Projects overview

Promoting the domestic production of nuts and mushrooms as sought-after and healthy sources of protein through knowledge transfer (2025-2027)

Department of Organic Agriculture and Crop Production, contact Birge Wolf / Thorsten Michaelis

Funding via BMEL (PT BLE)

Focus: Creating diversification opportunities for farms through knowledge transfer for the production of nuts and mushrooms as healthy and climate-friendly sources of protein

Sustainable production of willows with specific material and growth properties in multifunctional agroforestry systems as a raw material for willow wood thread and willow wood textile in coupled use with the extraction of salicylates from willow bark (2024-2027)

Department Research Platform BAU KUNST ERFINDEN, contact Prof. Heike Klussmann
Project homepage B-K-E

Department of Organic Agriculture and Crop Production, contact Prof. Dr. Miriam Athmann

Department of Business Administration, contact Prof. Dr. Detlev Möller

Funding via BMEL (FNR)

Focus: Testing different types of willow for their suitability for cultivation in agroforestry systems for the production of a wood thread and the extraction of salicylates, technical development of harvesting and debarking processes, upscaling of wood thread production and overall economic evaluation.

Transforming the Mediterranean region through agroforestry: large scale restoration of degraded lands by overcoming the socioeconomic and sociocultural barriers for agroforestry adoption (2024-2027)

Department of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, contact person: Prof. Dr. Tobias Plieninger

Funding via Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Region (PRIMA)

Focus: Promotion of large-scale implementation of agroforestry systems to restore soil health, biodiversity and productivity of degraded agroecosystems.

Agroforestry systems for climate-sensitive species in northern Hesse - research into the transformation field based on an example area in Niedermeiser (2024-2025)

Department of Organic Agriculture and Crop Production, contact Birge Wolf / Thorsten Michaelis

Funding via HMWK (RP Kassel via Klimaplan Hessen)

Focus: Implementation planning and potential of agroforestry in the district of Kassel and in northern Hesse.

Department of Grassland Science and Renewable Resources: Contact person Dr. Rüdiger Graß

Department of Organic Agriculture and Crop Production: contact Prof. Dr. Miriam Athmann

Department of Soil Science, contact apl. Prof. Dr. Christine Wachendorf

Funding via HMWK (Hesse Eco-Action Plan)

Focus: Yield and root studies after willow and grassland plowing as well as new establishment of an alley-cropping agroforestry system with walnut, hazelnut and currant with records of the initial state of soil parameters and biodiversity (butterflies, birds).

Hute forests Distribution, biodiversity and strategies for the re-establishment of agroforestry forest use (2022-2024)

Department of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, contact person: Prof. Dr. Tobias Plieninger

Funding via DBU

Focus: Integrating scientific and practical findings on hute forest management and laying the foundations for the evidence-based revitalization of hute forests in a suitable model region.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry systems (BonaRes-SIGNAL) - Subproject 2: Diversity and activity of soil organism communities as indicators for sustainable land use (2015-2024)

Department of Soil Science, contact person: apl. Prof. Dr. Christine Wachendorf

Funding via BMBF

Focus: Investigation of carbon use efficiency, stoichiometry of microbial biomass and limiting elements in soil to predict stabilization and mineralization of organic matter in alley-cropping systems.

Harnessing the potential of trees-on-farms for meeting national and global biodiversity targets (2018-2022)

Department of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, contact person: Prof. Dr. Tobias Plieninger

Funding via the German government's International Climate Initiative

Focus: Creating knowledge on the interfaces between forests, agriculture and biodiversity and investigating policy design and funding options for the protection and use of trees in agriculture.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry (SIGNAL (Phase 2)) (2018-2021)

Department of Grassland Science and Renewable Resources, contact persons Dr. Rüdiger Graß and Prof. Dr. Michael Wachendorf

Funding via BMBF

Focus: Dynamics of stand development of willows as fast-growing woody plants on grassland and yields of barley in agroforestry systems.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture through agroforestry (SIGNAL (Phase1)) (2015-2018)

Department of Grassland Science and Renewable Resources, contact persons Dr. Rüdiger Graß and Prof. Dr. Michael Wachendorf

Funding via BMBF

Focus: Further ecosystem services of willows as fast-growing woody plants on grassland.

Agroforestry that will Advance Rural Development (2014-2017)

Department of Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, contact person: Prof. Dr. Tobias Plieninger

Funding via EU

Focus: Promotion of agroforestry in Europe to strengthen rural development - evaluation of possible agroforestry interventions on a landscape scale.

Strengthening bioenergy regions (BEST) (2010-2014)

Department of Grassland Science and Renewable Resources, contact persons Dr. Rüdiger Graß and Prof. Dr. Michael Wachendorf

Funding via BMBF

Focus: Biomass of willows as fast-growing woody plants on grassland.