ZALF
at 3 locations around the metropolis of Berlin
Forschungsstation Paulinenaue
Hauptsitz Müncheberg
Forschungsstation Dedelow /
AgroscapeLab Quillow
ZALF
at 3 locations around the metropolis of Berlin
Megatrends
The future of agriculture is a task
for society as a whole.
Billion people in the world by 2050
Plant species provide 95% of plant-based food
% more food demand by 2050
Million species are considered endangered worldwide
Greenhouse gases from agriculture & forestry
Population growth
Global population growth has slowed somewhat. Medium forecasts assume that the world’s population will grow from the current 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion people in 2050. As the population grows, average incomes will also rise, which will lead to increased demand for resource-intensive products such as meat and ultimately to rising greenhouse gas emissions per capita.
Food security
In order to meet the growing demand for food, around 50 % more food must be produced by 2050. At the same time, waste must be reduced: Around 1/3 of all food produced currently ends up as waste. However, food security is also a question of distributive justice: globally, 1.9 billion people are overweight, while around 815 million people go hungry.
Climate change
Around the world, yields are suffering from an increase in extreme weather events such as heat, drought and flooding, as well as rising temperatures and ozone levels. Agriculture itself must be better adapted, but can also play a more active role in climate protection. Plants and soils bind large amounts of carbon. At the same time, agriculture, forestry and other land uses release around 24% of global climate-relevant greenhouse gases.
Ecosystem service
Ecosystem services such as clean drinking water, pollination by insects and recreational aspects are directly influenced by agricultural use and climatic changes. Degradation, i.e. the loss of ecosystem services, causes damage amounting to 5.5 to 9.3 trillion euros worldwide every year. Biodiversity is also challenged by humans and the climate: One million species are currently considered endangered.
Digitalization
With the help of digitalization and new technologies, such as robotics and sensor technology, more sustainable and climate-friendly cultivation systems can be developed. By collecting and intelligently networking environmental data, we can better adapt cultivation, harvesting and operational planning to the respective local conditions and thus protect ecosystem services, biodiversity and the climate. The goal is more ecological diversity without economic losses.
Our motivation:
A sustainable agriculture
How are we going to feed a growing world population without endangering the climate, the environment and thus our livelihood?
Agriculture for healthy soils and biodiversity
Agriculture in a changing climate
Agriculture and digitalization
Agriculture in transition
Agriculture in globalization
Mission of ZALF is to deliver solutions for an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture – together with stakeholders from science, politics and practice.
Müncheberg.
Green research campus on the outskirts of Berlin
Müncheberg
A virtual tour of the campus and selected research topics and infrastructures
Agricultural landscape research
ZALF research is systems research: from processes in soils, plants and water, to interrelationships at the field and landscape level, to global impacts and consideration of complex interactions between landscape, society and economy.
Digitalization and new technologies
Agriculture is changing. The demands on modern arable farming and landscape conservation are increasing. Digital support systems are being developed from data and with the help of new technologies and tested in practice together with partners. For example, app-based tools are being developed to optimize arable land, reduce bureaucracy and protect against erosion.
Landscape experiments and Landscape labs
With numerous long-term experiments and innovative research infrastructures, established stakeholder networks and many years of expertise in transdisciplinary and transformative research as well as in co-design, ZALF offers excellent conditions for research in close cooperation with practitioners: in landscape experiments and, in future, increasingly in real-world laboratories.
Climate chambers
Land use is relevant to the climate: Fertilization, livestock and land use changes in particular release large quantities of greenhouse gases. If production processes are adapted, agriculture can play an active role in shaping climate adaptation and climate protection. Different climate zones around the world can be simulated in our climate chambers and the effects on crops can be investigated.
Wind tunnel
Fertile soil can be lost due to wind erosion. How dust storms can be prevented and what influence dust particles have on the climate are two of many research questions in the wind tunnel.
Mosquito atlas
In a citizen science project that is unique in Germany, the Mosquito Atlas uses private submissions to map the distribution of native and invasive mosquito species in Germany and makes recommendations for action to protect against mosquito-borne diseases.
The ZALF main campus with its 60 ha of experimental plots is located about 40 km east of Berlin. With our modern experimental technology, all common arable crops can be grown on predominantly sandy soils (arable number 21 – 43). A sprinkler system enables targeted irrigation trials. In our agri-photovolatic demonstration facility, we investigate various combinations of energy production and crop production.
Agricultural landscape research
Agriculture must adapt to climate change, reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides and protect ecosystems, that much is certain. But what does this mean in concrete terms in agricultural regions like the Magdeburger Börde or the Uckermark? Should the farms here arm themselves against heat and drought or is it rather hail and heavy rain? Reliable statements about what different regions will be facing in 10, 20 or even 50 years are an important basis for local agriculture to position itself sustainably. To this end, ZALF combines data from laboratory and field experiments across different spatial and time scales with the knowledge of the stakeholders involved. All of this flows into complex modeling and simulation programs that can be used to make statements about future developments: from the growth of individual plants to yield forecasts up to the year 2050.
