Project Details
Projekt
SP1: Greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon sequestration
Applicants
Professor Dr. Andreas Gattinger; Dr. Mathias Hoffmann
Subject Area
Soil Sciences
Ecology of Land Use
Plant Cultivation, Plant Nutrition, Agricultural Technology
Ecology of Land Use
Plant Cultivation, Plant Nutrition, Agricultural Technology
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 517723694
In light of escalating global climate crisis, urgent action is required to combat and mitigate the causes of climate change. As greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions play a major part in contributing towards global warming, all efforts must focus towards their mitigation and reduction. In addition to reducing GHG emissions, additional sequestrations of carbon (C) in soils and tree biomass/timber might be an effective instrument in minimizing the impact of climate change. Germany tries to achieve climate neutrality through several mitigation measures by the year 2045. It is already known that agroforestry systems (AFS) might reduce N2O and/or CO2 emissions and lower the carbon footprint by enhancing below- and above-ground biomass through the planting and maintenance of woody plants and/or nitrogen-fixing trees and associated vegetation. In addition, GHG emissions are strongly affected by microclimatic conditions, water and nutrient cycling. In this, AFS are particularly characterized by high small-scale spatial heterogeneity. However, to date there is no systematic knowledge on the quantitative GHG reduction and C sequestration potential of AFS as well as their spatiotemporal variability. This is partly the case due to methodological constraints when it comes to comprehensive analyses of the entire system, including crop as well as tree rows. Therefore, this project focuses on comprehensive measurements of spatio-temporal patterns of GHG emissions and C dynamics in AFS in order to better understand the underlying processes and drivers and thus how AFS can effectively contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions and potentially enhance C sequestration in the temperate climate zone. Applied measurement techniques will combine: i) micrometeorological sensor-networks (e.g., photosynthetic active radiation, air/soil temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture), ii) semi-automatic closed chamber systems for determination of diurnal regimes of CO2, CH4, N2O and ET fluxes (tightly linking SP1 and 2, iii) isotopic approaches as well as iv) state-of the-art methods to determine the net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) and soil carbon stabilisation mechanisms. The dependencies between the parameters related to GHG emissions, carbon dynamics and the integration of trees into cropland will be investigated in order to derive model parameters for upscaling and scenario analysis. To achieve these goals, the project consists of the following work packages: WP1) The influence of AFS on spatio-temporal GHG flux dynamics, WP2) Influence of AFS on the C sequestration potential and WP) Interaction of carbon, nitrogen and water cycle in AFS. Research will take place on two different sites (in Hessen, Gladbacherhof and in Brandenburg, Grossmutz) in order to evaluate and validate the scientific findings at contrasting pedo-climatic conditions
DFG Programme
Research Units
Co-Investigators
Dr. Maren Dubbert; Professor Dr. Jan Siemens
