Vorlesung Ecological landuse systems in the Sub tropics II

Lehrinhalte: Tropical soils: Lectures on tropical soils will introduce in soil formation processes with regard to climate, vegetation, parent material, topography etc., soil types and soil taxonomy, soil characteristics and the performance of soil surveys. Further, methods for land evaluation and land use planning will be imparted. Specific aspects of plant nutrition in the Tropics and Subtropics: The most important aspects of plant nutrition with examples from different tropical countries will be presented: P nutrition on low pH soils in the humid tropics and on high pH soils in dry areas, Mn and Al tolerance of plants on acid tropical soils as well as Fe deficiency and salinity as constraints for plant growth in dry regions, and several other topics. Environmental chemistry: Drivers of nutrient losses through leaching and volatilization, concepts of modeling and C and N dynamics in tropical soils will be discussed with respect to their implications for sustainable agriculture. Organic plant production and agro-ecosystems research: Examples of the internal functioning of different agro-ecosystems will be presented with special emphasis on plant growth and matter fluxes, discussion of research tools. In the framework of case studies also presented will be possibilities and limitations for the sustainable utilization and protection of resources, plant nutrient-soil interactions; intercropping, mixed cropping, crop rotation, soil fertility, protection against wind and water erosion, degradation processes; non-destructive plant growth measurements. Qaulifikationsziele: Students will become acquainted with principles of pest management for the preservation of plant health in subtropical and tropical productions systems. Further, the peculiarity of tropical soils and their suitability for agricultural land use as well as special aspects of plant nutrition with importance for tropical and subtropical regions will be presented and discussed. R.H. Raemakers (2001). Crop production in tropical Africa; T. Hilhorst und F. Muchena (2000). Nutrients on move. International Institute for Environment and Development; Wambeke, A. Van (1991). Soils of the tropics. Collins und Qualset (1998). Biodiversity in Agroecosystems. Lewis Publishers. Marschner (1995). Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. Academic Press. Vandermeer (Ed. 2002). Tropical Agroecosystems. CRC Press. Buck et al. (1998). Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems, CRC Press. VoraussetzungenModule Nutzpflanzenkunde I und II, Ecological Landuse Systems I LeistungsnachweisFachgespräch, Referat FB 11 Ökologische Agrarwissenschaften Uni Kassel WiSe 2010/11 Ökologische Landwirtschaft FB 11 Ökologische Agrarwissenschaften Prof. Dr. Bürkert Andreas