🌽Manual maize harvest at Großmutz! This week the #FORMULA teamed up in the field for another important campaign in 2026: cutting, collecting & weighing maize samples across transects, satellite plot, irrigated plot & reference site. Now the lab analyses can start! #agroforestry #fieldwork

Update from SP3: Species-level identification of all carabid beetles from the first pitfall trapping is now complete 🪲 Data analysis can now begin! #formula #agroforestry #Carabidae

LOEWE goes🐢Galápagos:4️⃣LOEWE researchers from @loewe-tree-m.bsky.social+LOEWE-TRIO are shaping the new @dfg.de Research Unit GArua! The team will study how climate change affects the Galápagos🌫️🌳🌴cloud forests, its biodiversity, endemic species+water balance through changes in the iconic garúa mist.

Part of our #FORMULA team attended the 8th European Agroforestry Conference in Neuchâtel, Switzerland together with JLU colleagues! We shared exciting insights into agroforestry research and connected with peers from across Europe. 🌍 Thanks for the inspiring exchange! 👏 #EURAF2026 #agroforestry

Field day for #FORMULA! @azmisheriff.bsky.social (SP4) & Alissa (SP5) combined drone-based multispectral, thermal & RGB imaging with ground measurements (NDVI, NDRE, stomatal conductance) and root/mycorrhiza sampling to link above- & belowground biomass in agroforestry. #Agroforestry #RemoteSensing

🌽🍃 🌽 When maize grows, measurements must adapt. Großmutz, Sophie (SP1) is monitoring NH₃, CO₂, and N₂O emissions throughout the growing season using adapted field methods. Also, sensors, including dendrometers and sap flow measurements, help track water uptake and tree–crop interactions. #FORMULA

🌱 News from SP1 PhD Matthias Beier has successfully completed the first carbon soil sampling campaign at Großmutz. Now: SOC analyses and density fractionation to better understand carbon storage in agroforestry systems. #FORMULA #Agroforestry #SoilCarbon #SOC #CarbonStorage

📢 FORMULA PhD researchers will be presenting their work at the 8th European Agroforestry Conference (EURAF 2026) in Switzerland. 🌳🌾 #EURAF2026 #Agroforestry #FORMULA #Research #SustainableAgriculture #DFG

🌾🌳News SP4 – @azmisheriff.bsky.social is currently focusing on the establishment of a growth chamber experiment investigating plant–mycorrhiza interactions using different crop and forb species under contrasting soil treatments. #FORMULA #Agroforestry #Mycorrhiza

🌽Grossmutz:The first irrigation of the maize was successful.Logistics are all set: Water is tanked at a hydrant in the nearby village and transported to the field in a trailer carrying a 1000l tank. A generator powers the electric pump that pumps the water into the drip irrigation system. #FORMULA

SPZ update: One transect and the irrigated plot were equipped with radiation sensors. The latest generation of LED-based “light sabers”, mounted on poles to monitor radiation dynamics within the agroforestry system. #FORMULA #Agroforestry #RadiationMonitoring #LightSensors #PARSensors

FORMULA ¹⁵N experiment:a multi-scale design combining labelled slurry applications across distance gradients with GHG flux measurements(N₂O, N₂), NH₃ monitoring, microbial isotope analyses, and continuous soil sensing to trace nitrogen pathways at high spatial resolution. #agroforestry #15N #FORMULA

From workshop to field 🌾 What if radiation measurements in crops could be both precise and affordable? FORMULA is assisting in developing low-cost LED-based line ceptometers for spatial and temporal radiation mapping in simple and complex agri-systems. #Agroforestry #AgTech #PlantScience #formula

A few insights from the major work effort by our technician and student assistants at Gladbacher Hof:the soil moisture sensor connections were fully repaired and reconnected to the Dragino system. Spring is in full bloom and so is the workload. #agroforestry #formula #soilmoisture#sensors #fieldwork

FORMULA PhDs joined the Isotope Course 2026 at the University of Tübingen, exploring stable and radioisotope theory, fractionation, and tracers such as carbon and nitrogen. The course featured IRMS and Picarro demonstrations, analytical calculations, and applications in soil and ecosystem research.

#GrüneWoche: Die DFG-Senatskommission zur Transformation von Agrar-/Ernährungssystemen SKAE fordert in einem Positionspapier langfristige Forschung und neue politische Rahmenbedingungen für diversifizierte Anbausysteme von #Nutzpflanzen – und benennt 6 konkrete Handlungsfelder: sohub.io/ijh9

Für eine krisenfeste Landwirtschaft: DFG-Senatskommission fordert stärkere Unterstützung für vielfältige Anbausysteme von Nutzpflanzen

sohub.io

Get to know three more FORMULA members from SP1, SP2 and SP4! #agroforestry #formula

New video alert! During the poster presentation at the Forum Agroforstsysteme, also Helene shared insights into the experiments conducted in SP5. Check out the video on the Faculty 09 @jlugiessen.bsky.social Instagram channel here: www.instagram.com/reel/DQwUKmu.... #formula #agroforestry #JLU

Fachbereich 09 der JLU Gießen on Instagram: "🌾 Wie wirken sich Bäume auf Ackerpflanzen aus? Im Formula-Projekt forscht Helene vom Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung gemeinsam mit der JLU G...

