Comparing Landscapes  [27.02.20]

Whether it's palm trees for producing oil in Sumatra, vanilla in Madagascar, or the surroundings of the world's giant metropolises: Prof. Dr. Ingo Graß takes a close look at agricultural landscapes. Since October of last year, he has been the director of the Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems at the University of Hohenheim.

 

Prof. Graß investigates how agriculture affects landscapes, biodiversity, and social and economic structures. The researcher would love to design a landscape himself one day.

 

Mr. Graß, the name of your department has changed from "Agroecology of the Tropics and Subtropics" to "Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems". Frankly, it sounds pretty much the same to me. What is different from your predecessor Prof. Joachim Sauerborn?

In my case, the systematic approach of agroecology is more strongly emphasized. Agricultural methods, plants, and animals play a role just as much as the environment or social and economic structures. My aim is to understand agricultural systems as a whole. Agroecology itself has a connecting function and an agricultural as well as an economic and social component.

This is particularly important in the tropics. There you find a lot of small-scale agriculture. People are often highly dependent on the goods they produce, and the social, economic and ecological conditions have a direct impact on their farming practices. Of course, this also applies to us, but not to the same extent.

What is the most important question that drives you in your work?

I would like to solve the major dilemma of how to supply 10 billion people - the world's population according to a United Nations forecast for 2050 - with sufficient resources and prosperity in the long term without continuing to overexploit nature as dramatically as we are at present. After all, when it comes to species protection, we are already almost too late for many species.

Is there a project you would take on if you had unlimited resources and possibilities?

With unlimited possibilities? I would like to design a landscape with different components, including urban ones, which have different functions. To build such a landscape together with the users and with NGOs etc. would be fantastic. I have a prototype in mind, based on the needs of the people, which we could develop, implement, and research.

And what is reality like? What are your research topics at the moment? 

First of all, I compare landscapes. After all, landscapes are very diverse. Some landscapes are very monotonous and consist practically only of farmland or huge monocultures - as for example in many palm tree landscapes for producing oil in Indonesia. Others are very versatile, e.g. they contain intensively cultivated farmland as well as habitats with a high nature conservation value, such as neglected grassland, hedges, extensive grassland...

In these selected landscapes I look for contrasts and developments. I examine how the respective landscape affects biodiversity, pests, and beneficial organisms. For wild pollinators, for example, the way a landscape is designed is very important. This means that it is not only relevant how a farmer cultivates his field, but also what the neighbor does and whether there are hedges nearby, for example.

In which regions of the world does your research take place?

For example, we have a joint project in Indonesia that deals with small-scale farming on Sumatra. Oil palm trees are grown on a large scale there - managed by the small farmers, but the massive number of have trees has caused the landscape to change. For the farmers, this is associated with social advancement, they can afford better houses and send their children to higher schools and universities. On the other hand, however, biodiversity is suffering and drinking water is also being contaminated. We are investigating how to manage the plantations in a more biodiversity-friendly way. To this end, we are cooperating with local universities.

Another project is underway in India together with the University of Göttingen and Kassel-Witzenhausen. We are using Asian megacities to investigate the effects of urbanization on agriculture - will it be intensified so that it is still worthwhile? What effect do sealed surfaces have? Is the groundwater being lowered? Our research area is the city of Bangalore in the south of India. It could eventually become uninhabitable because the water supply is a growing problem and climate change is making it hotter and hotter.

And you are looking for ways to counteract this?

I am. When we examine the effects on biodiversity and pollination, we also look at ways of preventing this, such as flowering strips or promoting beneficial organisms. In the final analysis, it's a question of how much green space a city needs and whether there are any thresholds, for example, so that a place can survive.

A third example of our projects would be our research in the northeast of Madagascar. The island is a hotspot of biodiversity, which is highly endangered. We are researching the cultivation of vanilla, which is only in the hands of small farmers. It is very labor-intensive, the pollination is done exclusively by hand. We are investigating what added value the plantations can offer for biodiversity and compare cultivation in the shade, i.e. in the form of agroforestry systems, or in the sun. We compare this in turn with rainforest and rice cultivation.

And which is better? Shadow or sun?

We are still evaluating the data, but I believe that agroforestry performs better. The yields are the same for both. For the farmers, cultivation in agroforestry could increase their income if this were taken into account in certification, for example. In some cases, the trees could also be used additionally, the fruits or the wood.

