Molecular memory: Plants' reaction to heat stress

Stress is unhealthy - for both humans and plants. Unlike humans or animals, however, plants cannot avoid stress, e.g., they cannot flee from heat into the shade or into cooler areas. That is why plant cells have a number of adaptation mechanisms. Researchers have now been able to show that the mechanisms in the shoot meristem are particularly effective if the plant has already survived heat.

In duet with legumes

The cultivation of a single crop is common practice in agriculture today, i.e., crops such as wheat or corn are usually grown as pure cultures. However, as monocultures without versatile crop rotation, they are not always environmentally friendly. They use nutrients in a very one-sided way and are more susceptible to pests, which means that fertilisers are not used optimally and pesticides have to be applied regularly. This damages both groundwater and soil, leaving the soil less protected from weather extremes and erosion.

Furniture made from fermentation residues

What remains after harvesting usually ends up in the biogas plant and is used for energy. The resulting fermentation residues are often taken as fertilizer in agriculture because of their high nutrient content. Researchers from the German Institute of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf have now shown that the recycling chain for fermentation residues does not have to end in the field, but that they can be further processed in industry as a raw material.

Biobased foams from agricultural residues

Household sponges, mattresses, car seats or insulating walls: it is hard to imagine everyday life without foams, whether hard or soft. However, the production of the petroleum-based material is not very environmentally friendly. Researchers at Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences think it's time for a change: Together with partners from seven countries, the team led by polymer chemist Sergiy Grishchuk wants to make foam and composite materials more sustainable.

Global Footprint Network (2021): Earth Overshoot Day

As of today, humanity is taking up more arable and pasture land, fishing grounds and forests for the rest of the year than would be available to us mathematically. And we are emitting far more CO2 than the world's forests and oceans can absorb. The Earth Overshoot Day illustrates that the entire world population would need 1.7 Earths to sustainably meet the average global demand for natural resources.

Premiere for pavilion made of flax fibers

Almost 40% of global CO2 emissions can be attributed to the construction industry. The building sector in particular, where construction with cement still dominates, is responsible for the majority of greenhouse gases. But the industry is undergoing a transformation towards more sustainability. Visitors to the Botanical Garden at the University of Freiburg can now see for themselves how this can be done. Researchers from the universities of Freiburg and Stuttgart are presenting the livMatS pavilion here - a building constructed from flax fibers.

Smart farming cooperation clears antitrust hurdles

Smart farming solutions from a single source - that's what Bosch and BASF want to offer in the future with their joint venture Bosch BASF Smart Farming GmbH (BBSF), in which they have equal shares. The antitrust authorities worldwide have now given their approval for this. The company is headquartered in Cologne. The first markets for the Smart Spraying will be North America, South America and Europe, as the partners announced at the end of June 2021.

IINAS | NABU (2021): Sustainable Bioeconomy

The authors present concrete scope for action and show what sustainable economic activity in Germany and Europe could look like in the future.

They name five important levers for a nature-compatible and sustainable bioeconomy:

  1.  Determine maximum biomass quantity based on the load limit of the earth

  2.  Advance farming systems that promote biodiversity