The first joint visit of the Centre of Excellence AgroCropFuture led to the Rural Knowledge Centre

Researchers from the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the member institutions of the new Centre of Excellence "AgroCropFuture: Agroecology and new crops in future climates", visited the third member institution of AgroCropFuture - Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge (METK) in Jõgeva.

"In METK, we looked at the freshly built greenhouse and visited the field sites created for testing the effect of drought on crops. We also discussed further possibilities for cooperation," said Tsipe Aavik, Associate Professor of Macroecology and the head of the Landscape Biodiversity Workgroup.

"The Centre of Excellence examines the links between microbial communities in agricultural soils, crop yields and other ecosystem services, and aims to develop sustainable cultivation methods. This area coincides with the topics of several research projects of the Landscape Biodiversity Group - after all, one of the main focus of our activities is on the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes."

The goal of the Centre of Excellence AgroCropFuture is to propose sustainable cultivation methods to reduce the global footprint of food production in a changing climate. The results are expected to lead to innovative steps in Estonian agriculture. The Centre of Excellence includes research teams with the best competence in this field in Estonia, including scientists from the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the University of Tartu and the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge.

Read more about the Centre of Excellence on the website of the Landscape Biodiversity Group.

More information:

Tsipe Aavik

tsipe.aavik@ut.ee

University of Tartu Landscape Biodiversity Group

J. Liivi 2, 50409, Tartu, ESTONIA

Aveliina Helm / +372 5553 8679 / aveliina.helm@ut.ee
Tsipe Aavik / +372 516 1187 / tsipe.aavik@ut.ee

© UNIVERSITY OF TARTU LANDSCAPE BIODIVERSITY GROUP, 2024