Institute of Bio- and Geosciences - Agrosphere (IBG-3)

World Water Day: Sustainable Water Management in times of Climate Change Global change is posing new challenges to our water resources. Longer drought periods and declining groundwater levels are becoming increasingly evident – also in North Rhine-Westphalia. Between 2011 and 2020, groundwater reserves there were no longer replenished to the usual extent. At the same time, conflicts over water usage are increasing, particularly between public water supply and agriculture. To enable informed decisions for sustainable water use, the Agrosphere Institute IBG-3 at Forschungszentrum Jülich develops powerful water balance models. These models analyze complex hydrological processes and provide essential data for planning and policymaking – at both the regional and national level. In NRW, for example, the mGROWA model results are used to assess regional groundwater recharge rates and support water regulation procedures. Such scientific models help develop long-term strategies – from irrigation planning in agriculture to ensuring sustainable water extraction. In the WADKlim project, #IBG3 funded by Umweltbundesamt - German Environment Agency, conducted a stress test to simulate potential future water shortages and identify possible action plans. The results are publicly available and support profound water management in Germany. Only with forward-thinking measures can we sustainably protect the valuable resource of water! #WorldWaterDay #Sustainability #WaterResources #ClimateChange #IBG3 #SoilWater

🌱 Smart fertilizer monitoring for precision farming! 🚜💡 Over-fertilization wastes resources and harms the environment – but what if farmers could measure nitrogen levels in real time? Our innovative measurement technology analyzes soil gas emissions directly from the tractor or agricultural robot – quickly, accurately, sustainably and completely non-invasively! 🌍✨ 🔬 Gamechanger for the agricultural industry: companies can now license or further develop the technology! 📩 If you are interested or have any questions, please contact our innovation manager Dr. Ann-Katrin Beuel or communication manager Marie Ludwig More information: go.fzj.de/to-157 #precisionfarming #soilscience #nitrogen #agtech #sustainability #IBG3 #transfer #innovation

Summer School on Advanced Soil Physics: Soil-Plant-Water Flow We are pleased to announce the upcoming 2nd Summer School on Advanced Soil Physics: Soil-Plant-Water Flow, which will take place at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, from 8 to 12 September 2025. The summer school is designed for master’s and PhD students, as well as early-career scientists in fields such as soil physics, plant physiology, water management, and environmental science.  Contact: Mona Giraud #soil #soilphysics #soilmodeling #plantphysiology #watermanagement #earlycareer #soilscience #summerschool #ISMC #IBG3

Excited to represent our startup Drought Analytics at the Circular Valley Convention in Düsseldorf! 🌍💡 As a young spin-off, we are dedicated to transforming cutting-edge research into actionable solutions for the agricultural sector. At Circular Valley, I look forward to engaging with innovators, industry leaders, and other founders who share a vision for a more resource-efficient and climate-resilient future. Find us alongside other exciting start-ups from the innovation cluster at the joint booth of BioökonomieREVIER partnering Forschungszentrum Jülich and Institute of Bio- and Geosciences - Agrosphere (IBG-3) Let’s connect and exchange ideas! 💬🚀 #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation #Agriculture #DroughtResilience #Networking

📢 New paper on the topic of soil water storage and changing climatic conditions, led by Annelie Ehrhardt using the TERENO-SOILCan infrastructure of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences - Agrosphere (IBG-3). We all know that soil water storage is subject to annual cycles with maximum values in winter and minimum values in summer. Interesting was that for a soil that was transferred from a drier to a more humid climate we found that the maximum peak of SWS occurs earlier every year. This can be explained by an earlier start of the vegetation period. It is a first indication that the ability of soils to store water is affected by different climate.

🌱 𝗥𝗲𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺: 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼-𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗼-𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 🌱   At the start of this year, a two-year collaboration between Forschungszentrum Jülich and Bayer | Crop Science officially began! 🚀 On December 2nd, scientists from the Institutes for Bio- and Geosciences at FZJ and Bayer Crop Science gathered at #LifeHubMonheim to kick off this project, aimed at supporting the establishment and monitoring of #RegenerativeAgriculture  practices while enhancing long-term carbon storage in soil.   🗝️ 𝗥𝗲𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 1. Developing and validating a soil digital twin. 2. Enabling plant breeding for enhanced carbon sequestration. 3. Establishing baseline methods for soil health monitoring.   This initiative includes greenhouse experiments at FZJ and field trials on Bayer's #ForwardFarm Damianshof, and marks the first time #Preceon short stature corn will be grown in Germany! 🌽 The results will complement ongoing R&D efforts in regenerative agriculture, with findings integrated into business model development for Bayer Crop Science and potential startup initiatives. A special thanks to #JensUhlemann from Bayer for fostering this collaboration, and to Dr. Katrin Schullehner and Sander Huisman from the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences - Agrosphere (IBG-3) for leading the project.   Let’s grow together! 🌍 Karl D Collins, Raphael Dumain, Dr. Rolf Christian Becker, Bärbel Hundt, Fan Yang, Florian Jenner, Florian Jupe and from FZJ Marie Ludwig, Felix Bauer, Cosimo Brogi, Harry Vereecken, Holger Pagel, Michael Herbst, Robert Koller, Onno Muller, Kerstin Nagel, Silvia Schrey, Simone Gatzke, Ulrich Schurr, Holger Gohlke, Till El Harrar, Dr. Dennis Oliveira, Christian Cremer #teamBayer #helmholtz-Gemeinschaft

