Scientific and Research Projects

• SidaTim: Novel Pathways of Biomass Production: Assessing the Potential of Sida hermaphrodita and Valuable Timber Trees
  Description of the project:

  The aim of SIDATIM is to strengthen the European bio-based economy by researching and promoting potentials of new land use concepts. SIDATIM consists of two project parts. The first part of SidaTim is devoted to examining the growth performance and utilization pathways of Sida hermaphrodita. For several years, properties of this plant species were already investigated in Poland, and it has yielded promising results. Sida is not only suited to be used as energy plant, but it can be used for various material usage purposes. Yet, until today, there exists only scarce experience with Sida in other European countries. In the second research pillar, the focus ode search lies on the production of valuable timber in an agricultural setting. A special focus will be put on the growing of valuable timber trees at the edges of fields or within existing hedgerows. Finally, we investigate in a synthetic approach how these two land utilization concepts can be combined, for example by assessing the shadow tolerance of Sida experimentally. This three-year project is sponsored by the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE). It is coordinated by the Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology at the University of Freiburg and the 3N Centre of Experts. Other project partners include Cranfield University (UK), the West Pomeranian University of Technology Szczecin (PL), the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (IT), and the Institute of Agro-environmental and Forest Biology (IT).
  
  Phone: +49 761 203-8589
  Email: Michael.Nahm@iww.uni-freiburg.de

  Runtime:

  Start of project: 2016
  End of project: 2019

  Project Management:

  Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
  Dr. Michael Nahm, PD Dr. Hans-Peter Kahle
  

  Financing:
  • BMEL
  • BLE