Perennial wild plants (PWPs) common tansy, common knapweed and mugwort not only provide biomass for biogas production, but also food supply for pollinators and versatile habitats for open land animals. These ecosystem services could be improved shifting the harvest date from late summer to late winter and using the PWPs for thermochemical conversion instead of anaerobic digestion. ; This research received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 727698, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (01PL16003), and the University of Hohenheim.
Background / Issues: Food security high on the agenda of SGDs Agricultural land suitable for food crop cultivation limited and rather decreasing (land degradation through wind- and water erosion, sea level rise) Land use conflicts increasing Climate change-forced shifts in marginal agricultural land may also become crucial for achieving & maintaining food security Research question What are potential implications of marginal agricultural land shifts on food crop cultivation in Europe and what are options for mitigation? Results: - Increases in average air temperature and growth degree days across Europe lead to an increase of marginal agricultural land in the Mediterranean region and a decrease in northern regions - Changes in precipitation patterns may lead to increased probability of drought events in central Europe in spring and wetness conditions in autumn Discussion & Conclusions: - Food crop cultivation expected to become more challenging through climate change-forced marginal land shifts in many European regions, especially in the Mediterranean and central Europe - Winter-annual C3 crops more promising than summer annuals in central Europe in the future due to crucial shifts of precipitation patterns - C4 summer annual food crops like maize (Zea mays L.) becoming more interesting for northern regions, depending on the required vegetation period length and the type of use such as feed and biogas substrate - CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) crops which are partially edible such as prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill.) expected to become more important for food crop cultivation in the Mediterranean Funding: This research received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 727698
In Southwest Germany, the renaturation of quarry areas close to settlements is usually based on the planting of native species of trees and shrubs, which are then neither cultivated nor used. This study investigates whether a species-rich agroforestry system based on Ernst Goetsch's syntropic agriculture approach would be suitable for both renaturation in the form of soil fertility improvement and diverse food crop production under temperate climate. The quarry syntropy project was launched in summer 2019. Two shallow stony sections of a spoil heap of the quarry in Ehningen, Southwest Germany were available for demonstration plots. An interdisciplinary project team was set up both to obtain the ocial permits from five governmental institutions and to begin the study. The demonstration plots were each divided into three broad strips, which dier in three vegetation types: trees, shrubs, and annual food crops. The tree and shrub areas are mainly used for biomass production for a continuous mulch supply on the entire cultivated area in order to rapidly increase soil fertility. The food crops and also partly the trees and shrubs were intended to provide organically produced food (vegetables, fruit, berries and herbs). Most of the trees (eleven species) were planted in November 2019. In March 2020, soil samples were taken (0–30 cm), and a solar-powered water storage system was installed. Currently, the shrub and annual food crop strips are under preparation (pre-renaturation phase). In this initial phase, the priority is fertility improvement of the topsoil through intensive mulching of the existing grassland stock dominated by top grasses and the legumes hybrid alfalfa (Medicago varia Martyn) and common bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.). The food crop strip should then start in 2021 after one year of mulching. Depending on the success of growth, the tree strips should then also gain in importance for mulch application in the following years. The strategy is to gradually build up food crop cultivation under ...
