Using vertical solar-cell installations, researchers from Aarhus University will harvest both energy and crops from the same agricultural area. The plan is to produce energy when it is most needed, while at the same time leaving space for the farmer to work in the field.

According to researchers from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University and researchers from Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) implementation efficiency of some agri-environmental policy interventions, as the case here with afforestation shows, depends on the availability of high-resolution agricultural and landscape data.

During his PhD study, Junxiang Peng explored the potential of drone and satellite (Sentinel-2) multispectral and thermal data for estimating plant biomass, nitrogen deficiency and drought stress.

Researchers from Aarhus University have mapped water transport in soil macropores in Denmark. The mapping can, among other things, be used to identify risk areas in relation to phosphorus or pesticide leaching.

“Eat your peas” is not just sternly yelled at picky children. A lot of good reasons to eat legumes exist. Slowly, the grain legumes get more and more attention in Denmark as well. Michelin chef Francis Cardenau praises them, and edamame beans have transitioned from sushi restaurants to almost every supermarket. Nonetheless, in Denmark, grain legumes for human consumption make up a very small part of the production. The new project, GrainLegsGo, wants to change that. Fresh grain legumes for human consumption could be relevant for organic producers in particular, as legumes contribute with nutrients and could, when harvested green, have a positive effect on both carbon storage and nitrogen loss.

During his studies, Yannik investigated land suitability across Denmark using terron methodology. Terrons are created by combining machine learning with soil, climate, and landscape variables. Yannik utilized two different methods (i.e. point-based and raster-based) for generating terrons and validated the resulting maps using data on agriculture production and suitability for three different time periods (1688, 1844, and present day). In his PhD project, Yannik automated a previously developed terron method and introduced the concept of hierarchical terrons.

During her PhD studies, Maria Isabel Senal studied the magnitude and profiles of redox potential values (Eh) and the different forms of nitrogen, potential denitrification rates, and various physico-chemical soil properties of the different conceptualized redox environments in a tile-drained agricultural field. Such parameters were used to establish the magnitude and relative patterns of Eh and the different forms of nitrogen, as well as to elucidate possible nitrate reduction mechanisms. By utilizing relatively accessible data such as topography (slope) and apparent electrical conductivity, Maria Isabel Senal was able to demonstrate heterogeneities in the redox and nitrate profiles on a fine scale.

Honey bees are important pollinators and are subject to numerous stressors, such as changing floral resources, parasites, and agrochemical exposure. Hamidreza Ardalani studied the effects of phytochemicals on residual pesticide concentrations in honey bees. He implemented mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to investigate how different diets affect the metabolism of pesticides in honey bees. Hamidreza Ardalani investigated the effects of phytochemicals on honey bees’ metabolome in the presence and absence of pesticides.

The new research findings contribute to the understanding of how different diets enhance honey bees’ detoxification system when they encounter different classes of pesticides.

Researchers from the Department of Agroecology and the Department of Engineering at Aarhus University have studied the climate and environmental effects of five different forms of biogas production. The results are published in a new DCA report.

During her studies, Julie Therese Christensen researched several aspects of soil phosphorus dynamics. One of the core-ideas were to use cover crops to increase phosphorus availability for the main crop. More specifically, Julie Therese Christensen studied the cover crops lupine, oat and corncockle, and found that especially lupine and corncockle were efficient in mobilising phosphorus from the soil, which potentially could become available for the main crop. Corncockle had a remarkable high concentration of phosphorus in the plant tissue, indicating a potential high value as a green manure.

The new research findings contribute to the understanding of how to increase soil phosphorus availability and ultimately decrease inputs of mineral phosphorus fertilisers without comprising yield.