Der Klimawandel führt in deutschen Städten zu einem hohen Anpassungsdruck. Ein besonders vielversprechender Ansatz, um resilienter gegenüber Wetterextremen wie Hitze, Dürre und Starkregen zu sein, sind Naturbasierte Lösungen (NbS). Das neue Forschungsvorhaben Blue Green City Coaching (BGCC) - Implementierung blaugrüner Infrastrukturen zur Klimaanpassung kleinerer deutscher Großstädte: Aufbau eines wissenschaftsbasierten und anwendungsorientierten Coachings für Entscheidungsträger*innen in Stadt- und Regionalplanung, erarbeitet vor diesem Hintergrund bis Ende 2027 Analyse-Instrumente, die Potenziale und Grenzen von NbS für die Stärkung der urbanen Klimaresilienz offenlegen. Im Rahmen des Projektes durchlaufen ca. 10 deutsche mit 100.000 bis 300.000 Einwohnern ein individuelles Coaching. Das Coaching stellt Praxisnähe her, schafft institutionalisierte Partizipation der Entscheidungsträger*innen in der Stadt und testet zugleich verschiedene Bewertungsmethoden für NbS. Konkret soll das BGCC Entscheidungsträger*innen befähigen, wissenschaftlich koordiniert anwendbare Implementierungsstrategien für blaugrüne Infrastrukturen (BGI) zu erstellen. Dabei werden Potentiale und Grenzen identifiziert und diese möglichst im interkommunalen Austausch und mit Hilfe der sozialwissenschaftlichen, juristischen und siedlungswasserwirtschaftlichen Expertise des Projektteams überwunden. Methodisch werden vorhandene Bewertungssysteme für die Effekte und Potentiale wasserbezogener NbS in einer Coaching-Toolbox gebündelt, um Stadtakteuren Argumente und praxisnahe Hilfestellungen für NbS-Potentiale an die Hand zu geben. Bei diesen in der Coaching-Toolbox enthaltenen Potentialen geht es neben finanziellen Anreizen beispielsweise um Monitoring von Biodiversität und Stadtklima mit vielfältigen Effekten auf die Stadtgesundheit – dazu zählen unter anderem die Verringerung der Anzahl von Hitzetoten, eine erhöhte Lebenserwartung und verringerte Gesundheitskosten. Abschließend analysieren sozialwissenschaftliche Expert*innen des Projektteams systematisch die Umsetzungspotenziale und -hemmnisse und bündeln die Ergebnisse. Als Kernprodukt von BGCC entsteht das “BG-Coaching-Handbook”, welches die Toolbox-Inhalte als Handlungsanleitung für die Infrastrukturplanung auch für andere Kommunen replizierbar macht.
Introduction: By 2020, the community Wuestenrot wants to cover its energy needs through the utilization of renewable energy sources, such as biomass, solar energy, wind power and geothermal energy, within the town area of 3000 hectares. In order to elaborate a practicable scheme for realizing this idea in a 'real' community and to develop a roadmap for implementation, the project 'EnVisaGe' under the leadership of the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences (HFT Stuttgart) was initiated. Accompanying particular demonstration projects are a) the implementation of a plus-energy district with 16 houses connected to a low exergy grid for heating and cooling, b) a biomass district heating grid with integrated solar thermal plants.
Project goal: The aim of the project is to develop a durable roadmap for the energy self-sufficient and energy-plus community of Wüstenrot. The roadmap shall be incorporated in an energy usage plan for the community, that shall be implemented by 2020 and brings Wüstenrot in an energy-plus status on the ecobalance sheet.
A main feature within the EnVisaGe project is the implementation of a 14,703-m2 energy-plus model district called 'Vordere Viehweide'. It consists of 16 residential houses, supplied by a cold local heating network connected to a large geothermal ('agrothermal') collector. Here PV systems for generating electricity are combined with decentralised heat pumps and thermal storage systems for providing domestic hot water as well as with batteries for storing electricity.
Another demonstration project is a district heating grid fed by biomass and solar thermal energy in the neighbourhood 'Weihenbronn'. It's based on a formerly oil-fired grid for the town hall and was extended to an adjacent residential area.
Perennial fodder cropping potentially increases subsoil biopore density by formation of extensive root systems and temporary soil rest. We will quantify root length density, earthworm abundance and biopore size classes after Medicago sativa, Cichorium intybus and Festuca arundinacea grown for 1, 2 and 3 years respectively in the applied research unit's Central Field Trial (CeFiT) which is established and maintained by our working group. Shoot parameters including transpiration, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence will frequently be recorded. Precrop effects on oilseed rape and cereals will be quantified with regard to crop yield, nutrient transfer and H2-release. The soil associated with biopores (i.e. the driloshpere) is generally rich in nutrients as compared to the bulk soil and is therefore supposed to be a potential hot spot for nutrient acquisition. However, contact areas between roots and the pore wall have been reported to be low. It is still unclear to which extent the nutrients present in the drilosphere are used and which potential relevance subsoil biopores may have for the nutrient supply of crops. We will use a flexible videoscope to determine the root-soil contact in biopores. Nitrogen input into the drilosphere by earthworms and potential re-uptake of nitrogen from the drilosphere by subsequent crops with different rooting systems (oilseed rape vs. cereals) will be quantified using 15N as a tracer.
In order to understand the interlinked problems in the Nexus (Latin = connection, linkage, interrelation) of water, energy and food security, close cooperation between scientists and practitioners from different fields is necessary. The present and future challenge of a reliable supply with water, energy and food is an example, where isolated considerations do not lead to viable solutions. Sustainable action and meaningful research in these highly interconnected fields require a holistic and comprehensive perspective and a new approach. In this sense, a collaborative research structure with a holistic view on the Nexus of Water, Energy and Food security was established in 2013 at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. The project bundles some of the research efforts of 11 professors from different faculties and institutes. The researchers jointly work on initiating new cooperation projects with partners from industry, academia and civil society. Together they aim at exploring new technologies and applying new approaches to solve major issues of efficiency and sustainability in resource use.