Browsing by Person "Breuer, Lutz"

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    Highlighting the potential of multilevel statistical models for analysis of individual agroforestry systems
    (2023) Golicz, Karolina; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Minarsch, Eva-Maria L.; Niether, Wiebke; Große-Stoltenberg, André; Oldeland, Jens; Breuer, Lutz; Gattinger, Andreas; Jacobs, Suzanne; Golicz, Karolina; Institute for Landscape Ecology and Resources Management (ILR), Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use and Nutrition (iFZ), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Biostatistics Unit, Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Minarsch, Eva-Maria L.; Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding II, Organic Farming, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Niether, Wiebke; Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding II, Organic Farming, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Große-Stoltenberg, André; Centre for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Oldeland, Jens; Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), Hamburg, Germany; Breuer, Lutz; Centre for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Gattinger, Andreas; Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding II, Organic Farming, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany; Jacobs, Suzanne; Centre for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
    Agroforestry is a land-use system that combines arable and/or livestock management with tree cultivation, which has been shown to provide a wide range of socio-economic and ecological benefits. It is considered a promising strategy for enhancing resilience of agricultural systems that must remain productive despite increasing environmental and societal pressures. However, agroforestry systems pose a number of challenges for experimental research and scientific hypothesis testing because of their inherent spatiotemporal complexity. We reviewed current approaches to data analysis and sampling strategies of bio-physico-chemical indicators, including crop yield, in European temperate agroforestry systems to examine the existing statistical methods used in agroforestry experiments. We found multilevel models, which are commonly employed in ecology, to be underused and under-described in agroforestry system analysis. This Short Communication together with a companion R script are designed to act as an introduction to multilevel models and to promote their use in agroforestry research.
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    Perennial biomass cropping and use: Shaping the policy ecosystem in European countries
    (2023) Clifton‐Brown, John; Hastings, Astley; von Cossel, Moritz; Murphy‐Bokern, Donal; McCalmont, Jon; Whitaker, Jeanette; Alexopoulou, Efi; Amaducci, Stefano; Andronic, Larisa; Ashman, Christopher; Awty‐Carroll, Danny; Bhatia, Rakesh; Breuer, Lutz; Cosentino, Salvatore; Cracroft‐Eley, William; Donnison, Iain; Elbersen, Berien; Ferrarini, Andrea; Ford, Judith; Greef, Jörg; Ingram, Julie; Lewandowski, Iris; Magenau, Elena; Mos, Michal; Petrick, Martin; Pogrzeba, Marta; Robson, Paul; Rowe, Rebecca L.; Sandu, Anatolii; Schwarz, Kai‐Uwe; Scordia, Danilo; Scurlock, Jonathan; Shepherd, Anita; Thornton, Judith; Trindade, Luisa M.; Vetter, Sylvia; Wagner, Moritz; Wu, Pei‐Chen; Yamada, Toshihiko; Kiesel, Andreas
    Demand for sustainably produced biomass is expected to increase with the need to provide renewable commodities, improve resource security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with COP26 commitments. Studies have demonstrated additional environmental benefits of using perennial biomass crops (PBCs), when produced appropriately, as a feedstock for the growing bioeconomy, including utilisation for bioenergy (with or without carbon capture and storage). PBCs can potentially contribute to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (2023–27) objectives provided they are carefully integrated into farming systems and landscapes. Despite significant research and development (R&D) investment over decades in herbaceous and coppiced woody PBCs, deployment has largely stagnated due to social, economic and policy uncertainties. This paper identifies the challenges in creating policies that are acceptable to all actors. Development will need to be informed by measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions reductions and other environmental, economic and social metrics. It discusses interlinked issues that must be considered in the expansion of PBC production: (i) available land; (ii) yield potential; (iii) integration into farming systems; (iv) R&D requirements; (v) utilisation options; and (vi) market systems and the socio‐economic environment. It makes policy recommendations that would enable greater PBC deployment: (1) incentivise farmers and land managers through specific policy measures, including carbon pricing, to allocate their less productive and less profitable land for uses which deliver demonstrable greenhouse gas reductions; (2) enable greenhouse gas mitigation markets to develop and offer secure contracts for commercial developers of verifiable low‐carbon bioenergy and bioproducts; (3) support innovation in biomass utilisation value chains; and (4) continue long‐term, strategic R&D and education for positive environmental, economic and social sustainability impacts.