Focus Area – Site Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen

<p>Frankenhausen (51° 24'35.4"N, 9° 26'03.2"E) is the Center for Research, Teaching, and Knowledge Transfer in Organic Farming of the University of Kassel, Hesse, Germany and has been managed organically since 1998. </p>

<p>The 300 ha commercial farm integrates research, teaching, and knowledge transfer, and is located in the northernmost part of the Nordhessische Senke, the Hofgeismarer Rötsenke, 9 km north of Kassel. The approximately 12 km wide, slightly hilly, open depression is bordered to the east by the Reinhardswald (red sandstone) and to the west by the Oberwälder Land and the Langen- and Staufenbergplatte (limestone plates of the middle and lower shell limestone). The Esse, which drains to the Diemel and Weser, lies in the lowest part of the depression at approx. 209 m above sea level, while the highest hills reach 259 m above sea level. The depression itself, in which the farm areas are located, consists of soft claystones (early triassic, Röt), which are partly overlaid with loess of varying thickness. The warm temperate summer rain climate (Cfb according to the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification) is characterized by an annual average temperature of 10.0°C and an annual precipitation of 553 mm (ten-year average 2014-2024). The vegetation is open farmland with a small proportion of grassland, apart from some basalt knolls and red marls covered with pearl grass-beech forests. A small creek, the Jungfernbach with its young alluvial sediments alongside, divides the farm area into two geological sections: in the western part, where the experimental areas are located, there are loess sediment of up to 7.5 m thickness, in the eastern part, hills of weathered claystone are located with no or thin loessial layers. The agroforestry experiment is located in this part. On the hills, Luvisols developed, which were slightly eroded at slopes, and colluvial soils accumulated as Anthrosols and stagnic Anthrosols in depressions. Cambisols and Vertisols developed from weathered claystone without loess layers, and Luvisols are found on weathered claystone with thin loess layers. </p>

<p>The farm area comprises 286 ha, out of which 231 ha are arable land including 45 ha experimental areas, 37 ha grassland, and 18 ha nature conservation areas. There are two crop rotations in arable farming: alfalfa or clover grass, winter wheat, potatoes and field vegetables (carrots, beet, onions) are grown on the areas with loess cover, while the crop rotation on the areas without loess consists of clover grass, wheat, spelt, oats and maize. There is once again a dairy herd with 100 dairy cows plus offspring (German black and white lowland cattle, a dual-purpose breed) and a mobile henhouse with 300 animals. The farm also runs a farm store and a self-harvest vegetable area with around 100 plots. All areas are located in the water protection zone IIIA. Research at Frankenhausen is done both in the area of cropping systems and livestock. Besides varying short-term field experiments related to the optimization of organic cropping systems there are two long-term field trials (the Frankenhausen cropping system experiment and the Frankenhausen agroforestry experiment) and also on-farm and in-farm research on the areas of the commercial farm. </p>

<p>All field trials are generally carried out on a 20-hectare section of the estate, the field trial area. The area is divided into seven individual plots, with a crop rotation of clover-grass (2 years), winter wheat, two summer crops (oats, onions, potatoes), winter wheat and winter barley. Field experiments are integrated into the crop rotation at a suitable field within the crop rotation depending on demands on the previous crop, and before the next field experiment, the crops of the usual crop rotation are grown for at least three years. The seven individual fields are Gartenbreite 2, Gartenbreite 3, Schmalenbeck 1/2, Schmalenbeck 1/1, Lindenbreite 1, Lindenbreite 2, and Lindenbreite 3. An adjacent field, Schmalenbeck 2/1, is also occasionally used for field trials. The long-term Frankenhausen cropping system experiment is located on the adjacent plot Gartenbreite 1. </p>

<p> The site is embedded in the bigger Focus Area Central Hessian Arable Cropping Areas (https://doi.org/10.4228/zalf-47e1-hf77) . </p>