Biodiversity of modern alley cropping agroforestry systems with short rotation coppice strips – Monitoring at the trial site Wendhausen (Lower Saxony)

Alley cropping agroforestry systems with short rotation coppice strips are novel land use systems in which strips of fast-growing trees are established between arable fields to produce both wood biomass and crops. The tree strips are planted at regular intervals so that the arable land between them can be optimally cultivated using modern agricultural machinery. In addition to diversifying crops and income opportunities for farmers, the tree strips in modern agroforestry systems can also offer a number of environmental benefits, such as protection against wind erosion and improving the aesthetic quality of the landscape. By creating new structures in the landscape, they can also potentially contribute to the promotion of biodiversity. However, there has been only limited research on the actual importance of these land use systems as habitats for wild animals and plants.

For this reason, within the scope of our biodiversity monitoring, we are investigating the importance of modern alley cropping agroforestry systems as habitats for various species groups (including mammals, birds, carabid beetles) on a pilot site near Wendhausen (Lower Saxony) and exploring possibilities for designing and managing these land use systems in a biodiversity-friendly manner. In addition to field studies conducted by scientific staff, monitoring is closely integrated into teaching, so that several student research projects and theses have already been carried out on the pilot site.

We thank the Institute of Plant Production and Soil Science at the Julius Kühn Institute, which established, manages and monitors the trial plot in Wendhausen, for giving us the opportunity to conduct our research on this site.