Institute of

LV Rural Studies

Projects "Land use and protection of natural resources"

Ongoing Projects

5-Länder-Evaluation: What are the effects of financing rural development on agriculture, on environment and well-being in rural areas?

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics, the Thünen-Institue of International Forestry and Forest Economics and entera the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies evaluates rural develpoment programmes and measures within a multi-disciplinary team and approach. The Institute of Rural Studies is the leading partner. Main tasks are analyses regarding programme delivery and implementation, enviromental issues, the support of human capital and cooperation activities as well as rural development including the LEADER approach.

AGRUM Germany

The objectives of the EU- Water Framework Directive have not yet been fully achieved in many regions of Germany. This is due in particular to diffuse nutrient inputs from agriculture. "AGRUM-DE", will therefore create a nationwide, consistent method to monitor nitrogen emissions to water bodies. Based on this, measures for better water quality are derived and their impacts will be assessed.

An Evaluation of the Common Agricultural Policy from the Perspective of Environmental Protection

In this research project we examine the CAP reform of 2013 with respect to aspects of environmental protection. Specifically, we analyse how land-use has changed, how political instrument affected land-use, and how this, in turn, affected abiotic resource protection.

Automatic determination of grassland use intensities by means of satellite image time series

Nationwide information on grassland use intensity is still unknown in Germany. Remote sensing data can help to close this knowledge gap in the future.

CatchHedge - Carbon sequestration of hedgerows and field copses

Hedgerows contribute to mitigating climate change - new plantings of hedgerows on arable land have great potential to contribute to climate protection. Hedgerows store nearly as much carbon per hectare as forests.

Causes and impacts of developments on agricultural land markets

Along with a rising competition for agricultural land, policymakers are called upon for more governmental regulation on the land market. We analyse land market developments in order to assess relevant causes and impacts. This allows for an evaluation of governmental regulatory instruments.

EigLanD-E: farmland ownership structures in Germany

How is farmland ownership in Germany distributed? How can differences in the distribution across Germany be explained and what are their effects? To answer these questions, we analyze ownership data of agricultural land for a sample of municipalities.

F.R.A.N.Z. - Future Resources, Agriculture & Nature Conservation

The joint project F.R.A.N.Z. develops and tests practically and economically sustainable measures for more biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The accompanying research addresses ecological and socio-economic questions.

Further development of eco-schemes (ÖR+)

Eco-schemes are a key element of the new green architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy to promote more sustainable land management. We develop scientifically grounded decision support tools for their further development.

Irrigation Demand of Agriculture in Hesse

The irrigation demand of agriculture is increasing due to climate change. What is the situation in Hesse? Which developments can be expected and how is an assurance of the water availability possible?

LAWAMAD – Agricultural water management in Germany (Subproject C)

The summer droughts of 2018, 2019, and 2020 brought the topic agricultural water management into the media and onto the political agenda in Germany. But what is the quantitative situation of irrigation in Germany - today and in the future?

Mapping regional agricultural nitrogen fluxes for water and climate protection policy (RELAS)

Numerous policy measures have already been implemented in the past with the aim of reducing nitrogen emissions. For the further development of water and climate protection measures, a cross-media consideration of agricultural nitrogen fluxes in soil, groundwater, surface waters and the atmosphere is essential.

Model testing of nature conservation cooperatives in Germany based on the Dutch approach (MoNaKo)

Based on the Dutch approach, we are testing in four German model regions how nature conservation cooperatives can increase the effectiveness and acceptance of nature conservation measures.

Nature conservation value of low intensity hay meadows in Baden-Württemberg

With their high species diversity, low intensity hay meadows are particularly valuable in terms of nature conservation. We investigate where and under which conditions low intensity hay meadows can be better preserved and developed.

Roadmap for the rewetting of organic soils in Germany

How can the agreed German climate mitigation goals concerning peatland protection be achieved? Which options for using organic soils are economically viable for landowners and farmers in the long term? These are just two examples of the questions that are being addressed by four Thünen Institutes in the interdisciplinary project RoVer.

Socio-economic monitoring "Atlantic Region”

With the LIFE program, the EU has been funding projects in environmental, nature and climate protection since 1992. The project "Atlantic Region" is an integrated LIFE project in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.

Superior project Greening: Accompanying ecological research on the greening of the Common Agricultural Policy

With the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Commission decided upon a more environmental-friendly, "greener" first pillar. The effectiveness of the greening measures for nature conservation and environmental protection, however, is discussed controversially. In various projects we therefore pursue the question of the effectiveness.

The Thünen agricultural atlas

The German agricultural statistics are an important source of information to assess environmental impacts and to estimate agricultural trends. Unfortunately, the access to this information is limited through data protection rules. This was the reason why the project Agraratlas was initialized, to generate a data set at community level on land use and live stocks, without restrictions but fulfilling all data security issues at the same time.

Thünen Agrar-GIS

The Thünen Agricultural GIS creates the conditions for describing and analysing Germany's agricultural land use. Georeferenced data from the agricultural and environmental sectors are available for a very efficient time series analysis and are continuously expanded and updated.

Finished Projects

Agricultural Extreme Weather and Risk Management Possibilities

Heavy rain, heat, storm or frost threatens agriculture and forestry. We analyse if such extreme weather events occur more frequently und become more severe (intensive), and we investigate, how they impact important crops und forest species. If we can foresee good options to reduce the damage potential of extreme weather events we prepare strategies and suggestion for practice und policy.

Climate change at the German Baltic coast- how can agriculture adapt?

As the largest land user in the Baltic Sea region, agriculture is directly affected by climate change. At the same time agricultural production influences nature and the environment, especially by nutrient inputs into waters. We analyse agricultural perspectives and adaptation strategies to climate change in the Baltic Sea region as well as measures to reduce nutrient inputs into waters.

Developing a sound basis for a national monitoring of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes

Current national monitoring schemes provide only limited information on the status and trends of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The project aims at providing a sound basis for the design and implementation of a national monitoring of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

Development of an automated support system to monitor agricultural funding and compensation sites (timeStamp)

Site-related measures in the agricultural funding and the intervention scheme are currently checked with time - and cost-intensive on spot checks. A Web application, based on remote sensing data, should change that.

Development of an instrument for river basin wide nutrient mangement in Lower Saxony

Nitrogen and phosphorous inputs from agriculture have a high impact on water quality in Lower Saxony. Regions with intensive livestock production often produce high amounts of manure and nutrient surpluses. We analyze the impacts for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

Effects of publicly funded advisory services on the practice of water conservation

When farmers are advised to better account for water conservation practices, does their problem awareness and level of knowledge increase? Do they eventually change their practical behaviour? An in-depth research project in Hessen, Germany, investigated these questions between 2012 and 2015.

Effects of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU on the conversion of biodiversity of grassland

Starting with the agricultural reform of 2013 new instruments for grassland conservation and protection have been adopted. They have been implemented with the intention to stop the strong decline of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. One of the crucial factors is the ongoing reduction of species-rich grassland.

EigLanD

How is farmland ownership in Germany distributed? We try to answer this question by analysing a nationwide sample.

Environmental impacts of the agricultural reform CAP of 2013 (GAPEval2)

The EU Commission decided in 2013/2014 to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The aim is a better distribution of the agricultural funds and a more environmentally friendly, „greener“, first pillar of the CAP. The reasons for the reform were the observation of dramatic declines in number of species in the agricultural landscape and persistently high inputs of nutrients and plant protection products (PPPs) into the soil and water. In addition, in regions with intensively used agricultural land, voluntary agri-environmental measures have rarely been implemented. The aim of this research ...

Environmental impacts of the agricultural reform of 2013 (GAPEval)

Agriculture is the largest user of land in Germany and due to agriculture many different positive and negative effects on abiotic environmental goods, like soil, water, air and climate arise. In addition of agri-environmental measures the Common Agricultural Practice of the EU (CAP) uses the instrument of the Greening to implement environmental protection targets for agricultural areas. Within the GAPEVAL project we estimate the effects of the CAP reform on the protection of abiotic resources in Germany. We focus especially on the form of promotion and the implementation of the guidelines and ...

