Agroecology and Organic Farming - Teaching
The professorship covers teaching in the fields of organic farming, agricultural nature conservation, agricultural, animal and vegetation ecology. Courses are offered on the Bachelor's degree programme in Agricultural Sciences and on the Master's degree programmes in (i) Crop Sciences, (ii) Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology and (iii) Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics.
Didactic concept
Our teaching is based on prioritising -
- systemic thinking in agricultural science contexts
- strategies for solving specific problems
- methodological knowledge in agroecology and organic crop production
- taxonomic skills (plants and animals), including in the field
- reference to agricultural practice and the acquisition of field methodological knowledge in animal ecology and vegetation science
There is a wide range of topics for the realisation of experimental theses (BSc. / MSc.). The demand for specialised university graduates with knowledge in the fields of nature conservation, organic farming and agroecology remains high, as does the diversity of potential professional fields.
BSc Agricultural sciences
The AOL offers the following modules:
- Introduction to organic farming
- Fundamentals of ecology and resource conservation
- Soil and water protection
- Grassland science
- Agroecology
- Geobotany and nature conservation
- Fundamentals of animal ecology
- Biology and ecology of the honey bee
- Bee science practical course for Bachelor students
Course content and curricular requirements can be found in the BSc Agricultural Sciences module handbook.
>30
supervised theses per year at the chair
1,85x106 ha
Organic cultivation area 2022 (11.2%) in Germany
Master's degree programmes
Our group offers a wide range of subjects within the framework of 20 modules in three different Master's degree programmes. These include both compulsory modules and compulsory elective modules.
Master Crop sciences
The AOL offers the following modules:
- Crop production system management in organic farming
- Organic crop science
- Organic Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics
- Resource conservation
- Production ecology
- Research in cropping systems
- Biology and ecology of the honey bee
- Bee science practical course for Master students
The AOL is involved in
- Agricultural Entomology
- Advanced Scientific Writing
Course content and curricular requirements can be found in the module handbook MSc. Crop Sciences.
Master Nature conservation and landscape ecology
The AOL offers the following modules:
- Field methods in animal ecology
- Biodiversity management in agricultural landscapes
- Bee science internship for Master's students
- Biology and ecology of bees
- Functional and taxonomic diversity of plants and animals
- European ecosystems - land use, nature conservation, biodiversity
- Field methods of vegetation science
- Analysis of vegetation and animal ecology data
The AOL is involved in
- Agricultural Entomology
- Advanced Scientific Writing
Course content and curricular requirements can be found in the module handbook MSc. Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology
Master Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics
The AOL offers the following module:
- Organic Agriculture in the Tropics and Subtropics
Course content and curricular requirements can be found in the module handbook MSc. ARTS
We do teaching outside
We organise the majority of our courses outdoors. In the modules on organic farming, we organise field trips to the Wiesengut campus and to farms in the region. We organise the beekeeping courses in our apiary. In the field of animal and vegetation ecology, we regularly take our students out into the countryside for identification exercises and our students learn from living objects. We also offer a wide range of excursions in the field of landscape ecology.
Offer of Bachelor and Master thesis topics
Status: = 18.01.2024
Unless otherwise stated, the topics are adaptable for BSc and MSc theses.
The topics cover the following main areas
1. soil fertility, subsoil/root growth, deep melioration
2. organic crop production, nutrient management, plant protection
3. agroecology, biodiversity, entomology, herbology
4. limnology
Further topics possible by arrangement!
Possible Bachelor's and Master's thesis topics at AOL
| Arbeitstitel |
Mischkultur-Systeme in der landwirtschaftlichen Praxis: sozialwissenschaftliche Untersuchung zur Optimierung im Pflanzenbau |
| BSc/MSc ? |
Beides möglich, nach Absprache, 1-2 Arbeiten zu vergeben |
| Untersuchungsort |
Betriebe in NRW |
| Beginn ab ca. |
Ende 2023 Anfang 2024 |
| Methodik |
In dieser Arbeit sollen qualitative sozialwissenschaftliche Methoden eingesetzt werden, um die Mischkultursysteme in den landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben zu rekonstruieren. Leitfadengestützte Experten-Interviews ermöglichen den Zugang zu dem Erfahrungswissen der Landwirte und Landwirtinnen. Für die Analyse sollen klassische Analysewerkzeuge der Sozialwissenschaften (MaxQDA) zum Einsatz kommen. |
| Projekt | Phenet, Förderung durch EU |
| Ansprechpartner | Johannes Timaeus Johannes.timaeus@uni-bonn.de |
| Arbeitstitel | |
| BSc/MSc ? | MSc |
| Untersuchungsort | Modeling study covering farms in Germany / NRW |
| Beginn ab ca. | Ende 2023 Anfang 2024 |
| Methodik | The master thesis consists of three parts. First, a selected type of intercropping, e.g. faba beans and oat, should be parameterized for a future model implementation. To do so, bio-physical and economic parameters such as yields, input needs and costs need to be collected based on the literature and, if required, an own survey. The latter can be conducted for example by the Delphi method. Second, intercropping should be implemented as an additional crop into the bio-economic farm model FarmDyn. Third, the model should be used to simulate policy scenarios to foster intercropping uptake for selected farms, analyzing for example their financial support under the second pillar of the future EU Common Agricultural Policy. |
| Projekt | Phenet, Förderung durch EU |
| Ansprechpartner | Dr. Till Kuhn, till.kuhn@ilr.uni-bonn.de Dr. Johannes Timaeus Johannes.timaeus@uni-bonn.de |
| Arbeitstitel | Optimierung des ökologischen Kartoffelbaus |
| BSc/MSc ? | Nach Absprache, mehrere Arbeiten zu vergeben |
| Untersuchungsort | Modeling study covering farms in Germany / NRW |
| Beginn ab ca. | April 2024 |
| Methodik | Ertragsanalyse, Phytopathologie, Pflanzenschutz |
| Projekt | in Vorbereitung |
| Ansprechpartner | Daniel Neuhoff: d.neuhoff@uni-bonn.de |
| Topic | Strip-intercropping-systems (with robots) |
| BSc/MSc ? | BSc |
| Where? | Campus Wiesengut in Hennef |
| What? | Field trial with faba bean, wheat, maize soybean,... |
| Start | approx. April 2024 |
| Research questions |
|
| Work in field trial | field trial establishment, scorings (e.g. plant height), biomass harvest, grain harvest and sample processing, field trial maintenance (hand weeding) |
| Contact | Roman Kemper (rkemper@uni-bonn.de) |
