More sustainability on farmland

Landscape ecology students Julia Binder and Thomas Middelanis initiated their research project entitled 'Monitoring modern agroforestry ecosystems' to create a more sustainable agriculture through trees and woody plants on farmland. Binder/Middelanis Agriculture has significant impacts on the environment, nature, soils and biodiversity. Figures published by the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture in 2018 showed that more than 50 percent of the land is used for agriculture. Today, the biological, economic and social consequences predicted by ecological scientists are already visible. Students of landscape ecology Julia Binder and Thomas Middelanis have initiated a project entitled "Meeting points for agriculture, civil society and science: monitoring modern agroforestry ecosystems", and their aim is to design agricultural areas in a more sustainable way through 'agroforestry'. By cultivating woody plants, the idea is to produce synergies between agricultural use and integrating such woody plants and, at the same time, take into account conservation requirements. The aim is to build up a collaborative network between science and local stakeholders in several regions in Germany in which farmers have converted their land to agroforestry systems.