DAKIS pilot region Brandenburg

DAKIS is being developed and tested in two pilot regions (Brandenburg and Bavaria), which differ greatly from one another in terms of their agricultural structure. In the Brandenburg pilot region, DAKIS research focuses primarily on selected landscape windows that are located within the districts of Märkisch-Oderland, Uckermark, Oberhavel and Havelland. Within this landscape window there are DAKIS experimental fields on which small-scale cultivation (patch cultivation) and the differentiated provision of ecosystem services are tested. These include the Grassland experimental field in Paulinenaue and the Agroforestry experimental field of the HNE Eberswalde in Großmutz near Löwenberg.

The selected landscape windows in Brandenburg are all characterised by low annual precipitation and a large-scale agricultural landscape on soils with medium yield potential. The sites are mostly sandy with a low water storage capacity and are considered particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is already reflected in yield losses. Furthermore, the arable land in Brandenburg is generally managed by large farms, which, as in the Uckermark, manage an average of 346 ha, with the average field size in some cases being 50 ha. Due to the landscape’s glacial history (young moraine area), however, the arable land is very heterogeneous (strongly variable soil types in a very small area). Most of the arable sites here belong to Landbaugebiet III (Ackerzahlen between 29-35). Rye, maize and barley are the dominant crops.

Many of Brandenburg’s large farms predominantly cultivate leased land and have several branches (market crop cultivation, suckler cow husbandry). In addition to the large-scale agricultural structure, the pilot region of Brandenburg is characterised by a large proportion of large protected areas (biosphere reserves, nature parks) and surface waters. Within the large protected areas, the proportion of ecologically managed farmland is particularly high (regionally up to > 25%; statewide on average 11%). Overall, the agricultural landscape is more monotonous and less small-scale than in the Pilot region Bavaria where there are significantly smaller plots and thus more structural elements. Due to the abundance of water bodies and forests, however, the Brandenburg region has a high potential for nature conservation and tourism.

Photos of the pilot region Brandenburg