Institut für ökologische Chemie, Pflanzenanalytik und Vorratsschutz
The aim of the practical research network (PFN) on agroforestry systems (AFS) in organic farming (OF) is to establish a permanent network of approx. 20 organic farms with AFS as well as research and consulting for the investigation and dissemination of resilience-enhancing measures for OF through AFS. In order to ensure the continuity of the PFN's work, around 20 associated partners from networking, consulting, transfer and research will be actively involved. The aim is to achieve networking and dissemination of the practical results far beyond the duration of the PFN and throughout Germany. The aim of the PFN is to harness the potential of AFS to increase resilience for the oil sector. The work focuses on the development of action-oriented, applicable resilience concepts. AFS can reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts and biodiversity loss and thus increase the ecological resilience of agricultural production systems. In addition, they make oil sustainable by making a clearly positive contribution to climate and water protection, increasing animal welfare and diversifying the product range with increased domestic production of nuts and fruit as central building blocks of the planetary diet, thus ensuring the UN sustainability goal of health through the “One Health” approach as the health of all organisms in the agroecosystem, including humans. In addition to increasing ecological resilience, AFS also have the potential to increase the socio-economic resilience of farms through diversification of the cultivation system, new business models, public benefits and potentially socially recognized forms of cultivation. As part of the project, the JKI will investigate the influence of AFS on soil health and the link between soil and plant health. Soil samples are taken to record general soil properties (organic carbon, total nitrogen and pH; 0-10 and 10-30 cm, at selected sites at 0-10, 10-30, 30-50, 50-70 and 70-90 cm) and the soil microbiome (0-30 cm). The soil microbiome (bacteria and fungi) will be recorded using high-throughput sequencing. In addition to recording the microbial diversity, the microbial communities will be classified into putatively useful microorganisms and soil-borne plant pathogens by breaking down the soil microbiome. In addition, the microbiome in the rhizosphere of cultivated plants will be investigated, as this is crucial for plant health. Soil fauna communities (except macroorganisms) are extracted and subsequently determined. To complete the soil fauna survey, earthworm communities are recorded separately by chemical extraction and then morphologically identified to species level. If necessary, morphological identification is supplemented by molecular biological methods. The data on putatively useful and pathogenic microorganisms, as well as soil fauna, which make a strong contribution to the suppression of soil-borne plant diseases in the soil, will be linked to above-ground data on plant health. In addition to the yield parameters, economically relevant Fusarium species in the harvest samples will be quantified using real-time PCR. Another focus of the WP is the determination of infiltration rates in order to determine whether the expected promotion of soil fauna in the tree strips increases the infiltration capacity of the soil. This allows us to deduce the extent to which AFS can increase resilience to heavy rainfall events and water erosion. In order to capture the spatial heterogeneity of the AFS, all investigations are carried out along transects from the tree row into the arable or grassland strips.
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity
