Focus of work
The Group of Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources researches on and teaches the complex relations between type and diversity of grassland vegetation and its yield formation and forage quality in dependency of site conditions. Legumes play a prominent role, as they are important for soil fertility in Organic Farming due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and to provide it to the agricultural system.
Members of the group develop new cultivation and utilization methods for plants as field forage or renewable resources for material (e.g. biochar, activated carbon) energy purposes (e.g. solid fuel, biogas). Beside the investigation of effects on the whole system we do focus to minimize the competition with the traditional use for food or feed, which is why residual biomasses from the rural (e.g. nature conservation areas) and urban (e.g. leave litter and green cut) area are at the centre of our research work. This includes also aspects of climate change, which requires measures of climate protection and adaptation.
To assess and evaluate vegetation of grasslands, arable land and agroforestry, novel remote sensing methods are developed and tested, which allow the analysis of large-scale land use patterns and their change in space and time. Further, they may serve as a decision support for a site-specific management of crops.