Prof. Harry Vereecken | FZ Jülich | IBG-3: Agrosphere

Research topics and profile (related to bioeconomy)

Agrosphere Institute aims to assess and understand relevant structures in terrestrial systems. Qualitative and quantitative aspects are addressed across scales as a basic approach for using soil and water resources in changing management regimes under global change effects. In the following our main research topics are described:

Sustainable Use of Soil and Water

• Development of non invasive measurement devices like radar technology, electrical resistivity tomography, spectral induced polarisation, and joint inversion methods to characterise soil-root systems
• Development of MRI-methods to characterise und analyse soil-root-systems
• Fate of chemicals in farmland soils

Modelling of Terrestrial Systems

• Development and application of soil-plant-atmosphere models (e.g. mechanistic models for water and nutrient uptake of soil root systems, soil carbon models, and 3D-coupled energy-soil-water-budget models)
• Modelling and management of water catchments (especially water and nutrients)
• Development of data assimilation methods for realtime monitoring of farmland systems

Terrestrial biogeochemistry

• Research on nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas exchange in farmland and forestry systems.

Contributions to BioSC

The overall use of plant biomass for various purposes (e.g. food, feed, fiber, biomass for energy) is based on a resource conserving use of soil and water. Agrosphere Institute contributes to the topic: Sustainable plant bioproduction and resource conservation.

In detail the following research themes are of interest:

• Development and application of soil-plant-atmosphere models (e.g. mechanistic models for water and nutrient uptake of soil root systems, soil carbon models, and 3D-coupled energy-soil-water-budget models).
• Development of MRI-methods to characterise und analyse soil-root-systems.
• Fate and environmental behaviour of chemicals on farmland soils

Modelling and management of catchments (especially water and nutrients).

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