Forests are extremely important for the implementation of the bio-economy. Here, the precious raw material wood grows, which has its uses both from a material as well as an energy standpoint. Moreover, forests are indispensable as suppliers of oxygen and for storing CO2. The bio-economy therefore faces the challenge of protecting forests as a resource and minimising the conflict between nature conservation and resource use.
Dandelion is much more than a common flower - dandelion rubber is already used to make car tires. Moreover, a molecule from the dandelion root, inulin, is also added to many foods, for example as a low-calorie fat substitute. However, it is not an equivalent substitute, because yoghurt with inulin has a different texture and thus leaves a different feeling on the tongue. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz have therefore investigated the physical properties of various inulin preparations.
Sustainability is a major issue for industry and business right now. Green chemistry is the tool for a more sustainable economy. For example, the activity of enzymes can be modified in such a way that they can be used in biotechnological plants for the fermentation of residues or the production of biobased materials.
For thousands of years people have been breeding crops such as wheat, maize and tomatoes. When doing so, farmers and breeders have been particularly concerned with increasing crop yields. However, targeted breeding has resulted in the loss of other useful traits and genetic diversity, and modern cultivated plants are often more susceptible to disease and have a reduced vitamin and nutrient content. The problem: Characteristics that are determined by the interplay of numerous genes cannot be restored by classical breeding.
Considering the world's growing population and shrinking resources, it is becoming increasingly important not to waste food. However, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2011, one third of the world's food supplies are lost between harvest and consumption. This is why conservation research is more important than ever, says Cornel Adler of the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI).
The world population is growing while resources are dwindling. New innovations are needed to feed and clothe people and to provide them with clean water and energy. The bioeconomy offers new approaches and solutions: algae can become fuel, plastic can be recycled, and waste turned into furniture or clothing. According to the European Commission, the bioeconomy even has the potential to generate 1 million new green jobs by the year 2030.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a natural component of air. However, industrial exhaust fumes, car traffic or electricity generation bring additional quantities of the greenhouse gas into the Earth's atmosphere, which drives global warming.
The summer of 2018 was unique in many ways. Some aspects, however, were less pleasant than others: several regions of Germany saw losses in arable crops of up to 50%. Given climate change and global warming, such weather extremes will most likely increase even further in the future. In order to secure food sources, it is therefore paramount that agriculture adapts to climate change. This includes new strategies for agronomic management and breeding of more heat- and drought-tolerant crops.
Environmental pollution caused by plastic waste is a hot-button issue right now - whether it's waste islands in the oceans or microplastics in the fields which eventually end up in the intestines of humans. However, plastic packaging cannot be dispensed off everywhere. Thus, more and more biodegradable plastics are being produced, which are supposed to have less impact on the environment.
Laughing gas, also known as nitrous oxide or N2O, damages the ozone layer and belongs to the so-called greenhouse gases. Six percent of man-made global warming is attributed to this gas. And most of the global N2O emissions are caused by livestock farming. However, an interdisciplinary research group from the University of Applied Sciences Bingen and the Heidelberg University now reports that plants also emit substantial amounts of this gas and therefore share a previously underestimated amount of the global nitrous oxide emissions.