Adapting to Change

The Leibniz Center for Agricultural research (ZALF) in Müncheberg, near the capital Berlin, is intensively looking at what the future brings for farmers in the North of the continent.

The research center is surrounded by fields, one of which is covered by a row of grey boxes, each standing around a meter high. The boxes house sensors, which tunnel into the ground to a depth of three to five meters (9.8 to 16.4 feet). These sensors continually measure things like changes in soil temperature, the quantity of minerals that dissolve in the ground water, soil humidity, and nitrate levels.

Professor Karl-Otto Wenkel from ZALF uses these measurements to gain information about the effectiveness of new cultivation methods and how fertilizing techniques impact the soil. The sensors are also used to develop models to help farmers overcome the future effects of climate change.

In addition, Wenkel conducts research in the rows of houses lining the center's property. The glasshouses are fitted with large walk-in climate chambers where local plants can be exposed to extreme temperatures and high rates of solar radiation.

CO2 alters wheat grain

ZALF, together with an institute in Brunswick, has also conducted experiments looking at how grains grow when there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

According to Professor Wenkel, when they first examined plants, the CO2 levels didn't seem to make a difference. The grains even did better than expected. But further analysis showed that the germ of the wheat grain had changed and wasn't suitable for making flour any more.

Adjusting to changing conditions

Wenkel said he believes that if climate change is kept within bounds, then northern European farmers will be able to adapt by using plants bred for the specific conditions and by changing current crop rotations.

Planting crops with deep root growth, such as lucerne and sweet clover, is another method of ensuring farmers' survival -- such crops open up the earth thereby bringing more humus into the soil. They also mean the farmland can store more water.

When talking to farmers, however, Wenkel advises against planting monocultures and strongly advocates rotating crops with staggered planting and harvesting times. Because extreme weather events are usually only of a very short duration, staggered crops is an effective way of reducing losses.

Wenkel emphasized that all of this is only possible if climate change is limited. If not, even the most robust plants won't be able to adapt to extreme weather.