Goals and tasks
Herndl Markus, Dr.
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Scientific Director of the Department
- Evaluation of environmental management on the farm
- Investigation of water and nutrient fluxes in grassland soils
From meadow to plate
Two practical workshops on edible wild herbs in grassland. In spring, grassland is full of valuable, edible plants – often over...
Grassland in a changing climate
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture. Grassland, in particular – the most important source of feed for livestock – is affected.
New accompanying handbook for teachers on the topic of business management and sustainability assessment
A new handbook offers teachers support for lessons on the topics of business management, sustainability assessment, and environmental protection...
New accompanying manual for teachers on the teaching concept with FarmLife
A new handbook offers teachers support for lessons on the topics of business management, sustainability assessment, and environmental protection...
ONLINE seminar: Eco-efficient farm management with FarmLife: Introduction to the online tool, February 24, 2026
Eco-efficient agriculture means recognizing ecological interrelationships and reconciling them with one's own economic demands and possibilities...
ONLINE seminar: Farm-based teaching with farmlife.at, February 25, 2026
Building on their knowledge from a basic seminar on FarmLife (held the day before!), participants learn the methodologically diverse, competent...
The invisible services of agriculture: 14 explanatory videos on the different agroecosystem services
Land management enables many different agroecosystem services. In 14 explanatory videos, we show what agroecosystem services are...
Water balance in the Stoderzinken mountain ecosystem – research results from the Northern Limestone Alps
The Northern Limestone Alps play a central role in Austria's drinking water supply. This is especially true in karst regions, where water quickly seeps into the ground...
Practice-oriented analysis of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of using digital technologies (DigitEnvironmentIII)
Cooperation partners: Francisco Josephinum Federal Higher Education and Research Institute, University of Agricultural and Environmental Education Practice-o...
The significance of local snow depth variability for the water balance at the mountain site Stoderzinken (WHSchnee)
Cooperation partner: Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Wolfgang Schöner, University of Graz, Institute of Geography and Regional Science. The significance of local ...
Successful completion of the scything course 2025
The combined course “Meadow maintenance with a scythe – mowing and sharpening” took place for the fourth time on May 13, 2025 at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein...
Meadow maintenance with a scythe – combined course mowing & sharpening
For everyone who wants to manage their meadows sustainably – completely without machine noise and gasoline. This course is aimed at farmers, hobby farmers, and gardeners...
Eco-efficiency assessment of the use of drones for poisonous plant detection
Project launch: Eco-poisonous plant identification. Farmers specializing in crops, such as medicinal plants, are constantly confronted with the presence of...
FarmLife EcoValue completed: Indicators for agricultural ecosystem services
As part of the "FarmLife EcoValue" project, a set of indicators for assessing ecosystem services at the farm level was developed. The goal...
Creation of a handbook for eco-efficiency and eco-efficient management using FarmLife key performance indicators: FarmLife KEY
A new project within the FarmLife area will begin in early 2025 with the creation of a "Handbook for Eco-efficiency and Eco-efficient...".
Conclusion of the IrriGrass irrigation experiment
The IrriGrass project investigated the requirements for sustainable irrigation of Austrian grasslands under changing climate conditions...
Climate change and soil water balance in grassland: findings and recommendations for your farm
Climate change presents agriculture with new challenges. In particular, the water balance in grasslands is affected by rising temperatures, increased rainfall, and other factors.
Development of measures to optimize animal welfare potential based on the FarmLife Welfare Index for cattle (FarmLifeWFOpti)
FarmLifeWFOpti The FarmLife Welfare Index, developed at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, assesses the animal welfare potential on dairy farms in Germany...
ClimGrass research project - cutting-edge research on climate change in Raumberg-Gumpenstein
The recent publication in the renowned journal Science once again underscores the central role of HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein in the ...
Setting up a climate manipulation experiment at a high-alpine location
As part of the scientific work, a climate manipulation experiment is being set up in the high alpine region of the Grossglockner in order to subsequently...
Digital technologies for more sustainable agriculture
With an innovative concept developed within the framework of the "Digitalization in Agriculture 2023/24" cluster, the HBLFA Raumberg...
An exciting look at the future of the Alps: Climate impact research in high mountains
In the "KECCbiocrust" project of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, a significant experiment in climate manipulation was set up in the Großglockner region. ...
Honoring Dr. Gérard Gaillard in the run-up to the 14th Agroscope Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment Platform
On October 22nd of this year, the 14th Life Cycle Assessment Platform for Agriculture, organized by the Swiss research institution Agroscope, took place in Zurich-Reckenholz. The event...
Impact of drought on orchard grass
With climate change and increasing droughts, orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is becoming ever more important for agriculture. This study, published...
Bavarian experimental system in the exchange of experience
On June 11th and 12th, employees of the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture ( HBLFA visited the Gumpenstein Agricultural Research and Training Centre (HBLFA). The group...
FarmLife Science - scientific basis for FarmLife
You are currently on the FarmLife learning platform, in the section on the scientific fundamentals of FarmLife. These are freely available for download...
FarmLife: Lesson-enhancing activity suggestions for LFS and HBLA
You are currently on the FarmLife learning platform in the section for teaching suggestions and games related to farm management...
Completed projects for the FarmLife farm management tool
Here you will find links to the completed projects of the Eco-Efficiency research group at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. ...
Meadow maintenance with a scythe - combined course mowing and sharpening
If you've mastered mowing with a scythe, it's the most environmentally friendly and easiest way to mow a meadow. In this workshop you can...
Application and further development of the FarmLife-Welfare Index for cattle
Animal welfare and the labeling of agricultural products are gaining increasing social relevance. The research at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenst...
Current projects for the farm management tool FarmLife
Here you will find links to the currently ongoing projects of the Eco-Efficiency research group at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein. ...
