Institut für Pflanzenbau und Bodenkunde
The project aims to establish an international collaboration with Gorgan Agricultural University in Iran to model climate-optimized maize cultivation systems. Maize cultivation is increasingly challenged by adverse weather conditions, which also reduces its climate protection potential. Using process-based soil-plant-atmosphere models, grain maize cultivation in Germany will be investigated under future climatic conditions in relevant growing regions. Virtual experiments, taking into account sowing windows and fertilization strategies, will be comparatively evaluated to identify optimal region-specific adaptation options to climate change. The coupling of process-based modeling with life cycle assessment (LCA) allows for a comprehensive agronomic and ecological evaluation of the alternative cultivation scenarios. The collaboration will leverage existing synergies between the partner institutions, namely the expertise in grain maize physiology and modeling at Gorgan University and the expertise in crop system analysis and LCA at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI).In the first step, the DSSAT model for German grain maize cultivation will be calibrated and evaluated based on comprehensive experimental data. Furthermore, the conceptual integration of process-based modeling and life cycle assessment will be defined and technically implemented. In addition, the necessary soil, weather, and management data for the modeling will be created. A pre-simulation study will be used to determine promising sowing windows and fertilization strategies for the various growing regions. The final simulation study will be implemented on the JKI High-Performance Cluster, and cultivation scenarios up to the end of the century will be simulated, analyzed, and interpreted. The coupled life cycle assessment will enable the identification of climate-optimized cultivation strategies for grain maize, which will achieve both high productivity and low environmental impact, particularly with regard to greenhouse gas emissions in the context of climate change. Regular workshops and a visiting scientist program will form the basis for the research collaboration.
German Research Foundation
