Das Projekt "Energie System 2050 (ES 2050)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Center, Lehrstuhl für Gebäude- und Raumklimatechnik durchgeführt. 'Energie System 2050' (ES 2050) ist eine gemeinsame Initiative des Forschungsgebiets 'Energie' der Helmholtz Gemeinschaft. Das übergeordnete Ziel liegt darin, greifbares und übertragbares Wissen sowie technologische Lösungen auf Systemebene zu entwickeln, welche von Politik und Wirtschaft zur Unterstützung der Energiewende genutzt werden können. Die deutsche Energiewende ist ein ehrgeiziges und umfassendes Projekt, welches weit in die Zukunft hinaus reicht und ein flexibles Re-Design der Energiesysteme bis 2050 erforderlich macht. In diesem Zusammenhang analysiert ES 2050 die Integration von wesentlichen Technologieelementen in das Energiesystem und entwickelt Lösungen zur erfolgreichen Integration von volatilen erneuerbaren Energieerzeugungseinheiten in das Deutsche und Europäische Energieversorgungssystem. Fünf Forschungsthemen adressieren die grundlegenden Herausforderungen der Energiewende: - Speicher und Netze - Biogene Energieträger - Energie- und Rohstoffpfade mit Wasserstoff - Lebenszyklusorientierte Nachhaltigkeitsanalyse auf Systemebene - Toolbox mit Datenbanken Mittels eines interdisziplinären Ansatzes, in welchem verschiedene Forschungszentren involviert werden, wird die ES 2050 Forschung auf Systemebene ganzheitlich ermöglicht. In einer Partnerschaft mit KIT (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) und JARA (Jülich Aachen Research Alliance), tragen die zwei Institute Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate (EBC, Prof. D. Müller) und Automation of Complex Power Systems (ACS, Prof. A. Monti) aktiv zu dem Forschungsthema fünf 'Toolbox mit Datenbanken' bei. Dieses beinhaltet unter anderem die Entwicklung einer open source Plattform für Monitoring und Datenanalyse von Energiesystemen unter der Verantwortung von ACS. Die Forschung zielt auf die Definition einer Plattform Architektur, welche einen modularen Ansatz sowie die Kompatibilität zu etablierten Standards unterstützt, ebenso wie die Definition von Datenmodellen zur Integration heterogener Akteure.
Das Projekt "Land Cover Change Assessment in Catchments of the Lower Mekong Basin" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Göttingen, Burckhardt-Institut, Abteilung Waldinventur und Fernerkundung durchgeführt. Since 1950, the riparian countries of the Mekong River have undergone a dynamic change in land-use. Extensive areas of forest have been logged and cleared for agriculture. Hamilton (1987) emphasizes the role of scale in measuring the impacts of land-use practices. They can be classified into three categories based on the affected area: local level, medium level and macro level. Impacts occur at the local scale in the area where land-use takes place, caused e.g. by soil erosion, new fallow zones or areas showing declines in soil fertility and productivity. Impacts at the medium or macro scale are e.g. sedimentation and siltation of riverbeds, reservoirs and irrigation systems, frequency of low flows and floods, deposition of chemical residues in rivers and lakes. These last-mentioned impacts are more difficult and complex to manage. There are only few empirical studies on the relationship between the removal of forest and land-use changes regarding water yield (low flows, floods), soil erosion, sedimentation and nutrient load of streams within the geographical context of the Lower Mekong Basin. Quantitative information is needed to support decisions in watershed management which includes management of all natural resources within a watershed for the protection and production of water resources while maintaining environmental stability. Objectives: In the framework of two master theses a time series of land cover changes from the 1950s to 2000 will be processed and analysed for the Nam Ton Pilot catchment in Laos PDR using remote sensing and GIS. The following materials are available at MRCS: Landsat TM and ETM+ images, SPOT images, aerial photos: 1:20,000 and 1:50,000 scale
Das Projekt "Forest management in the Earth system" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie durchgeführt. The majority of the worlds forests has undergone some form of management, such as clear-cut or thinning. This management has direct relevance for global climate: Studies estimate that forest management emissions add a third to those from deforestation, while enhanced productivity in managed forests increases the capacity of the terrestrial biosphere to act as a sink for carbon dioxide emissions. However, uncertainties in the assessment of these fluxes are large. Moreover, forests influence climate also by altering the energy and water balance of the land surface. In many regions of historical deforestation, such biogeophysical effects have substantially counteracted