Institute of

OF Organic Farming

Work group Resource efficiency

The working group resource efficiency analyses production systems and farms based on material flow models. In special field trials and farm assessments we work on the following topics: Food and fuel – Concepts of plant production for renewable energy with low area demand and improved biodiversity (mixed cropping of cereals and grain legumes with oil crops, use of straight vegetable oil as fuel for agricultural machinery, short rotation coppices as landscape element, nutrient and carbon flows in organic farming (crop rotation comparison Trenthorst, phosphorus-flows in organic farms), fertilisation in organic farming (phosphorus use from biomass ashes, macro- and micronutrients in livestock manures), climate effects of production (animal welfare needs and effects on green house gas emissions in milk production, green house gas emissions after ploughing grassland and clover grass.

Work group Resource efficiency

Dr. Hans Marten Paulsen

Phone: +49 4539 8880 316

: hans.paulsen@thuenen.de

Dr. Marion Kruse

Phone: +49 4539 8880 716

: marion.kruse@thuenen.de

Projects

Climate change impacts and sustainability of farming systems

Agricultural activities of farms and the activities’ contributions to climate change are highly complex. Organic and conventional farms are different in methods, input and yield level. It is unknown if and how environmental effects and sustainability of farms differ systematically with respect to farming system and region. Climate [change] impacts of agricultural production in 80 organic and conventional dairy farms and cash crop farms in Germany are analyzed and modelled.

The animal as driver for changes in farm management

In the German network of organic and conventional pilot farms we analyse animal welfare and the use of veterinary drugs in dairying. These are important aspects of sustainability which we combine with parameters of environmental performance and resource efficiency.

CatchHedge - Carbon sequestration of hedgerows and field copses

Hedgerows contribute to mitigating climate change - new plantings of hedgerows on arable land have great potential to contribute to climate protection. Hedgerows store nearly as much carbon per hectare as forests.

RindforNet

Agricultural soils have high potential to bind additional carbon and can contribute to climate protection. Preserving and enrichment of humus will protect or build up soil fertility. How farmers can adapt their cropland management and how they might be might be paid for this eco-service is analysed in the INTERREG project ‘Carbon Farming’ with participation of the Thünen Institute of Organic Farming.

Small robots for smart organic farming

The joint project aims at innovations through robot support in the management of organic farms, e.g. in the protection of poultry from birds of prey, in grassland management and in weed control.

Soils as Carbon Sink - Business Models for Climate Goals

Green house gas impact of Norwegian milk

Due to site and climate conditions milk production in North Scandinavia is special. In the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal organic and conventional dairy farming is based on grassland. Concentrates are generally imported in the farms. Grazing is not only done on the cultivated farm area and pastures, but often also semi natural grassland and rangelands in the mountains. The Norwegian research project ENVIROMILK is addressing the sustainability of 20 organic and conventional dairy farms in this region by analysing and modelling nutrient flows, energy use, economy and climate gasses.

Grassland and phosphorous flows - mobilisation by growth

Phosphorous is a finite resource. Soil reserves must be used more efficient. Due to its high biological activity grassland is particularly important for the phosphorous cycle of farms.

Development of soil fertily, plant production and biodiversity after conversion of the experimental farm in Trenthorst/ Wulmenau towards organic farming in 2001

Agricultural ecosystems are mirroring their management. Maintaining farming practices will drive them in direction of a steady state, provided that climate and environmental conditions remain constant. Changes in cultivated crops, crop rotations, fertilisation, use of pesticides, soil tillage, grazing, livestock keeping and density and other management changes will influence ecosystems development. A long term farming system comparison on these questions is established in Trenthorst. The development of soil parameters, yields and qualities of plants and biodiversity is analysed since ...

Reduced tillage for soil life

Healthy soils are characterised by high biological diversity. We are investigating the influence of temporarily reduced tillage in organic farming on earthworms, springtails and yields.

Growing oil crops together with other crops

Oil crop yields in organic crop rotations are limited by severe cropping risks like insect pests and weed pressure. But organic vegetable oil has high market prices and oil cakes are valuable feedstuffs in livestock production. Mixed cropping - that is the parallel production of more than one crop on one field - might lower these yield risks. We analysed if oil crops are suitable partners in mixed cropping with cereals or legumes.

Methionine in peas, beans and lupines – Leaf green and root length as selection criteria in plant breeding

In organic livestock feeding no supplementation of synthetic amino acids is allowed. High value proteins from organic production are rare and expensive. Grain legumes with high seed methionine contents might help solving the problem. But how to identify them?

Use of false flax oil (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) in mixture with other vegetable oils as fuel for adapted diesel engines

False flax is frequently produced in organic mixed cropping systems with field peas. We investigated the use of its cold pressed vegetable oil in mixture with rapeseed oil as fuel in agricultural diesel engines

How much greenhouse gases do grass-clover crop sequences emit?

Organic farming integrates clover and grass mixtures into crop sequences to increase soil fertility. The symbiotic N fixation provides N fertilisation to subsequent crops.

Grassland conversion to arable land and greenhouse gas emissions

Conversion of grassland to arable land induces enhanced emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. What is the magnitude of these enhanced emissions and can they be counteracted by avoiding soil tillage during conversion? These questions are tackled in two field studies in North-Rhine Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.

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Institute of

OF Organic Farming

Work group Resource efficiency

Work group Resource efficiency

Projects

Climate change impacts and sustainability of farming systems

The animal as driver for changes in farm management

CatchHedge - Carbon sequestration of hedgerows and field copses

RindforNet

Small robots for smart organic farming

Soils as Carbon Sink - Business Models for Climate Goals

Green house gas impact of Norwegian milk

Grassland and phosphorous flows - mobilisation by growth

Development of soil fertily, plant production and biodiversity after conversion of the experimental farm in Trenthorst/ Wulmenau towards organic farming in 2001

Reduced tillage for soil life

Growing oil crops together with other crops

Methionine in peas, beans and lupines – Leaf green and root length as selection criteria in plant breeding

Use of false flax oil (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) in mixture with other vegetable oils as fuel for adapted diesel engines

How much greenhouse gases do grass-clover crop sequences emit?

Grassland conversion to arable land and greenhouse gas emissions

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute

Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries