Tag Archives: Agriculture

Over 30 organizations demand: Species conservation is preventative healthcare.

By | October 18th 2026
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If species die out, humanity dies too. Credits: Chrys Stam, pexels

At the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Armenia, the international community will once again negotiate the protection of biodiversity starting October 19. This is about more than just nature conservation: In an unusual alliance, over 30 organizations from the German healthcare sector, as well as environmental and climate protection organizations, are jointly calling for biodiversity protection to be understood as preventative healthcare. Their appeal is directed at… Read more »

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Plastic waste in fields and meadows – the overlooked heavy load

By | October 6th 2026
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Plastic waste on and around fields has become a common sight. Credits: Pugnalom

The Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT estimates that approximately 556 tons of plastic waste from agricultural sources such as films, nets, fleeces, and silage coatings remain in the soil each year. Of this, about 180 tons are attributable to crop production, primarily asparagus and strawberry films, and 376 tons to forage and energy crops. Extrapolated to the agricultural land area in Germany, this results in… Read more »

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Only the rapeseed remains green

By | October 2th 2026
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The effects of the gramnicides are clearly visible. Credits: Pugnalom

Our photo of the day shows a rapeseed field between Osterode am Harz and Förste in southern Lower Saxony. A closer look reveals yellowish patches of withered grass in the field, where rapeseed is thriving, seemingly unharmed. This scene is typical of the targeted use of graminicides, pesticides that act selectively: they kill grasses while leaving the crop unharmed… Read more »

Prof. Carsten Mann: Biosphere reserves as real-world laboratories for sustainable development

By | February 24, 2026
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Prof. Carsten Mann. Credits: HNE Eberswalde/Ulrich Wessollek

Biosphere reserves are considered particularly suitable areas in sustainability research because they combine two often conflicting goals: the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of regional value creation. This tension between protection and use makes them ideal locations for application-oriented transformation research, which also fulfills the third UNESCO goal: research and education for sustainable development. Prof. Dr. Carsten Mann, Professor of Sustainable… Read more »

Grasslands and wetlands are disappearing worldwide

By | February 24, 2026
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The expansion of pastureland – primarily for meat and dairy production – is the most significant driver of land-use change. | Copyright: Samuel L. Levy

Grasslands, wetlands, and other natural non-forest ecosystems are being converted into agricultural land almost four times faster than forests globally. This is the finding of the first global analysis conducted by an international research team led by the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt. The results were published in Nature Communications. Between 2005 and 2020, grasslands and wetlands were converted into arable land at an alarming rate… Read more »

Millet as a plant of the future: Brandenburg focuses on climate resilience and diversity

By | August 21, 2025
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Credits: nnitatong, pexels

At a field day at the Wilmersdorf teaching and research station of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), millet was the focus as a promising crop. Farmers, processors, and scientists exchanged ideas about millet's potential for animal feed, nutrition, and climate adaptation in agriculture. Forty-four millet varieties were presented in the experimental field, ranging in height from 50 centimeters to… Read more »

Humans have been driving soil erosion for over 5.000 years

By | August 18, 2025
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Credits: Meriç Tuna, pexels

An international research team led by Yanming Ruan from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen – has shown in a new study that human influence on soil erosion extends much further back in time than previously thought. The results are based on a sediment core collected in 2005 during an expedition with the research vessel SONNE in the Indian Ocean off the coast of… Read more »

The nutritional quality of red cabbage can be controlled

By | August 13, 2025
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Credits: V. Pú?iková, IGZ

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) have investigated how light and temperature influence the formation of health-promoting compounds in red cabbage. In simulations of summer and autumn red cabbage cultivation, they analyzed how these factors control seasonal fluctuations in nutrient quality. The results show that targeted cultivation strategies can increase the nutritional value of red cabbage. The study focused on glucosinolates, sulfur-containing compounds,… Read more »

Precise mapping of genetic regulators paves the way for climate-resilient plants

By | August 12, 2025
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Credits: Ram Iyengar, pexels

An international research team led by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne has developed a novel method for precisely identifying so-called genomic regulators in plants. These small sections of the genome, which act like dimmers controlling gene activity, significantly influence plant traits, even though they make up only a fraction of the genome. The findings, published in the journal… Read more »

The blanket condemnation of grubs as pests: Pugnalom dares to take a critical look

By | August 11, 2025
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Credits: Stefanie Herbst, Berlin Natural History Museum

Numerous gardening blogs and websites talk about harmful grubs that urgently need to be eradicated. However, such blanket condemnations are dangerous and ignore both scientific findings and ecological connections. Pugnalom sheds light on the actual problems, the population trends of May and June beetles, and the need to move away from the conventional pest-beneficial insect dichotomy and towards an understanding of natural cycles. The… Read more »