| |
| The main study sites are
located in North East Germany, a landscape of glacial origin.
Depending on the specific research questions and projects, these are
supplemented by additional sites in other parts of Germany and the
EU. |
| |
| The Institute has profound
competence in the areas „ land use systems” and “habitats“. This
scientific know-how is incorporated into the research concept of
ZALF. |
| |
| Especially, the Institute is
engaged in the ZALF research fields: |
| |
 |
„Productivity of landscapes“ (the
Institute is responsible for this topic), |
|
|
„protection of landscape resources“
and |
|
|
„biodiversity and land use change“ |
|
 |
| Selected research
projects |
|
|
|
PLUREL |
| |
| Peri-urban Land Use
Relationships: Strategies and Sustainability Assessment Tools for
urban-rural Linkages (Financing agency: EU 2007 -
2010) |
| |
 |
|
|
| |
| The Integrated Project
PLUREL will develop new strategies and innovative planning and
forecasting tools that are essential for developing sustainable
rural-urban land use relationships. These strategies and tools,
generic in nature, will support the analysis of urbanisation trends
in the EU so that ways can be identified to support this process and
mitigate its negative impacts. In this way they will help improve
the quality of life of the population living in cities as well as in
the peri-urban and rural surroundings. PLUREL will evaluate costs
for the implementation of these strategies, and aid stakeholders to
better understand, plan and forecast the interactions between urban,
peri-urban and rural areas. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Risk assessment of
genetically modified plants |
| |
| GENERISK
- Ecological, legal and economic analyses of
the coexistence of agricultural systems with and without genetically
modified plants, chapter project: analysis of crop management
decisions (Financing agency: BMBF 2005 - 2008) |
| |
 |
| Typing of crop rotations |
| |
| Impacts of genetically
modified plants (GMP) on higher levels of ecological organization
(e.g. ecosystem, landscape, region) have been far less examined than
impacts on smaller scales. Accordingly, socio-economic consequences
of GMP cultivation are not sufficiently known, because it is
impossible to adequately draw conclusions from small scale studies.
Instead, scale specific studies are needed. The research network
GeneRisk aims at a comprehensive view on GMP introduction at the
example of canola and corn. GeneRisk looks at agriculture, trade and
environment with respect to the legal principles of precaution,
hazard prevention, coexistence and joint liability. Within the
network, the main objective of the ZALF research group is to analyze
the agricultural options for the cultivation of GMP under various
specific site and economical conditions. On this basis, a variety of
options is summarized as scenarios of future GMP cultivation. This
will be done with respect to specific regional characteristics of
farming systems, dependent on environmental conditions, farm types
and production preferences. A second, equally important part of our
work is to analyse the options to minimize risks connected to GMP
cultivation, including adaptations of production systems, crop
rotation, arrangements and agreements with adjacent farms. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Renewable energy
crops |
| |
| Ecological consequences of
the cultivation of renewable energy crops (biogas) on agricultural
fields (Financing agency:
FNR 2005 - 2008) |
| |
 |
| Crop rotations with
renewable energy crops |
| |
| What does the cultivation
of energy crops mean for field dwelling animal species? To answer
this question, we study the occurrence of selected species in
different crop rotations in three German States (Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania, Thuringia, Bavaria), and develop models of habitat
quality to relate species occurrence and crop management. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Amphibians and agriculture |
| |
| Exemplary and transferable arrangement schemes
of an agricultural landscape rich in small water bodies (ponds) with
the aim of developing and long time conservation of amphibian
populations (Financing agency: DBU 2006
- 2008) |
| |
 |
|
| |
| Agrarian landscapes serve as areas for the
production of agricultural goods, and as habitat for wildlife, e.g.
amphibian species. Conflicts between these two functions or
unavoidable, but agricultural management schemes can be
substantially improved to be environmentally sounder, if they are
better adapted to the biology and ecology of target species. In this
project we analyse the habitat use for feeding, migration, retreat
und reproduction for amphibian species, and the specific conflicts
with agricultural practices. Based on this, we suggest strategies
for amphibian protection which can be integrated in modern
agricultural management schemes and also are economically sound. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