Ermittlung des Bewässerungsbedarfs für die Landwirtschaft in Bayern

Due to climate change agricultural irrigation demand in Germany is increasing. How high is the regional irrigation demand in Bavaria and how will it develop in the future?

Ex ante evaluation of Germany’s CAP Strategic Plan

For the next period of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy after 2020 the member states have to draw up national strategic plans. This project, designed as a formative evaluation, supports the drafting process in Germany.

Impact of Ecological Focus Areas on achieving biodiversity goals in arable landscapes (OEVForsch2)

Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is experiencing significant decline. To counteract this, since 2015 some of the direct payments under EU agricultural policy have been subject to “Greening requirements”. Most farms with more than 15 hectares of arable land must use 5% of their arable land for environmental conservation and dedicate it as an Ecological Focus Area. Based on the results of the first OEVForsch project (2015-2016), this project will investigate the implementation and effectiveness of Ecological Focus Areas in the German agricultural landscape.

Impacts of climate changes on German Agriculture and adaptation strategies

Climate changes have different regional impacts on agriculture in Germany. The LandCaRE-Project examines these impacts and possible adaptation strategies under different global framework conditions.

Impacts of transregionally active investors in agriculture on rural areas

More and more agricultural enterprises are taken over by external investors. What are the implications for the rural economy, the people and the environment?

Innovative contract solutions for the delivery of agri-environmental benefits (CONSOLE)

The society requires intensified efforts from farming and forestry in order to better protect nature, environment and climate. We investigate what could be the contribution of novel voluntary measures.

Interdependencies between Land use and Climate Change - Strategies for a sustainable land use management in Germany (CC-LandStraD)

Land resources are limited in Germany and many other regions of the world, land use claims compete. Climate change and the globalisation of economies aggravate the competition. To what extent environmental protection, climate mitigation, and sustainable resource management can be satisfied is the concern of the research in the collaborative project CC-LandStraD.

Land ownership and land transactions in Bavaria (BayLand)

Im Auftrag der Bayerischen Landesregierung untersuchen wir den landwirtschaftlichen Bodenmarkt in Bayern und erarbeiten Optionen für Maßnahmen, die den Zugang der Landwirte zu Grund und Boden verbessern.

Lapwing: Conservation measures for a ground-nesting birds

In the 1950s, the lapwing was a very common species in German agricultural landscapes. Since then, its population has undergone a steep decline. Which agri-environmental measures can help the lapwing to breed and successfully reproduce on arable fields?

Microplastic in the environment – Analyses of the Warnow catchment

Microplastic pollution in the oceans is increasing worldwide. High concentrations found at the mouth of rivers suggest a substantial contribution of contamination from inland. To what extent is agriculture responsible for these inputs?

Microplastic in the environment – Analyses of the Weser catchment

To date, small plastic particles are being found world-wide in oceans, rivers and lakes. However, knowledge is still scarce about their origins and impact on the environment and organisms, including human beings.

NatApp – smartphone-based documentation of nature conservation measures

The NatApp in development will be a tool for advising, planning, applying and documenting nature conservation measures on agricultural land. The purpose of the tool is to support farmers and agricultural entities in the implementation of measures to promote biodiversity.

Nature conservation in ecological focus areas

Within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy farms with more than 15ha arable land must manage 5% of their area as an ecological focus area. How were these areas used previously? How valuable are they for nature protection?

Spatially differentiated analyses of agricultural water conservation

Diffuse nutrient pollution from agriculture is a major reason that the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the water quality in many regions of Germany are not expected to be achieved. In various "AGRUM subprojects," we examine measures of agricultural water conservation using an agro-economic and hydrological model network. The main goal is to evaluate how these measures effect on the water quality and what costs are to be expected. The various "AGRUM subprojects" use the same model approaches but differ in terms of study region, runtime and client.

Spatially differentiated analyses of the agricultural water conservation in the Weser river basin

The AGRUM-Weser project is one of several projects that deal with the question of how agriculture contributes to water protection. (See also the umbrella project „AGRUM“). In this project, the study area is the river basin of the Weser.

WiSoLand

More and more agricultural enterprises in East Germany are in the hands of external investors. We examine the impacts of this development on rural regions and on the living conditions in villages.

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