Steffanie Schirren
Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Bundesallee 65
38116 Braunschweig
Phone: +49 531 596 2602
Fax: +49 531 596 2699
ak@thuenen.de
Agriculture faces the challenge to meet the growing demand for food and fibre while concurrently reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Germany, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from peatlands drained for agriculture, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from fertilizer application and nitrogen turnover in soil and methane (CH4) emissions from animal rank among the most important greenhouse gas sources.
We measure, analyze and model the formation, turnover and release of greenhouse gases in agriculture. The results form the foundation of a science-based policy consultation and serve for improving the national emission inventory. In addition, new agricultural production methods can be assessed in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation measures can be evaluated, taking diverse soil and climate conditions into account.
Our research acitivities focus on
Our research approaches span across scales from laboratory experiments to field studies to national surveys. We strive for improving and standardizing the measurement methodologies of greenhouse gas fluxes and for understanding the functioning of ecosystems in national and international collaborative research projects.