Individual processes in soil, water, plants and in the air
State-of-the-art laboratories at ZALF analyze samples from water, plants, soil and air under the influence of various climatic, processing and site factors.
Data collection and networking
Supplemented by innovative approaches to near and remote sensing, the analysis and processing of large amounts of data (e.g. big data approaches) and the use of artificial intelligence, we can systematically use ever larger amounts of data and optimally align them with research questions. Numerical modeling and simulation form a central component of our agricultural landscape research.
Scaling to other landscapes and future developments
We are investigating how a reduction in the use of pesticides can be achieved by redesigning or restructuring cultivation systems, using ecological principles and employing digitalization and new technologies.
Digitalization & new technologies
Digitalization and new technologies offer numerous opportunities for agriculture. At ZALF, we are developing digital support tools and complex analysis systems (DAKIS) for agricultural practice and other users in various projects, e.g. for erosion control (Erospot), for more efficient documentation of nature conservation services (NatApp) or for rewarding ecosystem services in an online marketplace for nature conservation (AgoraNatura). In addition to concrete transfer tools, digitalization and new technologies naturally also play a major role in research.
Landscape labs & experiments
In the future, ZALF will develop its research in and with landscape labs and landscape experiments even more intensely in the direction of real-world laboratories or “living labs” (LL). This refers to spaces for joint research between science and practice to solve real-world and socially relevant sustainability problems, such as the reduction of environmental and climate impacts in the area of land use. Through joint learning, they can lead to social and technological innovations as well as to a better scientific understanding of challenges and solutions. This makes them directly relevant for helping to shape sustainable agriculture in the agricultural landscapes of the future together with the key players involved in this transformation. One example of this is the patchCROP landscape laboratory …
Agricultural production must become more sustainable. Researchers at ZALF are convinced that more diversity in the field and smaller areas under cultivation could conserve resources, maintain soil fertility, reduce the consumption of pesticides and fertilizers and promote biodiversity. They are testing their thesis under practical conditions together with a farm. What effects does it have when, for example, maize, lupins and sunflowers are grown right next to each other in small field units? Can the farm still earn money with it in the end? And what role new technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence have to play? The research team is now investigating all of this in the unique patchCROP landscape experiment …
Climate chambers
Various climatic conditions around the world can be simulated in ZALF’s climate chambers. In this experimental environment, which is protected from external disturbances, it is possible to change individual parameters and investigate the effects. For example, the focus is on the interaction between microorganisms and plants.
Wind tunnel
Wind and field cultivation with machinery lead to dust emissions in our fields. Light soil components, such as clay and humus particles, are stirred up the most and are the first to fly away. But it is precisely these particles that contain the nutrients that are valuable for soil fertility. This gradual reduction in fertility has become one of the main problems of soil degradation in Europe. In addition, dust clouds can be harmful to human and animal health. These and other research questions are being investigated in the wind tunnel.
The less the ground is covered with vegetation, the greater the surface area exposed to the wind.
The more and denser trees and hedges grow at the edge of the field, the better they can protect against the wind. Rows of trees do not necessarily prevent fast winds directly above the ground.
Crop residues in the field offer some protection. Crops protect the soil from a certain stage of growth. A combination is ideal. Fully vegetated topsoil offers the best protection against erosion.
Clay & soil microorganisms reach high into the atmosphere, where they are sometimes carried thousands of kilometers.
Mosquito atlas
There are around 3500 species of mosquitoes worldwide and probably 50 in Germany. Despite this diversity and the direct interaction with humans, we do not know enough about the occurrence, distribution and biology of the various species in Germany. This is because mosquitoes are not only annoying, but some are also capable of transmitting pathogens.
Dedelow.
Dedelow – AgroscapeLab
Climate gas measurement
The focus is on interdisciplinary studies on the direct and indirect effects of land use, e.g. the cultivation of energy crops, erosion and the rewetting of peatlands on the carbon balance of agricultural landscapes in the north-east German lowlands.
Kettle holes
In the field, kettle holes can usually be recognized by their vegetation, which stands out clearly from the surrounding area. There are more than 150,000 of these small bodies of water in north-eastern Germany alone. Researchers at ZALF are studying these biotopes, partly because they can tell us a lot about the state of the landscape.
The Dedelow test site is located around 100 km north of Berlin and covers an area of 42 ha. The site is home to numerous technical measuring facilities, some of which are unique (TERENO lysimeter, autonomous measurement of greenhouse gases using the ZALF development FluxCrane “CARBO-ZALF-D”). Dedelow is part of the ZALF landscape laboratory “AgroScapeLab Quillow” and supports numerous projects in the planning and implementation of measurement programs in cooperation with farms.
Climate gas measurement
Measurements are carried out using innovative close and remote sensing instruments, such as ZALF’s own autonomous drone TRON. A particular highlight at the Dedelow site are the gas measuring hoods developed in-house and the globally unique, fully automated Flux-Crane climate gas measuring system.
