Integrative Energy Crop Cultivation as a Way to a More Nature-Orientated Agriculture

The vision of integrative energy cultivation concepts is to contribute to a more diverse and sustainable rural landscape, keep nature in balance and conserve ecosystems. Integrative cultivation concepts also harmonise utilisation/production with the protection of landscapes. An overview is given of the status quo of energy crop cultivation management on farms in Lower Saxony, Germany. This overview explains the opportunities, but also the many risks associated with current bioenergy cultivation practices. Examples are presented of ecological and economical optimisation of farmland use for the production of food, feed and energy. In addition, sustainable cultivation concepts are presented, which include several winter annuals, summer annuals, perennials and wild herbs found in cultivation concepts adapted to local climate and soil conditions. In the model farms, the ecological challenges regarding the current cultivation concepts are described and farm-specific examples of more sustainable concepts are described. Subsequently, the opportunities to implement integrative energy cultivation concepts in agricultural practice are evaluated.