Agriculture and forestry

Tobacco plant leaves are more tolerant than expected: A research team from the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg has been able to demonstrate that the leaf cells can cope with astonishingly high saline concentrations. In addition, the experts showed that the underlying mechanism is different from that in roots - and superior to that in the case of briefly elevated salt concentrations. This has great significance for agriculture, as many crops react to high salt concentrations by limiting their growth and thus their yield.

For agriculture, it is important that crops are as high-yielding as possible and robust against diseases. Breeding aims to pass on useful properties of plants. But in plant breeding, these useful traits are often lost if the genes on the chromosomes are too far apart. Using the molecular gene scissors CRISPR-Cas, researchers can specifically modify or switch off genes.

Former dumps from landfills or mining operations often resemble moonscapes and revitalization of such areas can take nature decades. A research team has now shown that it can be done more quickly: Using biogenic residues, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) and its partners have brought a landfill site in the Leipzig area back to life within a short period of time. The project involved landfill operators, sewage sludge recyclers, special machinery manufacturers and agricultural experts.

When people see a farm today, only few think of agriculture's actual task of producing vital food. Instead, younger people in particular associate it primarily with problems relating to animal welfare, nature conservation and climate protection. The RESPECTfarms project aims to change this - by developing concepts for how farms can produce cultured meat instead of traditional livestock farming in the future. Cultured meat is produced by multiplying animal cells in a bioreactor. Animals do not have to be kept or killed for this purpose.

Known as Chinese reed, Miscanthus grass is a hardy and undemanding plant. Once introduced to the field, it grows for decades - even on contaminated and abandoned soils. The plant also produces a great amount of biomass, which is suitable for the production of sustainable chemicals or building and insulation materials, as well as for energy use. Such use of miscanthus for bioenergy production was the focus of a project involving researchers from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Forschungszentrum Jülich and Hunan Agricultural University in China.

Large quantities of climate-damaging greenhouse gases are released in agriculture every year as a result of livestock farming and fertilization practices. Criticism focuses on the introduction of excessive nitrate levels into the soil through nitrogen fertilizers and the import of feedstuffs such as soy from abroad. According to the German Federal Environment Agency, agriculture was responsible for about 8% of greenhouse gas emissions in this country in 2021, according to initial estimates. The cultivation of industrial hemp could reduce this problem.

Food security is the most important task of agriculture. However, the sector is responsible for a large proportion of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions, which are mainly due to livestock farming. This also leads to the loss of biodiversity through monocultures and fertilization practices. Experts have long called for a rethink on meat consumption. But what would be the impact on agriculture in Germany of cutting out schnitzel, steak and the like? Researchers at the Öko-Institut have investigated this in a study commissioned by Greenpeace.

Wood as a building material has a significantly smaller ecological footprint than conventional materials and is therefore becoming increasingly important. Compared to houses made of steel and concrete, trees store CO₂ emissions. Particularly in view of a growing world population, wooden houses in cities could make an important contribution to climate protection, as a study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows.