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Funded by the Hessian LOEWE program, the interdisciplinary research project "TRIO" started in January 2024
As part of the LOEWE program - state offensive for the development of scientific and economic excellence - the research project "Transformative Mixed Crop Systems for One Health (TRIO)" started in the new year with a duration of four years.
Under the leadership of the Department of Organic Agriculture and Crop Production, scientists from the University of Kassel, together with departments from Justus Liebig University Giessen and Hochschule Geisenheim University, are researching the cultivation of deep-rooted annual and perennial medicinal and aromatic plants in pure seed and mixed cultivation with wheat. The objectives are climate adaptation through better development of deep-lying water-bearing soil layers, climate protection through carbon storage, and an increase in biodiversity through the flowering aspect of the crops. As regional produce is in demand in the medicinal and aromatic plant market, which is dominated by imports, the crops are also potentially an economically interesting alternative for agricultural businesses.
Using an experimental platform developed across different soil-climate spaces, TRIO will apply a comprehensive range of experimental instruments (including isotope labeling, remote sensing, DNA metabarcoding, true cost accounting) for the quantification and evaluation of ecosystem services. In addition to the three Hessian agricultural faculties, the Center for Agricultural Landscape Research in Müncheberg, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Hessian State Agency for Agriculture, Forschungsring e.V. and Ökoplant e.V. are also involved.