Agronomy in the Tropics and Subtropics
Meeting Future Challenges ... In times of Global Change, an isolated examination of land use system is no longer possible. Crop production systems have to be assessed in a holistic way, considering production issues, people's livelihoods and environmental quality. Growing public awareness of negative impacts of agriculture on the environment when using non-sustainable systems requires a strong scientific analysis of these topics.
Simultaneously, Global Climate Change Feedbacks such as extreme weather conditions and elevated CO2 in the atmosphere have a direct effect on crop production itself, crop quality and plant-soil-environmental interactions. Investigating trade-offs between optimal crop production methods and environment is a challenging scientific task and to date only partly understood. In addition to ecophysiological research topics, the Plant Production Section focuses on nutrient cycles, competition, carbon sequestration and environmental impacts of plant-animal productions systems with specific consideration of N2 fixing legume based approaches.
The research approach in the Plant Production Section is based on a theoretical analysis, i.e. modelling (aggregate to landscape) of agroecosystems in the tropics and subtropics, and a simultaneous experimental approach on improving our understanding of plant production and nutrient cycles in agroecosystems (cropping, pasture and agroforestry systems) by using stable isotope (15N, 13C and 18O), molecular and NIR methods. We are an international team and interested in interdisciplinary research approaches and strong collaborative partnerships.