Kettle holes
In the field, kettle holes can usually be recognized by their vegetation, which stands out clearly from the surrounding area. There are more than 150,000 of these small bodies of water in north-eastern Germany alone. Researchers at ZALF are studying these biotopes, partly because they can tell us a lot about the state of the landscape.
Paulinenaue.
Paulinenaue
Grassland experiments
We develop strategies for the sustainable and balanced use of grassland. The focus is on heterogeneous fens, whereby environmental gradients across Germany are also considered.
Peatlands
Peatlands store large amounts of water and carbon, but can only be used for agriculture to a limited extent. By using certain grazing animals and adapted cultivation systems, protection and use can be combined. Intensive monitoring helps to develop environmentally friendly and economical utilization concepts.
About 30 km west of Berlin, ZALF manages 60 ha of grassland on a fenland research site in Paulinenaue. In addition to experiments on grassland and the rewetting of fens, the site is home to one of the largest groundwater lysimeter facilities in Europe with over 100 lysimeters and 15 different soil types.
Grassland experiments
ZALF develops strategies for a sustainable and balanced use of grassland. Its functions and processes are investigated comprehensively, from mechanistic pot experiments, to plot and field experiments, to the landscape scale. Together with remote sensing data, grassland functions are considered from the finest root to the landscape level.
Peatlands
For many years now, peatlands across Germany have been drained for agricultural use – with far-reaching consequences for the climate, the water balance and biodiversity. In order to enable ecologically and economically sustainable rewetting, new management concepts need to be developed and tested.
ZALF in dialogue
We develop solutions for an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture, together with society.
Only the transfer of scientific knowledge to the world outside of science leads to change and transformation. Through knowledge transfer, innovations from research find their way into practice, politics and society. Conversely, science is also dependent on impulses from these groups in order to contribute to sustainable transformation and change. We conduct this dialogue through a wide variety of channels: with science communication, policy advice and “classic” transfer work in regional and supra-regional networks.
A special instrument of science communication is the querFELDein network coordinated by ZALF. More than 20 research institutions, colleges and universities report on various aspects of future land use in a generally understandable way: food, agriculture, climate change and the environment.
You can subscribe to our querFELDein newsletter here (in German only).
Knowledge transfer
In the spirit of the Leibniz Association, we pursue a broad understanding of knowledge transfer that aims to achieve an impact in practice, politics and society through information, advice and application. Our particular strength is our many years of experience in transdisciplinary research – in other words, direct cooperation and joint learning with partners outside the scientific community. To this end, we make use of a wide range of opportunities for mutual exchange. You can find a compact overview of our transfer activities in recent years in our transfer brochure. Current information can be found in our transfer newsletter.
If you are interested in our transfer newsletter, please send an e-mail to (German only).
Close cooperation with various stakeholders
Socio-ecnomic research
Policy and stakeholder consulting
Sustainability in research and organization
On the way to becoming a climate-neutral research facility.
Environmental protection has a high priority at ZALF: in research, but also in organizational practice and in our working environment. For this reason, ZALF adopted its own environmental policy in 2019 and introduced an environmental management system at the Müncheberg site. In environmental reports, we regularly provide information on the measures and instruments we use to achieve our goal of becoming a climate-neutral research institution.
Shape the future!
Contributions to sustainability: With its research, ZALF helps to find solutions to challenges relating to land use, climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental protection and resource management. Help us as a project partner, in research or in administration. We have summarized the most important arguments for working at ZALF:
Promotion of scientific careers
ZALF offers attractive conditions and funding opportunities for young scientists. Find out more under Tenure Track Procedure, Junior Research Groups, Postdocs and Doctorate.
Excellent research environment
ZALF has a modern research infrastructure with well-equipped laboratories, experimental stations, data services and experiments and laboratories of various scales. This infrastructure enables our scientists to carry out innovative, excellent and practice-oriented research projects.
Positive working atmosphere
ZALF offers a pleasant working atmosphere and a supportive work culture. We aim to promote constructive and productive collaboration at ZALF through an open and cooperative working environment. Read more about cooperation at ZALF in our organizational mission statement.
Principles of good leadership
We strive for equality and equal treatment of all our employees and support the compatibility of work and family life. We have laid down the principles of good management in our internal management guidelines.
Interdisciplinary research
ZALF promotes interdisciplinary cooperation between scientists from different disciplines. Our diverse research projects require a variety of expertise.
Relevance of research
ZALF is dedicated to researching agricultural landscapes and their sustainable development. The research results have a direct impact on agricultural practice, nature conservation and rural development.
International cooperations
ZALF works closely with national and international partners and promotes the exchange of knowledge and experience. Our employees can participate in international projects and network with leading experts in their field.
Location advantages
Müncheberg in Märkische Schweiz offers a peaceful and natural environment with a wide range of recreational opportunities. Thanks to its proximity to Berlin, you also benefit from the advantages of a big city.
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