Can students already participate in these research projects?

Yes, in Bachelor's and Master's degrees and with a doctorate. Our research takes place mainly in the tropics, i.e. Master's students are usually there for 3-4 months for their Master's thesis. By the way, we currently have some calls for applications, so if you are interested, please contact us.

In addition, we also do research here in the surrounding area. For example, together with Frank Schurr at Heidfeldhof, we are investigating how to design green edge strips more diversely, for example by currying or sand filling. We are looking at how this affects insect diversity. This would be a paper that would be more suitable for the Bachelor's program.

Do you spend a lot of time in the field during your teaching?

Yes, but it depends on the season, of course. In winter we concentrate more on teaching the basics of agroecology, together with Mr. Schurr, who teaches the basics of ecology in general.

It is about using the processes from population ecology to promote biodiversity. In the tropics there are different prerequisites for this, but the basic principles are identical. In my lecture I therefore bring many examples from the tropics, but not exclusively.

What about in summer?

In summer there are many fieldwork practicals. For example in the Master's program in our new field course on agroecology and biodiversity. Teams of two will be formed there, each working on ecological questions - from the hypothesis to data collection and evaluation to a final presentation and report.

For example, we compare ecological and conventional cultivation, or investigate how flowering strips and hedges affect pests and beneficial organisms on neighboring arable land. Through this practical work you also learn how to deal with the unexpected - you simply have to experience it.

Another module deals with agroecology and biotic resource protection. We look at different habitats, identify animals and plants, and give short presentations. The aim is to get to know the diversity of agricultural landscapes and to make a nature conservation assessment and recommendations for management.

This is also part of the Master's program?

Yes, these are Master's modules. In the Bachelor's program there is the agricultural-biological project, which is mainly about crops. We form small groups that stay in one department for a whole semester.

Do you also offer Humboldt reloaded projects?

Humboldt reloaded is a great thing, but we are still a very small team at the moment. I'm afraid we won't be able to do it in the summer semester.

What would you like to convey in your teaching?

First of all, I want to give a basic understanding of concepts and interrelationships. This doesn't have to be boring at all: it's about how ecosystems function and how people affect them.

It is important that students are put in a position to form their own opinions. I would like to encourage discussion. In the lectures and seminars I therefore like to pick up controversial topics, for example from the field of genetic engineering or questions about regulation.

And thirdly, research-based learning is very close to my heart. You have to get out of the classroom into the field or into the laboratory and do your own research in order to get an idea of how to apply it. We do experiments and discuss them the next day. These can also be very simple experiments: boxes with mealworms, for example, from which samples are taken, can provide information on how organisms are distributed in a landscape.

What kind of professions do your students have in store for them?

That is relatively broad. In research, for example, in scientific nature conservation, with NGOs such as the WWF, Greenpeace, or the GIZ, or with nature conservation authorities such as the BfN. On the other hand, you can also find work at seed companies or pesticide companies. That is by no means a contradiction in terms, because it is of course better if the people there are also familiar with biodiversity and ecology.

What was your path to Hohenheim like?

I was one of the first Bachelor's students when I studied biology in Marburg. I first focused on molecular biology and later on ecology. My Master's was with an interdisciplinary focus. I was in South Africa, where I worked on forest fragmentation in agricultural landscapes. I also immediately followed up with my doctoral thesis in South Africa, which dealt with the interrelationships between insects, birds, and flowering plants.

Then it was time for a change for me. In my postdoc at the University of Göttingen I oriented myself more towards agroecology, i.e. in an even more applied direction. During this time I also started projects in Indonesia, India, and Madagascar.

And now the move to Hohenheim?

Yes, the changeover went very smoothly and quickly. And there was a very friendly welcome here in Hohenheim. I have a lot of freedom here, it is a great privilege to be able to work at the university. I am very happy about the prospect of being active here for many years and already enjoy the lectures.

In your free time I doubt you are a couch potato, are you?

No, I also like to be outdoors in my private time, go jogging often, and travel. That makes for a nice balance. But I also like to go to concerts - rock and metal, progressive metal for example.

That is an interesting combination. Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. Grass!

 

Interview: Elsner / Translation: Neudorfer