Bioeconomy

The launch of the global Nature Positive Universities initiative was announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), held in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. The University of Konstanz is one of more than one hundred universities from all five continents joining the initiative. The common goal is to address the university's own impact on nature and to identify and implement effective measures to halt and reverse the loss of…

AI & robotics from the University of Hohenheim advance environmental protection & sustainability in agriculture / German Chancellor Scholz impressed by potential of Swabian multi-talent robot

Carbon sequestration - 28/07/2022

Carbon farming - climate protection on agricultural land?

Agriculture plays a key role in helping to achieve European climate targets. Central to this goal are measures that are collectively referred to as carbon farming and are often used for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. Two Baden-Württemberg companies - CarboCert and Carbonfuture - are active in addressing the challenges and potentials of carbon farming.

Paludiculture as a beacon of hope for the climate - 28/06/2022

Peatlands as CO2 reservoirs: simultaneous renaturation and use

Peatlands store more carbon dioxide than any other ecosystem in the world. However, when drained, they become a climate-damaging source of CO2. The management of wet peatlands reveals exciting solutions, with market potential in the areas of local heating, insulation, packaging and even peat substitution.

Renaturalised peatlands as carbon dioxide stores - 14/06/2022

Peatlands as a climate protection factor - binding CO2 instead of releasing it

All intact peatlands on our planet store twice the amount of CO2 as all forests. Peatlands are indispensable for preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change. The only problem is that 95 percent of Germany's peatlands have been drained, and thus release around 7 percent of Germany’s total CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Rewetting is therefore imperative for the climate, the environment and biodiversity – and economically…

European project with participation of the University of Hohenheim investigates how unprofitable fields can be used sustainably while adding value with renewable raw materials.

The European Commission agreed on the successor of BBI JU – the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) in a legislative proposal adopted today. The new partnership between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) is expected to build on the success of BBI JU while stepping up its contribution to the EU’s climate targets, in line with the European Green Deal. The European Parliament and Council will now study the…

University of Hohenheim project contributes to maintaining valuable biotopes: Autonomous robot to help prune fruit trees so they stay healthy.

Paper production from plant fibres - 20/01/2021

In one cycle: ecopaper, energy and fertiliser made from Silphium perfoliatum

Many consumers don't care about exactly how their paper packaging is made and what it is made of as long as it is "eco". But even producing recycled paper, trees need to be felled. An alternative could be paper made from cup plant. Together with partners, a company called Silphie Paper has developed concept for obtaining fibres for a new type of grass paper, while also producing heat, energy and nutrients for natural fertilisers.

Natural substance with herbicide potential - 10/12/2020

The same but different: What makes sugar 7Sdh a better herbicide?

The sugar 7-deoxy-sedoheptulose (7dSh) is produced by cyanobacteria and inhibits the same metabolic pathway as the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate, thus making it an excellent herbicide candidate. Despite this amazing similarity, the microbiologist who discovered 7dSh, Prof. Dr. Karl Forchhammer, believes that this sugar has clear ecological advantages over glyphosate.

Outlook on the future of agriculture - 30/11/2020

Agriculture 4.0 – ultramodern and without harmful plant protection products

The demand for organic products is continuing to grow; at the same time nature is being preserved – so why not switch completely to organic farming? The answer is simple: because not everyone can afford it, and with current consumption patterns not everyone would get enough to eat. A cooperative project is researching an an agricultural system that falls between conventional and organic farming.

A new future study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI uses four different scenarios to provide insights into how natural resources could be used in agriculture in 2035 and what role digital decision support systems can play for farmers in this context.

In Sumatra, small-scale farmers in particular play a key role, according to a study on the conversion of rainforests into monocultures and their effects Oil palm plantations as far as the eye can see. In addition to a dramatic loss of many animal and plant species, such plantations often lead to massive environmental problems.

Dossier - 08/03/2018

Building sustainably - actively protecting the climate

Using renewable and recycled raw materials, minimising the use of water and energy during construction works and subsequent operation of a building, conserving resources and protecting the environment while maintaining biodiversity are all important components of sustainable building construction.

Article - 14/12/2017

75 percent decline in insects in parts of Germany

A recent study on the disappearance of insects is making headlines: it found that the insect biomass has declined by more than 75% in certain areas in Germany that were monitored by the study over a period of 27 years. The authors believe that the dramatic decline in insect biomass is down to industrial agriculture, which is therefore in conflict with certain bioeconomic principles: the sustainable cultivation of biomass and the safeguarding of…

Article - 23/06/2017

Indicators that enable more effective biomass utilisation in Baden-Württemberg

Action plans prove all the more resilient for being well supported by facts and figures and based on thorough ethical thinking. This equally applies to the utilisation of biomass. Researchers involved in an interdisciplinary research project at the Universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen have therefore developed indicators to help improve the utilisation of biomass in the future. The findings are based on investigations of the utilisation pathways…

Article - 08/06/2017

Forests as providers of ecosystem services – the facets and consequences of logging

One billion people worldwide rely on forests as living spaces. Illegal and legal deforestation endangers people’s livelihoods as well as social and economic structures. It also has a detrimental effect on the global climate. Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit, Professor for Forest and Environmental Policy at the University of Freiburg, discusses the causes and consequences of deforestation. She is co-editor of an international report on illegal…

Diversity increases yield - 13/03/2017

The bioeconomy offers opportunities for Baden-Württemberg’s forests

Wood from local forests is an important resource for the bioeconomy. However at present, a large amount of wood is used as fuel for energy production. Greater forest diversity and new wood-based materials have the potential to make the timber industry more sustainable. The bioeconomy can contribute to this by promoting the utilisation of deciduous trees.

Biogas plants have become a familiar sight in Baden-Württemberg's rural areas. It might therefore be expected that broad experience exists in the comprehensive evaluation of this type of energy generation from renewable resources or organic materials. However, scientists draw a very differentiated picture. It is difficult to make any generalisations, although the analysis of individual facets can provide further help.

Article - 07/02/2017

Agroforestry for sustainable agriculture

Agroforestry systems can provide effective protection against soil erosion caused by wind and water. They can also contribute to stabilising and improving the yield of annual plants. In addition, strips in fields planted with shrubs and trees form living spaces and areas to which plants and animals can retreat. In the AUFWERTEN innovation group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO is working with other German research…

Article - 18/10/2016

Living plant construction: the vivification of architecture

Trees do not just provide timber, they can also be harnessed for construction without the need to cut them down. The term Baubotanik, Living Plant Construction in English, refers to combining modern materials with tree shaping. It shows how a new kind of architecture allows trees to continue growing when joined to temporary steel structures. It uses new design techniques, is climate friendly and of practical use.

Article - 16/08/2016

Learning from wild grapevines

Grapevines are treated with pesticides more frequently than any other crop. Peter Nick from the Botanical Institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is pursuing an ambitious goal: sustainable viticulture rather than toxins. Sustainable viticulture takes into account plants’ natural capacities of resistance. Nick uses the European Wild Grape, the ancestor of cultivated grapevine varieties, for his research as the plant is able to…

Article - 25/04/2016

The aluminium trees of Sulawesi

Trees of the genus Symplocos in the Indonesian mountain rainforest store so much aluminium in their leaves that it can be used for dyeing textiles. A research project at the University of Ulm aims to preserve the traditional dyeing methods of Indonesian weavers, protect these rare trees and increase our knowledge of aluminium-accumulating plants.