In agriculture, mineral fertilizers play an important role in supplying plants with nutrients. But these fertilizers are problematic as both their energy-intensive production and import are harmful to the climate. In addition, the reserves that can be economically exploited are limited and will probably be exhausted within a few decades. Biobased fertilizers are therefore becoming increasingly important - but they too can have their problems.

Most people are familiar with the feeling of relaxation and recuperation when spending time in a natural setting. Scientists at the University of Heidelberg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now investigated how green spaces affect well-being and what goes on in the brain.

Strenzfelder, Lacaune or Lizagarotte - in Europe there are about 5,000 landraces of maize. They were developed during the 400 years of cultivation without systematic breeding. But for about 50 years, they have existed almost exclusively in gene banks, and elite breeding lines have taken their place. While the latter have been optimized for yield and quality, the land races have other strengths: they are more robust because they are well adapted to different environmental conditions.

When scientists talk about greenhouse gases, they convert their effect into CO2 equivalents. In addition to the known carbon dioxide, there are a number of other gases that heat up the climate. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a gas that is around 300 times more harmful to the climate than CO2. Geoscientists at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen have now identified a previously unknown source of this greenhouse gas.

The population of large freshwater animals - weighing at least 30 kilograms - declined by 88 percent between 1970 and 2012. This is the alarming result of a large-scale study conducted by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries.

As people age, so does their genetic material. One of these aging mechanisms is methylation, in which small molecules, so-called methyl groups, are attached to the DNA. These methylations often have a regulatory function and are reversible. However, the overall extent of methylation increases over the course of a lifetime. In the "DrugTarget" project, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a method for determining a person's age on the basis of methylations.

Around one million animal and plant species are currently in danger of extinction, the World Biodiversity Council warned a few weeks ago in its latest report. Only 1.75 million species are known to date. Seed banks conserve the seeds of many plant species in order to preserve plant diversity and, last but not least, preserve the genetic potential, for example for pharmaceutical research. However, the stocks are only of value if they are still viable. Plant researchers at the University of Osnabrück have now developed a simple rapid test for this purpose.

From climate crisis to extinction of species - agriculture is significantly contributing to many ecological problems. However, it does not have to be this way, but is a consequence of agricultural practices. The European Union could exert great influence on these, since its agricultural subsidies have a steering effect. Around 40% of the European Union's land area - 174 million hectares - is used for agriculture. By its own account, the European Commission wants to tackle the sustainability problem with a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The need for land for the cultivation of food is growing. However, erosion and climate change cause available land areas to shrink, instead. At the same time, competition for the use of these areas is increasing, for example for energy crops or raw material crops for the chemical industry. One possible solution could be so-called vertical agriculture, in which fruit and vegetables are cultivated in layers. The plants grow in a controlled environment in daylight or artificial light in nutrient solutions and do not require arable land or soil.

Dirty, expensive and energy-intensive: this is how most of today's processes for producing carbon fibers from crude oil can be described. The German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) are now cooperating with the Ministry for Rural Areas and Consumer Protection Baden-Württemberg to develop an ecological and economic alternative. A research centre for hardwoods is to be established for this purpose.