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Dissertation
Combining crop growth models with the Precision Agriculture concept of yield gap analysis to evaluate yield limiting and reducing factors
(2022)
The agricultural sector is considered as one of the main elements of a “functional” society and its welfare for providing means to fulfil the most basic human need for food. In the past, an improved overall welfare of developed countries was directly related to early investment in conventional farming machinery parallel to the industrial development. With the expected future population increase and climate change, farm yield gaps are expected to increase and become more volatile. The awareness of negative externalities ...
Dissertation
Geospatial crop yield modeling for climate change risk transfer, impact assessment, and adaptation strategies
(2023)
Changing climate and weather patterns increase the pressure on food production systems worldwide, significantly impacting livelihoods and economies at various scales. Understanding and adapting/mitigating climate change are essential to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. Biophysical crop modeling offers a unique way to assess the pros and cons of different adaptation strategies because they integrate physical and biological principles to simulate the use and allocation of captured resources mechanistically. ...
Dissertation
Sustainability of traditional cocoa agroforests in Ghana
(2022)
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important agricultural commodity that is important to the economies of many countries in the world. Due to cocoa’s dependence on fertile forests soils, its production is a major cause of deforestation and soil degradation in producing countries. When grown in agroforestry systems it can conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon (C), and maintain soil fertility. There are many cocoa agroforests which are managed without synthetic agrochemicals. Because organic cocoa certification is now ...
Dissertation
Der Einfluss von Befahrung alter Rückegassen mit einem schweren Rückezug auf mechanische, strukturelle und funktionelle Eigenschaften eines mit Fichten bestockten Lössbodens in Abhängigkeit von der Fahrwerkkonfiguration
(2023)
Bei der maschinellen Holzernte mit schweren Holzerntefahrzeugen wird der befahrene Waldboden deformiert und damit potenziell in seiner forstwirtschaftlichen Produktivität eingeschränkt. Mögliche Lösungsansätze für diese unerwünschte Nebenwirkung des Technikeinsatzes sind die Beschränkung der Befahrung des Waldbodens auf permanenten Rückegassen und die Verwendung tragender Bogiebänder. Es besteht jedoch eine Forschungslücke zur Veränderung der physikalischen Eigenschaften von vorverdichtetem Boden bestehender Rückegassen ...
Dissertation
Solar energy integration in agro-processing in the tropics: a case study of large and small-scale cassava processing
(2023)
Agro-processing is key to reducing post-harvest losses. Agro-processing is defined as a set of techno-economic activities applied to all the products originating from the agricultural farm, livestock, aqua cultural sources, and forests for their conservation, handling, and value-addi-tion to make them usable as food, feed, fibre, fuel, or industrial raw materials [12]. Processing can be sophisticated (relying on industrial plants and machinery) or simple (depending on the sun or indigenous small-scale processes). The ...
Dissertation
Lignocellulosic biorefinery with a thermo-biological pretreatment concept
(2023)
There is great interest, not only in technologically advanced societies, in developing innovative sources of raw materials, especially lignocellulosic biomasses such as cereal straw, which do not interfere with food production. In Germany, 4 – 9 million tons of cereal straw, mainly wheat, are utilized annually, corresponding to an energy potential of 57 – 129 PJ/a. Lignocellulose, found in plant cell walls, consists of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin, and it requires complex fractionation to enable its polymers ...
Dissertation
Yield performance and weed control efficiency of organically managed silage maize double cropping systems
(2023)
Maize is among the three most important crops worldwide, while its multifunctional nature allows a diversified use. However, the traditional (silage) maize production often has negative side-effects related to the unprotected soil surface — e.g., erosion, weed pressure and related mechanical weed control. There are several alternative management systems to enhance the sustainability of (silage) maize production. However, the means and strength of influence are still unclear in some cases. Therefore, the current thesis ...
Dissertation
Management effects on soil microbial functions at a South-Indian rural-urban interface
(2023-06)
Urbanization leads to effects on many aspects of ecosystems and societies. Among the affected are agricultural systems and, specifically, soils. One of the most evident pathways of urbanization effects on agricultural soils is through an increased demand for agricultural commodities requiring agricultural intensification, hence, changes in management practices that alter soils.
In this context, the purpose of this study was to understand how the main agricultural management practices taking place in urbanizing ...
Dissertation
Using Optical Satellite Imagery to Monitor and Understand Agricultural Land-cover Change
(2020-06)
The activities of humans have transformed the earth over the last decades. The transformation is estimated to increase further in response to the growing world population. This has caused many countries to devise means to utilize resources sustainably. Bio-economy is seen as a means to reduce the high reliance on fossil materials and ensure the provision of raw materials, energy and food to the increasing world population in a sustainable manner. However, the rising demands for biomass to produce bioenergy have relied ...
Dissertation
Robustness of portable and laboratory-based visible/near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy for optimized determination of temporally and spatially variable soil properties
(2021)
Application of visible/near- (VISNIRS) and mid-infrared (MIRS) spectroscopy to the field of soil science is promising, as it allows information about a range of properties to be collected simultaneously and rapidly, thereby providing high spatial and temporal resolution data for use in, e.g., soil mapping, precision agriculture, and long-term monitoring. However, investigation of the conditions under which visNIRS and MIRS can replace traditional lab methods is required, as the accuracy, robustness, and efficiency ...