BASIL - The importance of medicinal plant cultivation for the protection and promotion of the diversity of insect fauna in agricultural areas
Project goals
The project will focus on the importance of medicinal plant cultivation for the conservation and promotion of insect diversity in the cultivated landscape. To this end, selected insect orders and species will be analysed. The initial focus is on recording the insects in the populations of five plant species that are used pharmaceutically for the products Iberogast and Phytodolor: Bitter bowflower (Iberis amara), celandine (Chelidonium majus), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), angelica (Angelica archangelica) and goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea).
In order to determine the extent to which the cultivation of selected medicinal plants contributes to the protection and promotion of insect biodiversity in agricultural areas, the following work is being carried out:
- Comparison of insect diversity in the medicinal plant cultures with surrounding agricultural crops (qualitative)
- Comparison of the abundance of selected species in the medicinal plant cultures with surrounding agricultural crops (quantitative)
- Compilation of annotated species lists (RL species etc.)
- Identification of functional relationships between the insects and the respective medicinal plants and derivation of the ecosystem functions resulting from their cultivation
- Recommendations for improving cultivation
Applied mix of methods
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Systematic review of the experimental literature
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Expert interviews on the use of farmers' contextual knowledge for the optimisation of mixed crops
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Remote sensing and machine learning
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Statistical analysis of existing experimental data
Project partners & companies
- Bayer AG Devision CropScience, Alfred-Nobel-Straße 50, 40789 Monheim am Rhein
- Bayer Vital GmbH Devision Consumer Health, Building K 56, 51368 Leverkusen
- Steigerwald Arzneimittelwerk GmbH Devision Consumer Health, Havelsstraße 5, 64295 Darmstadt
- Schimmel GbR Heidi & Ulrich Schimmel, Darmstädter Str. 4, 64319 Pfungstadt Eschollbrücken, kontakt@kartoffelbluete.de
- Hofgutkräuter GmbH Co. KG, Hofgut Dilshofen, D-64354 Reinheim, info@hofgutkraeuter.de
| Project titel: | The importance of medicinal plant cultivation for the protection and promotion of insect fauna diversity in agricultural areas |
| Acronym: | BASIL |
| Duration: | 06.12.2021 - 30.11.2024 |
| Förderung: |
Bayer AG Devision CropScience, Bayer Vital GmbH Devision Consumer Health, Steigerwald Arzneimittelwerk GmbH Devision Consumer Health |
