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
Introduction of Azmi Sheriff regarding her background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Introduction of Sebastian Gauly regarding his background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Introduction of Sophie von Witten regarding her background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
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
Installed mobile soil-moisture sensors at the Großmutz agroforestry site. The photos shows the sensors inserted into the soil at 10 cm depth, along with their connected nodes and support poles used for data transmission (Photo: Farimah Asadi).
Installed mobile soil-moisture sensors at the Großmutz agroforestry site. The photos shows the whole transect of the sensors, along with their connected nodes and support poles used for data transmission (Photo: Farimah Asadi).
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...
Holes of soil probes for Nmin analysis (Photo: Sebastian Gauly).
Soil sampling device at the agroforestry site in Großmutz (Photo: Sebastian Gauly).
Alvin John Felipe and Lukas Pabst extractin soil cores at the agroforestry site at Gladbacherhof (Photo: Sebastian Gauly).
Soil sampling device at the agroforestry site in Großmutz (Photo: Sebastian Gauly).
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
Carlos Gonzalez and Alvin John Felipe hammering the soil corer into the soil at the 1 m distance (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Deniz Erkan taking small soil samples for her measurements of soil microorganisms (Bacteria, Archaea, fungi, Photo: Franziska Deppe)
Alvin John Felipe, Deniz Erkan, Carlos Gonzalez & Matthias Beier working together on the sampling (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
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 team working at the installation of the soil moisture network at the agroforestry site in Großmutz (Photo: Philipp Kraft).
Farimah Asadi inserting one of the sensors in the installation tool (Photo: Philipp Kraft).
One of the set-ups for data transmitting via LoRaWAN (Photo: Sönke Felix-Henningsen).
Franziska Deppe, Sebastian Gauly, Johannes Laufer, Sophie von Witten and Helene Garre working at one of the transects by installing sensors and compacting the soil along the trenches (Photo: Sönke Felix-Henningsen).
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
Alvin John Felipe and Farimah Asadi next to their poster about water fluxes in agroforestry systems.
Presentation of Eva-Maria Minarsch about her meta-analysis of the identification of the spatial distribution of microbial soil indicators in agroforestry systems (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Helene Garre next to her poster about the sub-project five "Management, productivity and yields".
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
Marco Bartsch and Sophie von Witten doing manual cuttings in the winter wheat field at the Agroforestry site in Großmutz, Brandenburg (Photo: Alissa Böhm).
The team at the agroforestry site at Gladbacherhof with some of the cuttings, waiting to process the cuttings by threshing (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
The combine plot harvester at the agroforestry site at Gladbacherhof (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Part of the harvest team: Alvin John Felipe, Eva-Maria Minarsch, Sebastian Gauly, Helen Garre, Franziska Deppe, Farimah Asaadi, Brian Daniel Ongia, Tariq Zain (back row from left to right) and Philipp Weckenbrock (sitting in front) at Gladbacherhof at the end of the field day (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
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
Graphic design by Thomas Fungenzi, based on a concept by Karonlina Golicz.
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...
Manual closed canopy chambers for the measurement of CO₂, N₂O and ET fluxes (Photo: Sophie von Witten).
Installed dendrometer and sap flow sensors at the agroforestry site in Großmutz (Photo: Sophie von Witten).
Installed datalogger for the dendrometer and sap flow sensors at the agroforestry site in Großmutz (Photo: Sophie von Witten).
Prototype of the semi-automatic chambers for measuring gas fluxes (Photo: Sophie von Witten).
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
FORMULA Poster at the Organic Field Days 2025 (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
View of the site of the Organic Field Days 2025 (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
View of the site of the Organic Field Days 2025 (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Demonstration plot of a keyline agroforestry system at the Organic Field Days 2025 (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Back from the Organic Field Days 2025! Agroforestry was a widely discussed topic, emphasising its importance in sustainable agriculture. We contributed to the event with a poster presentation and joined valuable discussions. #formula #agroforestry
Introduction of Alissa Böhm regarding her background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Introduction of Farimah Asadi regarding her background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Meet Alissa from SP5 and Farimah from SP2 - two project members driving our research forward in the FORMULA project in terms of productivity & water fluxes. #agroforestry #formula
Root washing (Photo: Marcel Dogotari).
