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Overview

Grüne Eichenblätter, ein Eichenblatt ist mit einem Fühler versehen
© Thünen-Institut/Jürgen Müller

In the Thünen topic “Water”, our focus is on both water quality and water quantity.

  • With regard to water quality, we are investigating how much nitrogen and phosphorus is discharged into water bodies from agriculture and forest areas and how this runoff can be reduced.
  • With regard to the quantity of water, we are investigating how groundwater recharge under forests can be increased and how we can store and use more water in agricultural landscapes.

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Three small beech plants in pots, some of the leaves are curling up.
Water deficiency – Forests in danger?

During dry periods in spring the forest thirsts. Does this drought cause any damage at that time? We know that the tree species show different adaptations to drought.

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Ein trockener Kiefernzweig vor einem blauen Himmel mit Wolken
How do different provenances of Scots pine respond to drought?

Drought tolerance in pine forests is a topic with increasing impotrance, due to the climate change. In a joint project, researchers have tested various provenances of Scots pine.

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Nadelwald mit Regenmessern in den Baumkronen
Forests and water

Forests provide more than just wood. Another forest product is much less well-known: clean water! And different forests types differ clearly in performance.

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Undercrowns Precipitation measurement
The role of tree types on the agricultural water household

The impact of different tree species on the course of new ground water development of is a focus of our study with large lysimeters.

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Dünne Zweige eines Baumes, an denen schon erste helle Knospen aufgehen
2024: Good conditions for spring budburst

There has not been this much rain in winter since the series of measurements began in 1993: between November 2023 and February 2024, 311 millimetres of precipitation fell at the Thünen research station in Britz. This means that the plant world has ...

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A field, a forest and a village are partially under water
Forest and floods

Floods are a regular feature of riverine landscapes. Their occurrence depends on various factors: Precipitation, relief and subsoil, vegetation and soil management. Whether a flood occurs, however, is largely determined by how saturated the forest ...

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[Translate to English:] Drained moor in agricultural use and drainage ditch, blue sky, rows of trees in the background.
Water management in peatlands

Wet peatland soils consist of almost 98 percent water. This high water content is the reason why a lot of carbon has been stored in the peatlands over the millennia. If they are drained for agricultural use, large amounts of greenhouse gases are ...

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A frame with many small arms from which water sprays over a cornfield.
Water availability in agriculture

Progressive climate change is increasingly influencing water availability and water requirements in agriculture. Innovative water management concepts are needed to maintain crop production and minimise conflicts of interest with other water users.

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[Translate to English:]
Spring drought in Germany – What irrigation can do

Germany is currently experiencing an unprecedented spring drought. This extreme drought could result in significant yield losses.

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2025: Poor starting conditions for forests

Forests are affected by an unusually dry spring: On our research site “Britz”, only a quarter of the usual precipitation since March. The result: poor growing conditions and hardly any groundwater recharge.

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Eine Wasserblase hat sich auf einer Pfütze gebildet.
Rain in July balances water levels in the forest

This July the weather, while not particularly suitable for outdoor swimming, was good news for the forests. After the long dry spell in spring, plenty of rainfall on the Thünen experimental site in Britz balanced the deficit out. Other research plots ...

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