warming due to carbon dioxide emissions. However, the effect of management on biogeophysical effects is largely unknown beyond local case studies. While the effects of climate on forest productivity is well established in forestry models, the effects of forest management on climate is less understood. Closing this feedback cycle is crucial to understand the driving forces behind past climate changes to be able to predict future climate responses and thus the required effort to adapt to it or avert it. To investigate the role of forest management in the climate system I propose to integrate a forest management module into a comprehensive Earth system model. The resulting model will be able to simultaneously address both directions of the interactions between climate and the managed land surface. My proposed work includes model development and implementation for key forest management processes, determining the growth and stock of living biomass, soil carbon cycle, and biophysical land surface properties. With this unique tool I will be able to improve estimates of terrestrial carbon source and sink terms and to assess the susceptibility of past and future climate to combined carbon cycle and biophysical effects of forest management. Furthermore, representing feedbacks between forest management and climate in a global climate model could advance efforts to combat climate change. Changes in forest management are inevitable to adapt to future climate change. In this process, is it possible to identify win-win strategies for which local management changes do not only help adaptation, but at the same time mitigate global warming by presenting favorable effects on climate? The proposed work opens a range of long-term research paths, with the aim of strengthening the climate perspective in the economic considerations of forest management and helping to improve local decisionmaking with respect to adaptation and mitigation.
Das Projekt "B 2: Lateral water flow and transport of agrochemicals - Phase 1" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre durchgeführt. The project aims at developing a model of the dynamics of agrochemicals (fertilisers, pesticides) and selected heavy metals on a regional scale as a function of cropping intensity in the highland areas of Northern Thailand. The model shall predict the effects of cropping intensity on mobility and leaching of agrochemicals in the agriculturally used system itself but also on the chemical status of neighbouring ecosystems including downstream areas. The methods for measuring and estimating the fluxes of agrochemicals in soils will be adapted to the conditions of the soils and sites in Northern Thailand. Fluxes of agrochemicals will be measured in fruit tree orchards on the experimental sites established together with projects B1, C1 and D1. Also, processes governing the dynamics of agrochemicals will be studied. The objectives for the first phase are as follows: - To identify suitable study sites - To establish the methods for measuring the fluxes of agrochemicals in the study sites - To adopt the analytical procedures for pesticides - To identify and parametrise the processes governing the mobility of agrochemicals - To identify the major chemical transformation processes for agrochemicals in the soils of the project area - To establish models of the fate of agrochemicals an the plot scale. Dynamics of agrochemicals include processes of mobilisation/immobilisation, degradation and transport. Both, experiments and field inventories are needed to elucidate the complex interaction of the various processes. Field measurements of the fluxes of nutrient elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu), pesticides and some heavy metals will be conducted at different regional scales (plot, agricultural system, small catchment, region). Laboratory and field experiments consider chemical, physicochemical and biological processes. Biological processes and degradation of pesticides will not be considered in the first phase of the project, however, they should be included later on. The project as a whole is broken down into three essential parts, which consecutively follow each other. The subproject is methods- and processes-orientated. Methods, which were developed in Hohenheim to quantify the fluxes of chemicals in soils have to be adapted to meet the requirements of the specific conditions in the study area. Recently, these methods are already under development in tropical environments (Vietnam, Costa Rica). After adaptation the methods will be used to yield flux data on the plot scale. These data are needed to help deciding which of the hypothesised processes are of major importance for modelling the dynamics of agrochemicals. The final outcome of this project phase are models of the fate of agrochemicals as a function of management intensity on the plot scale.