Leave scanning (Photo: Marcel Dogotari).
Azmi Sheriff working on the root analyses (Photo: Marcel Dogotari).
Investigated plant in the greenhouse at ZALF (Photo: Azmi Sheriff).
SP4's greenhouse experiment at @zalf.bsky.social wrapped! 🌿 Studying root, leaf & hyperspectral traits across crops, phytometers & arable weeds - grown with or without mycorrhiza. Now analyzing individual plants and their leaves and roots to uncover trait variation. #formula #agroforestry
Agroforesty site in Großmutz (Brandenburg) in May during the first round of pitfall trapping (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Pitfall trap sample at the agroforesty site in Großmutz (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Pitfall trap with its cover in winter wheat at the agroforesty site in Großmutz (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
Sample of arthropods of one pitfall trap in ethanol (Photo: Franziska Deppe).
First round of pitfall trapping successfully completed at our agroforestry sites in Hesse & Brandenburg! Now on to species identification - excited to uncover the arthropod diversity as part of FORMULA Subproject 3 on biodiversity. #agroforestry #formula #biodiversity
FORMULA kick-off at Gladbacherhof (Photo: Marcel Dogotari).
FORMULA kick-off at IFZ (Research Centre for Biosystems, Land Use and Nutrition) of JLU (Photo: Umut Kirdemir).
We’ve officially kicked off FORMULA with our first big in-person meeting at Gladbacherhof and @jlugiessen.bsky.social! A productive start with engaging discussions, clear goals, and great collaboration across teams. Looking forward to what’s ahead! #agroforestry #formula
Introduction of Matthias Beier regarding his background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Introducing Matthias from SP1! He’s advancing our work in FORMULA with a focus on carbon.
#agroforestry #formula
Drone picture of the soil coring campaign in February at the agroforesty site at Gladbacher Hof (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Soil cores of the soil coring campaign (Photo: Matthias Beier).
Soil core of the soil coring campaign (Photo: Matthias Beier).
In Subproject 2 (Greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon sequestration), soil coring was carried out at the end of February along three transects at the agroforestry site at Gladbacher Hof to assess, e.g. soil organic carbon and bulk density at different depths. #agroforestry #formula
Learn how Brian from SP5 contributes to the FORMULA project and supports our agroforestry research efforts.
#agroforestry #formula
Agroforestry site at Gladbacher Hof (Hesse, Germany) with project members of SP3 and SP5 working at it (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Alissa Böhm, Brian Daniel Ongia and Helene Garre working on harmonising their field measurements (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Alissa Böhm and Brian Daniel Ongia at the site at Gladbacher Hof (Hesse, Germany) with their device for photosynthesis, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
In SP5, Alissa, Brian & Helene worked on harmonising their field methods in the agroforestry system at Gladbacher Hof. They will use the same protocols for consistent vegetation monitoring at both sites, measuring e.g. LAI, BBCH or NDVI. #agroforestry #formula
Introduction of Carlos González regarding his background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Meet Carlos from SP3!
Get to know his role in the FORMULA project and how he contributes to our agroforestry research.
#agroforestry #formula
Soil core sampling of SP3 at Gladbacher Hof (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Soil core sampling of SP3 at Gladbacher Hof (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Carlos Gonzalez taking soil cores from SP3 at Gladbacher Hof (Photo: Eva-Maria Minarsch).
Update from SP3: Soil core samples were taken at Gladbacher Hof to investigate gradients in soil microarthropod diversity and community composition. #formula #agroforestry
Introduction of Helene Garre regarding her background, role in the project and research focus (Photo on the right: JLU / Till Schürmann).
Continuing our team spotlight with Helene from SP5!
#agroforestry #formula