DFG-FOR 1695: Agricultural Landscapes under Global Climate Change – Processes and Feedbacks on a Regional Scale

Status: completed

Project begin: 01.02.2012

Project end: 31.12.2018

Sponsor mark: DFG: FOR 1695

Project-Homepage: https://klimawandel.uni-hohenheim.de

Keywords: Agrarlandschaften, Klimaänderung, Landwirtschaft und Umwelt, Modellierung, Nachhaltigkeit, Regionalmodell

 

Description

Based on the Integrated DFG Project PAK 346 (2008-2011), the DFG Research Unit 1695 with its ten subprojects is investigating the effects of global climate change on structure and functions of agricultural landscapes on a regional scale. It is the joint objective of the working groups from Hohenheim, Munich and Giessen to improve process understanding and knowledge of feedbacks between land surface and atmosphere by combining integrated modelling with hitherto unequalled spatial resolution, intensive field measurements and controlled experiments. This will enable us to elaborate projections of landscape development and potential adaptation strategies until 2030. For this purpose, high-resolution climate, land use, and crop growth models will be coupled with socio-economic models forming an advanced land system model. By means of specific sensor systems and remote sensing techniques, data on energy and matter fluxes between the soil-plant system and the atmosphere will be collected in the two study regions Kraichgau and Central Swabian Alb in Southwest Germany. Crops will be exposed to future CO2 and climate conditions in climatic chambers in order to assess the effects on crop yield and yield quality. Data obtained from field measurements and climatic chamber experiments as well as from socio-economic investigations in the study regions will serve for improving model components and for the validation of the novel land system model.

After positive evaluation by DFG, the second funding period starts in February 2015. The Research Unit now consists of eight subprojects. The second phase will terminate in September 2018.

Publications in the course of the project