What are the effects of climate change on agriculture in North East Central Europe?

Global and climate changes influence the basic conditions for agriculture and so there is not only a demand for a consequent climate protection but also for an adaptation of agriculture to these global changing conditions. For the whole "Maerkisch-Oderland" district (60x40 km) within the moraine landscape of North-East-Germany mainly used for agriculture water balance, nitrogen and sulphur loads as well as crop yields are calculated for two land use and climate scenarios. The comparison between the Scenario2050 and the Scenario2000 reveals significant changes of the water balance (decrease in percolation water, increase in actual evapotranspiration) as well as the concentration of the examined nitrogen in the percolation water. For the study region the crop yields decrease only slightly if the CO2 fertilizing effect is taken into account. Adaptation measures in reaction to the changing climate conditions for an economically secured and sustainable agriculture are recommended.climate change impact assessment, water balance, nitrogen load, crop yield, moraine landscape, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Wissenschaftliche Monitoringkonzepte für die Deutsche Bucht (WIMO) - Abschlussbericht

The state and development of coastal marine systems and an understanding of the interaction of organisms, sea floor, water column, and biochemical and physical processes can only be obtained by a combination of long-term monitoring and modelling approaches of different complexity. A need for the development and evaluation of monitoring strategies is driven by a framework of different European and German regulations. The research project WIMO (Scientific Monitoring Concepts for the German Bight) has developed concepts and methods that aim at a fundamental scientific understanding of marine systems and also meet monitoring requirements of European legislation and regulations like the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In this final report examples of common descriptors of ecosystem state like seabed integrity, eutrophication, and biodiversity are discussed. It has been assessed to what extent established measuring procedures used to survey the characteristics of the sea floor, and newly developed technologies are eligible for governmental monitoring. The significance of integrative modelling for linking and visualising results of measurements and models is illustrated. It is shown how new concepts have been implemented into governmental monitoring in the form of web based data sheets. These insights enable continuous analyses and developments in the future