Project implementation – the installations are progressing at the German sites

The AFaktive team was very active in Germany from 3^rd to 6^th February. Specifically, two project sites were equipped with measuring sensors.

On 3^rd February, the AFaktive IfaS team (Institute for Applied Material Flow Management) was in Saxony at the Uherek farm project site. There, the team met with a working group from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, which is already carrying out measurements on the site, e.g. with a weather station. The two teams discussed the existing measurement design as well as potential cooperation and data exchange.

The next day, two other project partners were on site, Royal Eijkelkamp and the Institute for Technology Transfer at the Saarland University of Applied Sciences (FITT). Royal Eijkelkamp installed two transects, each with seven soil moisture sensors and a rain gauge on the project area, and other sensors on the reference area. A water level meter was also installed in a drainage ditch. Finally, FITT surveyed the area with a drone.

On 6^th February, the team was at Gladbacher farm in Hesse, where the AFaktive project is working together with the Justus Liebig University Giessen. Several measuring devices were also installed on different areas there. On the one hand, three soil moisture sensors were added to the reference area as well as a rain gauge to the existing weather station. On the other hand, two transects with a total of 14 soil moisture sensors were installed on a farm area that is managed with a keyline system. This system was set up in 2022. The main crops are apple and timber with poplar as a pioneer tree.

Furthermore, a flume – a flow-through channel that measures runoff – was installed in the ditch next to the district road on the Gladbacher farm. This device measures the surface runoff from (part of) the area and is used to calibrate and validate the surface runoff model that is being further developed as part of the AFaktive project. Finally, the team has installed a water level gauge in the trench on the opposite side of the flume.

These measures are an important basis for measuring the two agroforestry sites and specifically for evaluating the effect of the tree strips on the water balance.