Land use and sustainability: FAM Research Network on Agroecosystems

Improving information about agroecosystems, developing future strategies for environmentally compatible land use, and achieving agricultural productivity and sustainability under one umbrella are the main goals of the FAM Research Network on Agroecosystems. Scientists of various disciplines study these topics on a 150 ha research farm. The Research Station Scheyern (Bavaria, Germany) has been leased for 15 years, and is divided into two farming programs: an organic and an integrated crop production. The researchers record, evaluate and forecast management-induced changes of this agrarian ecosystem and its environment. They seek indicators for sustainable land use and model processes at the field level, the farm level and, whenever possible, at the landscape level.