29 likes, 0 comments - jlu.fachbereich09 on November 7, 2025: "🌾 Wie wirken sich Bäume auf Ackerpflanzen aus? Im Formula-Projekt forscht Helene vom Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung gemei...

instagram.com

Mobile soil-moisture sensors installed! At our agroforestry site in Großmutz, SP2’s Farimah Asadi added 10 cm sensors to complement the permanent ones at 40 cm and 60 cm. Excited to improve our understanding of near-surface moisture dynamics. #formula #agroforestry

Spielerisch🤹🏼‍♂️ #Wissenschaft und #Demokratie von innen 🏋🏼stärken: ProLOEWE mit dem #Wissenschaftsplanspiel „Wissen🆚Meinung“ #KI, am 28. November 2025 zu Gast bei der @leopoldina.org in Halle. Mehr dazu ➡️ proloewe.de/de/aktuelles... + ➡️ www.leopoldina.org/veranstaltun...

Sampling completed! 🌱 At both of our agroforestry systems and their reference sites, Subproject 2, in particular our PhD candidate Sebastian Gauly and helpers, collected soil samples to determine stocks of mineral N and gravimetric water content at different depths. #formula #agroforestry

A new video from the poster presentation at the Forum Agroforestry Systems is out on the Faculty 09 @jlugiessen.bsky.social Instagram channel! @ajfelipe777.bsky.social shares insights into the research happening in SP2. Watch it here: www.instagram.com/jlu.fachbere... #formula #agroforestry #JLU

Fachbereich 09 der JLU Gießen auf Instagram: "🌳 How trees and crops work together! Meet Alvin, PhD student at JLU Gießen and part of the Formula Project. His research focuses on agroforestry systems ...

37 likes, 0 comments - jlu.fachbereich09 am October 23, 2025: "🌳 How trees and crops work together! Meet Alvin, PhD student at JLU Gießen and part of the Formula Project. His research focuses on agro...

instagram.com

Fieldwork in action! SP3 (Biodiversity) was back at the agroforestry site at Gladbacherhof, collecting soil samples along gradients. These samples will reveal how soil microarthropod communities and microorganisms respond to agroforestry dynamics. #formula #agroforestry

Research meets practice: Marcel Dogotari (SP4) teamed up with the Makerspace Gießen to design custom 3D-printed parts - from mounting boards to light seals - enabling his agroforestry measurements for FORMULA. Read more in the article: makerspace-giessen.de/2025/10/09/w... #formula #agroforestry

The SP2 field campaign in Großmutz has been successfully completed! Permanent soil moisture sensors were installed across three transects and the irrigation plot at different depths. This setup now enables detailed monitoring of water fluxes across the site. #formula #agroforestry

Here are some impressions from the 10th Forum Agroforestry Systems at @jlugiessen.bsky.social! We showcased our FORMULA project with three posters, sharing ideas and fostering collaboration with fellow researchers. #formula #agroforestry #afsforum

This week (Sept. 17–18), the 10th Forum Agroforestry takes place at JLU Gießen in cooperation with DeFAF! Andreas Gattinger, PI of FORMULA, will give a keynote on “From forest grazing to modern agroforestry – looking back & into the future.” More info here: agroforst-info.de/forum-agrofo... #formula

Forum Agroforstsysteme | DEFAF e.V.

Der DeFAF setzt sich für alle Anliegen zur Anlage, Bewirtschaftung, Verbreitung und Förderung von Agroforstsystemen in Deutschland ein.

agroforst-info.de

Harvest complete! 🌾 Both study sites are done – using manual cuttings and a combine harvester. Data on grain & straw yield from individual agroforestry plots is collected, with more parameters now being analyzed in the lab. #formula #agroforestry

New paper out! A study on selecting reference sites for agroforestry systems -developed in the pre-phase and co-authored by several FORMULA members- has just been published. #formula #agroforestry doi.org/10.1016/j.at...

Update from Sophie & SP1: In Großmutz, CO₂, N₂O & ET fluxes were measured using manual closed canopy chambers. Dendrometers & sap flow sensors were also installed. Back at @zalf.bsky.social, a prototype for the automated chamber systems to measure gas fluxes is being built. #formula #agroforestry