How to measure sustainability
The demand for agricultural products is increasing worldwide. At the same time, we have to be more economical with the dwindling resources of our planet. Technical innovations can help us master this balancing act. But innovations often change the behavior of consumers and producers, which in turn reduces savings. For the first time, researchers have developed an instrument to better assess these so-called rebound effects in agriculture.
A question of fairness
Intact ecosystems are valuable – ecologically as well as economically. They provide services which benefit human well-being, such as clean water, fertile soils or carbon storage. The value of these ecosystem services is increasingly being recognized in public awareness. Initial payment mechanisms are rewarding those who preserve ecosystem services. ZALF researcher Lasse Loft investigates, how the perception of fairness influences the effectiveness of these instruments.
Farming together
Where does our food come from? More and more consumers are asking this question in light of food scandals, environmental damage and climate change. Some of them are turning to new models of Alternative models of food production, distribution and consumption in search of an alternative to the agricultural industry. ZALF researchers investigated these networks, which could also be a remedy for the increasing disaffection between agriculture and society.
In the long run
Farmers who cultivate fields often have to make important decisions years in advance. Which crops are cultivated in which order and how to work the land? When to sow, when to harvest and should the fields be irrigated? Land management affects both yield and soil fertility. There is already a great deal of practical experience about the long-term effects of these decisions, but few facts have been proven in long-term scientific field trials. Since 2008, a research team in Brandenburg has been working on closing these knowledge gaps for maize cultivation bit by bit.
Interview with Katharina Helming
The insurance under our feet – Healthy soils as protection against climate change.
