Planting and harvesting together on the Lower Rhine

The consequences of climate change are not leaving the Lower Rhine, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, unscathed. The region, which is heavily characterised by agriculture and horticulture, is increasingly experiencing extreme weather conditions such as dry spells, heatwaves and heavy rainfall events. This is also confirmed by the LANUV report 157 “Climate development and climate projections in North Rhine-Westphalia – data basis and scientific background of the climate adaptation strategy”, published on 19 August 2024, which the State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUV) prepared on behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment.

The ever warmer and drier summers pose increasing challenges for regional agriculture and food production. Answers and adaptation strategies need to be developed. Agroforestry systems, in which woody plants are combined with arable crops and/or livestock farming on a single area, offer a solution. Against this background, our transformation project Agroforestry Living Lab was created. It aims to implement agroforestry systems adapted to the Lower Rhine region and create a regional network of the various stakeholders. The “Agroforerstry Living Lab” team provides scientific support for the implementation in order to collect data on the ecological, economic and social benefits of these systems.

Since the launch of our agroforestry living lab in summer 2023, there has been an intensive dialogue with local stakeholders. This has since resulted in the first contractually regulated cooperation partnerships. “Similar to strategic corporate partnerships, our collaborations are about sharing experience and expertise, expanding the network, pursuing common goals and gaining new perspectives. Ideally, this results in a win-win situation for our cooperation partners and for our project,” explains Dr Ana Kreter, Project Coordinator Agroforestry Living Lab in the TransRegINT project. “Our cooperation partners do not receive any financial support. They should benefit from the connection between the university and practice. We want to pass on our knowledge and thus contribute to the successful transformation of agricultural systems.”

Cooperation in different areas

The existing cooperation agreements have been entered into with partners from very different agricultural sectors: The Haartz family from the Birgel farm in Kalkar on the left bank of the Rhine planted a walnut agroforestry system on almost two hectares at the beginning of this year. The Agroforestry Living Lab will conduct a market study on walnuts focussing on the Lower Rhine. A 700 m² hazelnut grove is also being planned. Once the existing lease expires, an organic farmer who has already gained experience with agroforestry systems will manage the family’s arable land. “We also like to lend a hand, because the best way to exchange ideas with practitioners is in the field,” says Anna-Lea Ortmann, PhD student in the Agroforestry Living Lab, giving a brief insight. “Together with students, we supported the walnut plantations and carried out an initial soil sampling. During the project period, further soil sampling is planned as part of teaching and student project work.”

Peter Eßer from Rommerskirchen, also known as “Der Gänsepeter“, has planted trees on areas of grassland belonging to his geese as part of the impact compensation scheme. And has thus taken a first step towards an agroforestry system. He would like to plant even more woody plants in the form of agroforestry strips on five hectares of grassland for fattening geese and sees many advantages, such as shade and wind protection. Above all, the woody plants are intended to provide more structure and encourage the animals to spread out over the area in order to ensure that nutrients are introduced over a wide area. “In Rommerskirchen, we will be testing various options for browsing protection and investigating the behaviour of poultry in agroforestry systems,” explains Jannis Menne, research associate at the Agroforestry Living Lab. “The collaboration is a great source of valuable information for us, as our partners are specialists in their field and we benefit from their knowledge of agricultural practice.”

Jelmer de Groot from Hogefelderhof in Kalkar keeps around 150 goats as a side business. He is concerned about the ongoing changes to the traditional Lower Rhine landscape and the disappearance of hedges and tree strips. He is therefore keen to go the opposite way and plant trees and hedgerows on his land. However, an agroforestry system also has a very practical benefit for him: Especially during the hot midday hours in summer, goats need sufficient protection from direct sunlight. Among other things, the Agroforestry Living Lab will work with him to research various options for browsing protection, as goats are herbivorous omnivores that eat the bark of young trees. ” Further research projects relate to the interaction of grazing animals and agroforestry systems as well as various animal sensors, against the backdrop of climate change, especially hotter and drier summers,” says Jannis Menne, who will be providing Jelmer de Groot with scientific support over the next few years.

The Agroforestry Living Lab also found a rather atypical cooperation partner in Dercks Gartenbau. The family business produces ornamental plants such as callunas, lavender, spring and summer perennials in Geldern-Walbeck. An agroforestry system consisting of olive trees and lavender is planned in a part of the generously laid out infiltration troughs next to the outdoor areas. The assumption that the deep-rooted trees will improve the filtering and infiltration of wastewater is to be scientifically researched with the help of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “The planting should be completed in the course of next year,” says Samuel Lemmen, research assistant at the Agroforestry Living Lab, who is looking forward to the coming step. He initiated the collaboration with Dercks Gartenbau together with Regina Bach, Network Coordinator Agrobusiness Niederrhein e.V. and TransRegINT.