Vision

The vision of NAPERDIV is to introduce perennial grain crops as a nature-based solution for innovative and future-proof agricultural systems in Europe to move from current crop production towards sustainable alternatives acknowledged by the EU’s agricultural and environmental legislation.

Scientific objective

The overall objective of NAPERDIV is to establish the base for novel field management guidelines and techniques for identifying best-case scenarios for perennial grain crop use in terms of purposes, growing areas, and coherent farming systems.

Management options at plot level should then be evaluated for their beneficial effects at farm and landscape level. The latter refers to the function as biodiversity corridors, buffer zones and habitats for declining species (e.g. beneficial arthropods, farmland birds) . A prerequisite to reach this goal is the evaluation of multiple benefits, but also constraints of perennial grain crops to sustainably conserve and manage biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of climate change. NAPERDIV will contribute to this process by using a trans-disciplinary methods approach including, but not limited to, field experimentation and observation, crop modelling, and multi-actor stakeholder integration.

Approach, methodology and individual work packages (WP)

The integrated research and outreach approach of NAPERDIV with expected impact on the development of nature-based and climate change adapted food production systems.
The integrated research and outreach approach of NAPERDIV with expected impact on the development of nature-based and climate change adapted food production systems.

 

NAPERDIV will use an innovative and multi-disciplinary approach and will benefit from a network of researchers with profound expertise. The approach consists of an inter-disciplinary, field- and lab-based “Experimentation” phase (WP 1 - 4), which will be conducted in the field research units in France, Belgium and Sweden . Fundamental research data from this component will be transferred to the “Integration and Outreach” phase (WP 5 - 7), which will specifically disseminate project results in an adjusted manner to various stakeholders (e.g. EC policy makers, farmers, general public). Special emphasis will be given to the consolidation of the science-policy interface to reach a maximum “Impact” of our vision of perennial grain crops as a nature-based and climate change adapted food production system.

The field research units of NAPERDIV are located at three sites across Europe, all involved in collaborative work and joint research: Sweden, Belgium, and France. This Pan-European feature crosses various locations (between 55° N (Sweden) and 45° N (France)), with a range of soil, climatic and agro-ecological conditions. This network will offer NAPERDIV a unique opportunity to study the ecological and agronomic performance of IWG (Kernza®) in contrast to annual grain counterparts. In addition, the field research units offer excellent platforms for stakeholder interaction and dissemination activities.