Publications

Langhof M., Schmiedgen A. (2023). 13 years of biomass production from three poplar clones in a temperate short-rotation alley cropping agroforestry system. Biomass and Bioenergy, 175(), 106853. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2023.106853

Farmers' interest in establishing agroforestry systems is increasing, as they are considered to have many benefits, such as the possibility of climate adaptation and crop diversification. Growing wood on agricultural land can produce biomass for energy or material purpose. Knowledge of the yield pot…

Schmiedgen A., Komainda M., Kayser M., Tonn B., Isselstein J. (2023). Trees in silvopastoral systems reduce legume proportion with no consequence for internal N resorption efficiency. Journal of Plant Ecology, 16(3), . doi:10.1093/jpe/rtac090

Abstract In legume-based grasslands, legumes supply the sward with nitrogen (N) from biological N2-fixation. Previous studies in silvopastoral systems have emphasized that legume proportions decline near trees which would cause spatial variation in the N supply and the concentration of N in the har…

Shao G., Martinson G., Corre M., Luo J., Niu D., Bischel X., Veldkamp E. (2023). Impacts of monoculture cropland to alley cropping agroforestry conversion on soil N2O emissions. GCB Bioenergy, 15(1), 58-71. doi:10.1111/gcbb.13007

Monoculture croplands are a major source of global anthropogenic emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to ozone depletion. Agroforestry has the potential to reduce N2O emissions. Presently, there is no systematic comparison of soil N2O emissions between cropland …

Sutterlütti R., Kayser M., Komainda M., Isselstein J. (2023). Alley cropping tree lines alter temperature and light quantity and influence daily growth rates of grassland. Grass and Forage Science, 78(3), 402-415. doi:10.1111/gfs.12618

AbstractTrees alter microclimate and radiation budget in alley cropping systems, which in turn change physiological processes of the grassland component. The influence of the trees on grassland growth depends on the climate zone as well as possibly on weather conditions during the respective growth …

Sutterlütti R., Komainda M., Kayser M., Isselstein J. (2023). Tree lines do not reduce grassland productivity and herbage quality in alley cropping under drought. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, (), . doi:10.1111/jac.12658

AbstractIn alley cropping, woody perennials are combined with agricultural crops or grassland in order to benefit from favourable interactions between trees and crops. Trees influence growth and senescence processes in grassland as well as plant chemical composition and plant water use. In a field e…

Vaupel A., Bednar Z., Herwig N., Hommel B., Moran-Rodas V., Beule L. (2023). Tree-distance and tree-species effects on soil biota in a temperate agroforestry system. Plant and Soil, (), . doi:10.1007/s11104-023-05932-9

Abstract Aims Cropland agroforestry systems are land-use systems with numerous environmental advantages over monoculture croplands including promotion of soil life. This study aimed to investigate tree-species and tree-distance effects on soil biota in a temperate agroforestry system. Methods Our s…

Veldkamp E., Schmidt M., Markwitz C., Beule L., Beuschel R., Biertümpfel A., Bischel X., Duan X., Gerjets R., Göbel L., Graß R., Guerra V., Heinlein F., Komainda M., Langhof M., Luo J., Potthoff M., van Ramshorst J., Rudolf C., Seserman D., Shao G., Siebicke L., Svoboda N., Swieter A., Carminati A.,… (2023). Multifunctionality of temperate alley-cropping agroforestry outperforms open cropland and grassland. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1), . doi:10.1038/s43247-023-00680-1

AbstractIntensively managed open croplands are highly productive but often have deleterious environmental impacts. Temperate agroforestry potentially improves ecosystem functions, although comprehensive analysis is lacking. Here, we measured primary data on 47 indicators of seven ecosystem functions…

Beule L., Guerra V., Lehtsaar E., Vaupel A. (2022). Digging deeper: microbial communities in subsoil are strongly promoted by trees in temperate agroforestry systems. Plant and Soil, 480(1-2), 423-437. doi:10.1007/s11104-022-05591-2

Abstract Aims Temperate alley-cropping agroforestry systems maintain agricultural production while offering several environmental benefits. Central benefits of agroforestry systems such as the ‘safety-net’-role of the trees for leached nutrients are mainly due to processes occurring below the soil s…

Beule, L.; Vaupel, A.; Moran-Rodas, V.E. Abundance, Diversity, and Function of Soil Microorganisms in Temperate Alley-Cropping Agroforestry Systems: A Review. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 616. (2022). Abundance, Diversity, and Function of Soil Microorganisms in Temperate Alley-Cropping Agroforestry Systems: A Review. Special Issue Plant and Soil-Associated Microbial Communities in Forest and Agricultural Ecosystems 2.0, (), . doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10030616

Modern temperate alley-cropping systems combine rows of trees with rows of crops (agroforestry), which allows for diverse interspecific interactions such as the complementary and competitive use of resources. The complementary use of resources between trees and crops is considered the main advantage…

Guerra V., Beule L., Mackowiak C., Dubeux J., Blount A., Wang X., Rowland D., Liao H. (2022). Soil bacterial community response to rhizoma peanut incorporation into Florida pastures. Journal of Environmental Quality, 51(1), 55-65. doi:10.1002/jeq2.20307

Incorporating legumes is one option for improving pasture fertility, sustainability, and biodiversity. Diazotrophic microorganisms, including rhizobia that form symbioses with legumes, represent a small fraction of the total soil microbial community. Yet, they can offset nitrogen (N) fertilizer inpu…