FaST Navigator is a Study for the development of a common framework for the quantitative advice of crop nutrient requirements and greenhouse gas emissions and removal assessment at farm level (contract AGRI-2020-0316 issued by DG-AGRI).

It aims to:

1º Provide a sound and comprehensive description of the methodological frameworks including appropriate parameters, variables and formulas necessary to provide quantitative advice for the use of fertilizers and assessment of GHG emissions and removals at field and farm/holding scales, and to

2ºParametrise the frameworks developed to compute the fertilization requirements and GHG emissions and removals in real systems that represent the diversity of agriculture in the EU.

FaST Navigator is a Study for the development of a common framework for the quantitative advice of crop nutrient requirements and greenhouse gas emissions and removal assessment at farm level (contract AGRI-2020-0316 issued by DG-AGRI).

It aims to:

1º Provide a sound and comprehensive description of the methodological frameworks including appropriate parameters, variables and formulas necessary to provide quantitative advice for the use of fertilizers and assessment of GHG emissions and removals at field and farm/holding scales, and to

2ºParametrise the frameworks developed to compute the fertilization requirements and GHG emissions and removals in real systems that represent the diversity of agriculture in the EU.

FaST Navigator

The main objectives (MOs) of the study cover the following aspects:

MO1. Description of the variables and the optimum timescale to be considered in the mass balances necessary for the estimation of the crop nutrient requirements at field level for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and the estimation of the GHG emissions and removals at farm level.

MO2. Proposing existing accepted methodologies and alternatives for the quantification of each variable for both nutrients and GHG,

while attending to the restrictions of data availability. The calculation procedures shall cover potential approaches based on:

I. Continuous or frequent time measurement of the variables on field conditions;

II. Simulation of the processes based on sporadic measurements (i.e. one per growing season) and models or simulations;

III. Model or simulation of the variables based on activity data (i.e. crop management, farm type, etc.);

IV. Use of default conversion factors for emission (and removal) or values based on the existing knowledge and information.

V. For the specific case of nutrient management, an additional line shall address the case of nitrate vulnerable zones (Council Directive 91/676/EEC).

MO3. Development of an approach to optimise the economic performance of the farm.

MO4. Estimation of the level of reliability of the results.

MO5. Implementation of the frameworks, methodologies selected and parameters put into an electronic tool (web-based), usable by farmers and advisors for the real assessment of fertilization requirements and GHG emissions/removals in selected areas.