How are we going to feed the world now and in the future? Most of the valuable arable land in the world is already in use and for various reasons we cannot expand agricultural land into new areas. We therefore have to think differently. This challenge was addressed by the Deep Frontier project (September 2014 – December 2020).
While current agricultural cropping systems have limited exploitation of water and nutrients below 1 meters of soil depth, some plant species can grow much deeper root systems. Crops with deeper roots can allow us to exploit unused nutrients and water from deep soil layers hereby increase the sustainability of cropping systems. Deep Frontier developed such systems and studied their resource use, biological effects and carbon sequestration in soil layers down to 5 meters depth.
Unique research facilities
Deep Frontier has developed and established unique research facilities - the rhizobox facility with 4 meter high ‘root towers’ and the field facility ‘DeepRootLab’ with minirhizotrons and acess tubes to 5 metres depth
Deep Frontier project is funded by the Villum Foundation and was carried out by::
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