreased
x
increased


Estimated. Not measured or proven.

fodder quality
decreased
x
increased


Estimated. Not measured or proven.

expenses on agricultural inputs
increased
x
decreased


Humic acids are provided by the company Triferto. In the future this will be on commercial basis.

Socio-cultural impacts
community institutions
weakened
x
strengthened


Created farmer's foundation

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
x
improved


Farmers understanding ecological impacts of farming practices, dairy farmers have learned more about soil health.

conflict mitigation
worsened
x
improved


Farmers collaborating with water company.

Ecological impacts
water quality
decreased
x
increased


Expected. Not proven yet.

nutrient cycling/ recharge
decreased
x
increased


Expected. Not proven yet.

soil organic matter/ below ground C
decreased
x
increased


Expected. Not proven yet.

biomass/ above ground C
decreased
x
increased


Expected. Not proven yet.

Off-site impacts
buffering/ filtering capacity (by soil, vegetation, wetlands)
reduced
x
improved


Expected. Not proven yet.

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Slightly positive benefits are mentioned based on a test by Triferto (the company selling the humic acid) in 2014 in one cut of grassland. The yield was 8% higher and the grass contained higher concentrations of trace elements. However, there is no evidence from farmers about improvement of their yields as a result of the application of humic cid. Increase in weight of grass production has not been measured and value has not been compared to application costs. The few farmers that are applying humic acid have only done so for two years and results are not measured yet. But farmers are subsidized for humic acid application until 2024.

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
local rainstorm

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
local windstorm

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
drought

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
general (river) flood

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
Other climate-related consequences
reduced growing period

not well at all
x
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
4
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Ja
  • Nee
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • The technology is likely to increase soil organic matter, to improve nutrient uptake by the crop and to improve the soil moisture retention capacity.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Test the expected impacts in field implementations of the technology by farmers. Continue subsidy or payment for the humic acid until positive effects have been demonstrated.
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • The technology is likely to increase soil organic matter, to improve nutrient uptake by the crop and to improve the soil moisture retention capacity.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Test the expected impacts in field implementations of the technology by farmers. Continue subsidy or payment for the humic acid until positive effects have been demonstrated.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • Farners are unlikely to pay for the application of humic acids until impacts are proven, but they know that the application of humic acid does no harm to their soils or crops, and ae therefore not reluctant to apply the humic acid as long as it is paid for by the subsidy arrangement or the drinking water company. Continued financial support for applying the humic acid and proof of impact.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • The drinking water company (supplier of the source material for the humic acid) and the company selling the humic acid raise big expectations about the technology, but thus far there is no scientifically based proof of impact on maize or grass yield. Continued tests in real farm implementations.

References

Compiler
  • Jason Stuka
Editors
Reviewer
  • Fabian Ottiger
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Mei 10, 2015
Last update: Junie 5, 2019
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
Key references
  • Gezond Zand: Met een verbeterde bodemkwaliteit naar een betere waterkwaliteit Haarloseveld en Olden Eibergen By Willem Rienks and Henk Leever 2014Unravelling changes in soil fertility of agricultural land in The Netherlands Arjan Reijneveld 2013RECARE_WP3 Report: CS_11_Ouden-Eibergen_v2 Annemieke Smit and Simone Verzandvoort 2014: Free http://www.hoeduurzaam.nl/images/gallery/nieuws/Brochure/BrochureHoeduurzaam%20Definitief.pdfWageningen University Library http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wda/2044057Free annemieke.smit@wur.nl
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