Grassland management in transition – combining ecology, economy, and climate resilience (KlimaGrünland)

As part of the KlimaGrünland project: Grassland management in transition – combining ecology, economy, and climate resilience, three practical grassland field trials are being investigated. The aim of the project is to determine how and under what conditions the promotion of biodiversity and climate resilience can be combined with the goals of economic grassland management. To this end, practical field trials are being conducted in Hayn and Iden, as well as at the Bernburg-Strenzfeld campus of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with the State Office for Agriculture and Horticulture Saxony-Anhalt.

Project priorities

The research will not only test the restoration and management of species-rich grasslands, but also the adaptation of grasslands to climate change through the introduction of drought-adapted native wild plant species and climate change-adapted management systems. As these measures increase phytodiversity in grassland, they also lead to more intensive and diverse rooting, which in turn promotes climate and yield resilience to increasing weather extremes and also increases ecosystem services such as carbon storage in the soil. This, in turn, can be used to derive proposals for the development of multifunctional and economically viable land use concepts.

Project region

Mansfeld-Südharz (Hayn), Salzlandkreis (Bernburg), district of Stendal (Iden)

Further project details

• Plot trials

  Hayn – Usage and fertilizer variants

  Influence on, among other things, botanical species composition, biomass growth, forage quality, and soil nutrients.

  

  

  Iden – Disturbance and seeding variants

  Influence on, among other things, botanical species composition, biomass growth, forage quality, and soil nutrients.

  

  

  Bernburg – drought-adapted species

  Impact on soil nutrients, carbon storage, underground biomass, biomass growth, and forage quality, among other things