Applying the SWAT Model As a Decision Support Tool for Land Use Concepts in Peripheral Regions in Germany N
This paper was peer-reviewed for scientific content. Pages 994-999. In: D.E. Stott, R.H. Mohtar and G.C. Steinhardt (eds). 2001. Sustaining the Global Farm. Selected papers from the 10th International Soil Conservation Organization Meeting held May 24-29, 1999 at Purdue University and the USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory. Applying the SWAT Model as a Decision Support Tool for Land Use Concepts in Peripheral Regions in Germany N. Fohrer*, K. Eckhardt, S. Haverkamp and H.-G. Frede shallow, poor soils and steep slopes, and good job ABSTRACT alternatives in other sectors of the economy. Thus, the In the Lahn-Dill- Bergland in the hilly midlands of percentage of fallow land is increasing and some landscape Hesse, Germany, agriculture is retreating from functions are endangered, like gaining agricultural income, landscape due to employment alternatives in various habitat properties for certain species, and a sufficient branches of industry and marginal conditions for quantity of groundwater recharge. agricultural production. Thus, the amount of fallow land One group of the SFB 299 analyzes the prevailing biotic is increasing. To stop this development a collaborative and abiotic site conditions and provides input information, research project (SFB 299) with 19 departments involved for instance soil and vegetation data or socio-economic was established at Giessen University in 1997 to develop boundary conditions, for the group responsible for modeling. new concepts of land use and assess their economic and An integrated system of three GIS-linked, raster-based ecological impact. The economic model ProLand (Möller models (Fohrer et al., 1999A; Weber et al., 1999B, Möller et et al., 1999A) is optimizing land use by maximizing al., 1999b) is used to develop and evaluate land use agricultural income.
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