DiP-SMART Agroforestry @ Geoecology (SMART Agroforst ) 01.04.2024 – 31.12.2028

Climate change and the associated increase in extreme weather events, as well as structural change in the Central German mining area, pose major challenges for the economy and society. Against this backdrop, the DiP-SMART Agroforestry project aims to realise the ecological and economic added value of woody structures in the landscape of southern Saxony-Anhalt. Agroforestry systems, i.e. the synergetic cultivation of woody plants and agricultural crops on the same area or in the immediate vicinity (on the edge), offer ecological benefits (e.g. protection from extreme weather conditions) as well as the economic diversification of farms. In this way, land owners and managers (farmers and foresters, municipalities, private actors) can manage their land in a more climate-resilient way and develop an important basis for the production of bio-based raw materials (e.g. for the chemical industry in central Germany).

The project focuses specifically on the mapping, analysis and further development of individual process chains in the overall view of the value chain – from the landowner or manager to advisory institutions for wood maintenance and harvesting to processing and utilisation companies and political decision-makers. Innovative research into the suitability of digital instruments (e.g. decision support systems, measurement technology, remote sensing and artificial intelligence) for the description and modelling of individual material flow processes in the wood-based bioeconomy is central to the project. The project thus addresses various problem areas of structural change in southern Saxony-Anhalt.

Aims

• Creation of digital land and woody plant cadastres as well as forestry records with the help of innovative remote sensing methods for the area-wide estimation of resource potentials, ecological and environmental benefits on the landscape scale.
• Identification of potential utilisation paths for bio-based raw materials from woody plants in southern Saxony-Anhalt. Preparation for relevant stakeholders and low-threshold communication with the help of a digital product and process database.
• Gradual development of digital tools for decision support and their adaptation to changing needs. Provision of relevant information for the planting, maintenance and harvesting of woody plants in the landscape for the respective stakeholders (e.g. choice of woody plants, capacity planning, utilisation options).
• Development of a central “SMART Agroforestry” information platform as a digital coordination, communication and planning tool for all stakeholders in agroforestry-based value creation networks.

Project structure and work packages

DiP-SMART Agroforestry is divided into three project areas that largely build on each other and consist of interlinked work packages (see figure below). The central element is the development of the “SMART Agroforst” information system. In individual work packages, the DiP-SMART Agroforst project endeavours to cooperate closely with the DiP projects FaiReSyst and DiP-iQ-Hemp.