Institut für die Sicherheit biotechnologischer Verfahren bei Pflanzen
KlimAF evaluates the climate protection potentials of agroforestry systems and develops measures and guidelines to effectively utilize these potentials. The project focuses on modern agroforestry systems, such as alley-cropping systems, as production systems on agricultural land. Six subprojects are addressing open research questions regarding the climate change mitigation effects of agroforestry (carbon stocks and the "safety net"- and "nutrient pump"-functions in the topsoil and subsoil), the promotion of yield, yield quality, and plant health of agroforestry systems through biostimulants (mycorrhizae), and urgent questions of optimal site selection and design of these systems. JKI-SB will manage the agroforestry plot established at the Quedlinburg site as part of the project and will also establish the comparison plot in Wendhausen in close cooperation with JKI-PB. Both new plantations will be treated with biostimulants and sampled in the course of the project. Subsequently, the mycorrhizal association for the different crops (poplar, currant, cereals) will be identified and physiological aspects of the different plants will be analyzed. For this purpose, ITS amplicon sequencing of the symbionts associated with the roots will provide information on the diversity and success of adding additional mycorrhizal fungi. Sampling will be conducted within crops, in the tree strip, in the shrub planting, and at two points within the annual crop. Sampling of roots from the annual crop will also determine the percentage of mycorrhization of the plants. Sampling at the Wendhausen site will be conducted at the flowering stage of each annual planting. At the Quedlingburg site, the gradual progression of the percentage of mycorrhizal fungi colonization can be followed more closely by sampling several times a year due to the spatial proximity. In order to draw conclusions on mycorrhization rates in already existing agroforestry systems with different plantings and compositions, symbiotic root associations will also be investigated on the plots that are also sampled in TP 2. For this purpose, roots will also be harvested here during the flowering period and mycorrhization rates determined. This will provide an overview of the extent to which mycorrhizal associations differ in existing systems with different plants at different sites and where the use of biostimulants might be useful.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
