D2Ag

Enlarge

Tackling climate change is one of our greatest societal challenges. As a major economic sector and CO2 emitter, agriculture is a major contributor to the problem and therefore part of it. However, agriculture can also make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing energy-intensive and inefficient (loss-prone) mineral fertilization. The Society for Plant Production Sciences has identified the following research needs in the area of “nutrient management”: “In order to optimize N fertilization, in addition to N-efficient fertilizer forms and application methods, the current static calculation methods for N fertilizer measurement would have to be replaced by dynamic, model-based methods.” (Feike et al. 2022). The project idea takes up this challenge, transforming methods from space travel into agriculture and, through dynamic decision-making aids, aims to reduce fertilizer emissions and thus the carbon footprint in arable farming.

A digital twin (D2D) of the cultivated areas will be at the heart of this efficient fertilizer management system. It is not just a digital collection of data on fields, cultivation practices, and management measures. D2D also uses a dynamic land surface model that takes into account all components essential for CO2 and nutrient management in agriculture (e.g., dynamic modeling of soil mineralization and N uptake). Supported by satellite data, the fields are mapped in D2D on a sub-area-specific basis. Without space technology, this would not be possible!
Through the non-linear linking of natural processes, D2D provides over 200 variables that quantify the status of the land surface, including CO2 footprint and N efficiency. This enables D2D to simulate the current situation, but also to calculate into the future in order to run through different scenarios or options for action with regard to sustainability aspects. Remote sensing data is the only way to measure selected D2D variables in reality and thus validate or support the simulations.