Organic Agricultural Landscape Experiment

In Raasdorf, on the organically managed experimental fields of BOKU, a Europe-wide unique agricultural landscape experiment was established in spring 2026: a large-scale, randomized field trial covering around 20 hectares, demonstrating how productivity, biodiversity, and climate protection and adaptation can be jointly promoted. Three levels of diversification are being scientifically investigated in the agricultural landscape experiment with regard to their ecological, economic, and climatic impacts: (i) monocultures (control), (ii) strip cropping with common crops such as maize, wheat, and soybean, as well as functional strips, and (iii) strip cropping with functional strips as in (ii), combined with agroforestry (alley cropping). Within the functional strips, annual plants (e.g., herbs, crops such as milk thistle and calendula) and perennial plants (e.g., clover-grass mixtures, spice fennel, fallow land, flowering strips), as well as the agroforestry strips, play a crucial role. They promote soil protection, biodiversity, and influence the microclimate, thereby creating diverse habitats, ecological niches, and biotope corridors. For the first time in Austria, the agricultural landscape experiment collects extensive interdisciplinary data on ecosystem services and biodiversity indicators to quantify how structural diversity affects yield, soil fertility, water balance, carbon storage, and species diversity, as well as labor input and wage costs. This is achieved through innovative technologies—drone- and AI-supported data collection and sensor systems—which enable the development of a “digital twin.” These results provide a scientifically sound basis for future agricultural and environmental policy decisions.