Das Projekt "Forest management and habitat structure - influences on the network of song birds, vectors and blood parasites" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Forstzoologisches Institut, Professur für Wildtierökologie und Wildtiermanagement durchgeführt. Forest structure is altered by humans for long times (Bramanti et al. 2009). The long lasting modification of forests pursuant to human demands modified the living conditions for birds as well as for many other animals. This included changes in resource availability (e.g., food, foraging, nesting sites) and changes of interspecific interactions, e.g., parasitism and predation (Knoke et al. 2009; Ellis et al. 2012). Also species compositions and the survivability of populations and even species are affected. The loss of foraging sites and suitable places for reproduction, the limitation of mobility due to fragmented habitats and the disturbances by humans itself may lead to more stressed individuals and less optimal living conditions. In certain cases species are not able to deal with the modified requirements and their populations will shrink and even vanish. Depending on the intensity of management and the remaining forest structure, biodiversity is more or less endangered. Especially in systems of two or more strongly connected taxa changing conditions that affect at least one part may subsequently affect the other, too. One system of interspecific communities that recently attracted the attention of biologists includes birds, blood parasites (haemosporidians) and their transmitting vectors. For instance, avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) represents the reason for extreme declines in the avifauna of Hawaii since the introduction of respective vectors (e.g. Culicidae) during the 20th century (van Riper et al. 1986, Woodworth et al. 2005). With the current knowledge of this topic we are not able to predict if such incidences could also occur in Germany. All in all, different management strategies and intensity of forest management may influence the network of birds, vectors and blood parasites and change biodiversity. To elucidate this ecological complex, and to understand the interactions of the triad of songbirds as vertebrate hosts, dipteran vectors and haemosporidians within changing local conditions, I intend to collect data on the three taxa in differently managed forest areas, the given forest structure and the climatic conditions. I will try to explain the role of abiotic factors on infection dynamics, in detail the role of forest management intensity. Data acquisition takes place at three spatially divided locations: inside the Biodiversity Exploratory Schwäbische Alb, at the Mooswald in Freiburg, and inside the Schwarzwald.
Das Projekt "Impact of transgenic crops on fertility of soils with different management history" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau Deutschland e.V. durchgeführt. What impact does transgenic maize have on soil fertility? Among the factors that determine soil fertility is the diversity of the bacteria living in it. This is in turn affected by the form of agriculture practiced on the land. What role do transgenic plants play in this interaction? Background Soil fertility is the product of the interactions between the parental geological material from which the soil originated, the climate and colonization by soil organisms. Soil organisms and their diversity play a major role in soil fertility, and these factors can be affected by the way the soil is managed. The type of farming, i.e. how fertilizers and pesticides are used, has a major impact on the fertility of the soil. It is known that the complex interaction of bacterial diversity and other soil properties regulates the efficacy of plant resistance. But little is known about how transgenic plants affect soil fertility. Objectives The project will investigate selected soil processes as indicators for how transgenic maize may possibly alter soil fertility. The intention is in particular to establish whether the soil is better able to cope with such effects if it contains a great diversity of soil bacteria. Methods Transgenic maize will be planted in climate chambers containing soils managed in different ways. The soil needed for these trials originates from open field trials that have been used for decades to compare various forms of organic and conventional farming. These soils differ, for example, in the way they have been treated with pesticides and fertilizers and thus also with respect to their diversity of bacteria. The trial with transgenic maize will measure various parameters: the number of soil bacteria and the diversity of their species, the quantity of a small number of selected nutrients and the decomposition of harvest residues. It will be possible to conclude from this work how transgenic plants affect soil fertility. Significance The project will create an important basis for developing risk assessments that incorporate the effects of transgenic plants on soil fertility.
Das Projekt "Biomass Fuell Cell Utility System (BIOCELLUS)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität München, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Fakultät für Maschinenwesen, Lehrstuhl für Energiesysteme durchgeführt. Objective: Energy from Biomass needs highly efficient small-scale energy systems in order to achieve cost effective solutions for decentralized generation especially in Mediterranean and Southern areas, and for applications without adequate heat consumer. Thus fuel cells are an attractive option for decentralized generation from biomass and agricultural residues but they have to meet at least two outstanding challenges: 1. Fuel cell materials and the gas cleaning technologies have to treat high dust loads of the fuel gas and pollutants like tars, alkalines and heavy metals. 2. The system integration has to allow efficiencies of at least 40-50 percent even within a power range of few tens or hundreds of kW. This proposal addresses in particular these two aims. Hence the first part of the project will focus on the investigation of the impact of these pollutants on degradation and performance characteristics of SOFC fuel cells in order to specify the requirements for appropriate gas cleaning system (WP 1-2). These tests will be performed at six existing gasification sites, which represent the most common and applicable gasification technologies. WP 3 will finally test and demonstrate the selected gas cleaning technologies in order to verify the specifications obtained from the gasification tests. The results will be used for the development, installation and testing of an innovative SOFC - Gasification concept, which will especially match the particular requirements of fuel cell systems for the conversion of biomass feedstock. The innovative concept comprises to heat an allothermal gasifier with the exhaust heat of the fuel cell by means of liquid metal heat pipes. Internal cooling of the stack and the recirculation of waste heat increases the system efficiency significantly. This so-called TopCycle concept promises electrical efficiencies of above 50 percent even for small-scale systems without any combined processes.
