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How much energy do we produce with our grasslands? Balances of demand and supply on a farm level in Bavaria, Germany

Sylvia Helena Annuth1, Thomas Michael Schmitt2, Ralf Kiese2, Thomas Koellner1
1 Ecological Services, University of Bayreuth
2 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen

O 5.1 in Perspectives on agriculture

11.10.2024, 11:40-11:55, H 36

Grasslands provide various ecosystem services, like erosion regulation and carbon storage. The probably most important ecosystem service is fodder production. Most livestock (mainly cattle, sheep, goats, and horses) are fed by mixed ratios of grass and grain. If a higher value to nature in general is provided by grasslands, feeding by a high ratio of grass should be preferred. To estimate to which extent the grassland yields of two study regions in Bavaria, Germany can cover the livestock demand, we used the InVekos database and the Gruber tables to calculate the balance of metabolizable energy (ME) on a farm level. We differentiated between conventional and organic farms. Furthermore, we compared the results of the dry year 2018 and the normal year 2020 to get an idea of the effects of climate change on the results. Overall, there is a lack of energy in the Rote Main/Weiße Main region, while the balances of ME in the Ammer region are positive. Organic farms seem to have better balances than conventional farms. The results are driven by the local mixture of arable land and grasslands. However, the results show, that in grassland-dominated regions with high precipitation rates, it is possible to cover the demand of ME of the livestock with the supply of grasslands only. 



Keywords: Ecosystem services, grasslands, supply-demand, livestock, fodder

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