Abstract
Environmental goals of current agricultural policies in several countries urge to significantly reduce nutrient losses from the agricultural systems, including orchards. Mineral N supply often triggers N losses both in the form of leaching and volatilization. To reconcile a reduction of N fertilizer rates with an optimal nutrient availability for root uptake, several measures can be put into execution. The cycling of N within the orchard includes N fluxes within the tree (internal tree N cycle) and bidirectional transfer of N between soil and plants (trees and herbaceous vegetation). This paper provides evidence that exploiting the knowledge about N cycling in orchards is beneficial for reconciling the environmental issues with optimal fruit production goals.