📣 Call for Abstracts Goldschmidt 2025 | July 6 - 11, Prague: Session 09a Microbial ecology and elemental cycling in terrestrial and aquatic systems: integrating biogeochemistry, geomicrobiology and modeling   Are you working on innovative tools, ecological theory or model concepts across spatial and temporal scales in terrestrial and aquatic systems? Share your work in our session!   Conveners: Luciana Chavez Rodriguez, Gonzalo Gomez-Saez, Christof Meile, Felix J. Elling, Holger Pagel, Anna Störiko   Submit your abstract until February 26 2025! Link: see comments   Looking forward to your contributions and meeting you in Prague!

Reminder ✅ Call for abstracts for the first eLTER Science Conference (23-27 June, 2025) Tampere, Finland, closes on 31 January! 🎤If you have questions or any difficulties with the submission, don’t hesitate to contact us! . Instructions for Authors🔗 https://lnkd.in/dzHjgPau 🌍Variety of scientific sessions: https://lnkd.in/dV4GjRAD #eLTER2025SC An international conference for advancing our understanding of ecosystems within a pan-European network of sites, platforms, researchers, and stakeholders to facilitate collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary science including biogeoscience, biodiversity research, and social ecology. #eLTERcommunity

The "Economics of drought" report is out and online! Unsustainable land and water management are supercharging drought-flood cycles. Investing in healthy soils and landscapes is a must to cut the billion-dollar costs of human-made droughts, says the new ‘Economics of drought report’ that was launched today at UNCCD COP16. The report is published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, ELD - Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, and The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The report is a partner effort with many great contributions from partners all around the world: Mulloon Institute, Commonland, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), The Nature Conservancy, Corporación Nacional Forestal, CIFOR-ICRAF, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Altus Impact, the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), Kenya. Get the report: https://lnkd.in/ezmWGXY3 Read the press release: https://lnkd.in/eGg5uurE The report has received generous financial support from the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)), the European Commission, and the International Drought Resilience Alliance. #Drought #Economics4Land #IDRA #COP16Riyadh

🌱 ReGenFarm Project Launch: Advancing Regenerative Agriculture! 🌍 The ReGenFarm initiative addresses agricultural and climate challenges by linking carbon farming, soil digital twins, and new soil health monitoring methods to pave the way for a sustainable future.   🔑 Key Focus Areas: 1)  Developing a soil digital twin for better decision-making. 2)     Advancing plant breeding for enhanced carbon sequestration. 3)     Establishing benchmarks for soil health monitoring.   🌾🤝 Field trials on a typical Rhine Valley farm in Germany bridge science, practice, and industry to deliver actionable solutions for agriculture worldwide. As a co-creation project between the Institutes of Bio- and Geosciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Bayer Crop Science, and the Damianshof farm in Rommerskirchen, #ReGenFarm emphasizes early stakeholder involvement to more effectively build knowledge in regenerative agriculture under today's challenges. 💡🚜 Together, we are building the future of farming!   #RegenAg #IBG3 #Agrosphere #Soilhealth #SoilDigitalTwin #LifeHubMonheim Team of Forschungszentrum Jülich: Sander Huisman, Marie Ludwig, Felix Bauer, Cosimo Brogi, Harry Vereecken, Holger Pagel, Michael Herbst, Robert Koller, Onno Muller, Kerstin Nagel, Silvia Schrey, Simone Gatzke, Ulrich Schurr, Holger Gohlke, Till El Harrar, Dr. Dennis Oliveira, Christian Cremer Team of Bayer Crop Science | Innovation Ecosystem: Dr. Katrin Schullehner, Karl D Collins, Dr. Rolf Christian Becker, Jens Uhlemann, Raphael Dumain, Bärbel Hundt, Fan Yang, Florian Jenner (ForwardFarm lead)