Das Projekt "Soil aeration - the key factor of oak decline in Southwest Germany?" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Institut für Geo- und Umweltnaturwissenschaften, Professur für Bodenökologie durchgeführt. Many research efforts to identify the key factors of oak decline in Europe conclude that it is a 'complex disease'. This result can hardly be falsified because of its fuzziness. A significant contribution of pathogene fungi is not without controversy, because the primary pathogenicity is not proven (Johnsson, 2004). Our starting point is the resarch of Gaertig et al. (2002) who found that on a spatial integration level of 28 oak stands in Baden-Wuerttemberg the symptoms of oak health are significantly correlated with soil aeration. Large-scale changes of soil structure in oak stands during the last decades can be attributed to the mechanization of logging (Vossbrink and Horn, 2004) as well as to a decrease of earthworm activity in acidified soils. In the proposed project we want to establish a relationship between roots and aeration-relevant parameters in a three-dimensional space. This laborious procedure is necessary because the soil-air access is highly heterogeneous and by this way forms a three-dimensional pattern. This makes one-dimensional models unefficient. By modelling the soil air access in a three-dimensional space we want to test the aeration hypothesis. Important indicators of rooting are clustering of fine roots, necrosis, or space discrimination. By assessing simultaneously soil-chemical and soil-physical parameters in the same spatial resolution, alternative hypotheses can be tested. As modelling tools point statistics, non parametric regression (GAM), and a three dimensional solution of the instationary gas-diffusion equation will be used.
Das Projekt "Sub-project F1: Gaseous and leaching nutrient losses in irrigation farming of fertilised sandy soils in Oman - Effects of manure quality and cropping system" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Kassel, Fachgruppe Boden- und Pflanzenbauwissenschaften, Institut für Nutzpflanzenkunde, Fachgebiet Ökologischer Pflanzenbau und Agrarökosystemforschung in den Tropen und Subtropen durchgeführt. Organic and conventional irrigation farming on the eastern coast of the arid Arabian Peninsula leads to high gaseous and leaching losses of nutrients and carbon from cultivated soils. In order to analyse such losses, the emissions NH3, N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured on an experimental field near to the town of Sohar in the Sultanate of Oman. This was done using an INNOVA photo-acoustic infrared multi-gas monitor (INNOVA 1312-5, LumaSense Technologies A/S, Ballerup, Denmark) in a closed chamber system. Cumulative leaching losses of nitrogen (TN, NO3-N, NH4-N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured by suction plates and mixed-bed ion-exchange resin cartridges (NO3-N, NH4-N, PO4-P). Seepage was estimated with the software Hydrus 1d using crop-specific evapotranspiration and hydraulic soil parameters. The experiment on an irrigated sandy soil with four replications comprised of two types of buffalo manure, characterised by a C/N ratio of 23 with high fibre content (high-high, HH), a C/N ratio of 15 with low fibre content (low-low, LL) and a control treatment with equivalent levels of mineral nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K). These three fertility treatments were combined with a crop rotation comprised of radish (Raphanus sativus) transplanted on all plots followed by cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus).
Das Projekt "Remote sensing of aerosols, clouds and trace gases using synergy of AATSR, MERIS, and SCIAMACHY onboard ENVISAT" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bremen, Institut für Umweltphysik durchgeführt. Accurate satellite retrieval algorithms are needed to study long-term trends in trace gas abundances related to climate change. The main aim of this project is to develop improved aerosol and cloud retrieval algorithms in order to get more accurate SCIAMACHY trace gas retrievals. The results will contribute to a better understanding of aerosol and cloud properties and their changes on a global scale. This will be achieved by utilising the synergetic data from the optical instruments onboard ENVIronmental SATellite (ENVISAT), launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on March 1st, 2002. The data of Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR), Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), and SCIAMACHY, all of which measure the same ground scene, will be used. The three instruments continue to have excellent performance and have already generated more than five years of data. Compared to just one single instrument, combined data from these optical instruments having different spatial resolutions, observation modes, spectral resolutions and spectral bands characterize aerosol, cloud, and trace gas properties to a much better degree. In this project, a new validation and testing strategy based on extended realistic simulated satellite scenes will be followed.
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