Didactic evaluation and dissemination of the FarmLife educational concept
The project "Didactic Evaluation and Dissemination of the FarmLife Educational Concept" (FarmLife Education II) was successfully completed in December 2023...
EU project: agrifoodTEF
Artificial intelligence will change the way we live, and therefore also the way we produce our food.
Workshop - Edible wild herbs in grassland
A contribution to regional and health-conscious nutrition. ...
Workshop - Processing and preservation of edible wild herbs in grassland
A contribution to regional, sustainable and health-conscious nutrition. ...
Nutrient flows and environmental impacts of closed-loop milk production in an extensive grassland area
As part of the Horizon 2020 project “Efficient Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus cycling in the European Agri-food System and related up- and down-st...
Concept and criteria developed for assessing environmental impacts when using digital technologies
Agriculture should offer numerous advantages in terms of production technology and labor efficiency, as well as a reduction in the cost of production inputs...
FarmLife recognized as an innovation for farm management on mountain farms!
The "Alpen-Adria Agricultural Fair," which takes place only every two years, was held at the Klagenfurt Exhibition Center on January 20, 2023. The fair...
Completion of the project "Measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions"
The project report describes agronomic improvement options that could be implemented if food production in the agricultural sector continues...
22nd Alpine Expert Forum: Drought as a new challenge for grassland management
Topic: Drought as a new challenge for grassland management ...
Assessment of the environmental impacts of agriculture using digital tools
The HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, together with its partners, has developed a digital tool called FarmLife in recent years. FarmLife...
Open position as a research assistant
At HBLFA Raumberg Gumpenstein, you will work on aspects of circular agricultural production (optionally with a focus on dairy production)...
Visit by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) - Quality Management Manager of the food retail sector
On Friday, July 8th, a small but select delegation from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), Quality Management Division for the Food Trade, visited the HBLFA Raumberg...
Making research tangible
After a year of preparation, the exhibition and excursion area on the topics of "Soil-Water-Plants" was opened on Wednesday, June 22nd, by Dr. Andre...
Life cycle assessments of practical and technical solutions for increasing C, N and P recycling
Project objective: The EU project “Circular Agronomics” aims to evaluate practical and technical solutions for improving current circular agronomic practices.
Climate change adaptation - Irrigation in grassland?
Project goal: The IrriGrass project aims to investigate the relationships between climate change, biomass development, quality, water demand and yield security...
Soil-water-root show tree
The soil-water-root show cellar is a station in the soil-water-plant demonstration area where the soil, as a basis for life, is presented with all its functions...
Opening of the Soil-Water-Plant Showroom
The opening of a soil-water-plant demonstration and excursion area will take place on the research grounds of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein on June 22nd...
Environmental assessment of organic dairy farms with closed regional production cycles in the Lungau district
Milk production in disadvantaged areas is of great importance in Austria. Nine out of ten liters of milk delivered are produced in these areas...
Eco-efficiency of dairy farms from the Mur and Mürz valleys
In 2021, the research group "Eco-efficiency of agricultural production systems" developed a new methodological concept for eco-efficiency assessment...
Digital farm management tool for assessing sustainability on dairy farms
Project goal: The digital farm management tool should provide farmers with practical starting points for improvements and offer concrete assistance...
FarmLife BD - Concept for Biodiversity Assessment
The aim of the FarmLife Biodiversity (FarmLife BD) project was to develop a system for assessing the effects of different agricultural activities...
Environmental assessment concept – explained simply
Within the framework of the cluster “Digitalization in Agriculture”, funded by the Austrian Rural Development Programme 2014–2020, ...
Alpine lysimeter station at Stoderzinken
On Tuesday, October 19, 2021, the Environmental Ecology department once again set about setting up the alpine lysimeter station at 1800m...
Nutrient source atmosphere – comparison of collection systems in the Stoderzinken alpine ecosystem
Alpine farming is an integral part of Austrian mountain agriculture and makes important contributions to resource conservation. ...
The Eco-efficiency research group of HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein introduces itself
For several years now – officially since mid-2019 – an inter-institutional research project has existed at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein...
Influence of snow cover on the water balance in an alpine ecosystem
The snowpack represents a very important reservoir for the alpine water cycle. ...
Video on the topic of climate change
ClimGrass – Climate Impact Research for Grassland Grassland farming faces significant challenges due to the high vulnerability of the Alpine region to climate change...
Ecological assessment of the application of digital technologies in agriculture
With the steadily increasing digitalization in agriculture, the question increasingly arises as to how the effects of these technologies on the environment...
New eco-efficiency rating developed
The research group "Eco-efficiency of agricultural production systems" has been working for many years within the framework of interdisciplinary research...
FarmLife News: Feedback and requests from teachers
A successful FarmLife Train-the-Trainer webinar, held on March 17th and 18th, 2021, provides the opportunity to share the feedback and thoughts received so far...
The Institute for Plant Production and Cultural Landscape introduces itself
The following video provides a brief insight into the tasks of the staff at the Institute for Plant Production and Cultural Studies...
Development of an assessment system for animal welfare for implementation in the farm management tool FarmLife
The issue of animal welfare is gaining increasing importance in agriculture and in societal discussions, both nationally and internationally...
Biodiversity assessment on farms: concepts, models and application in life cycle assessment
The overview of the approaches shows that the topic of biodiversity assessment and consulting at the farm level has been developing in recent years...
Cultural landscape
Land Use and Cultural Landscape: The influences of land use, in particular agricultural use and its associated tasks, on the cultural landscape...
Species diversity
Biodiversity, vegetation dynamics and nature conservation: The floristic composition of the plant population and the diversity of plant species are discussed in the green space...
Nutrients
Soil, water and nutrient supply...
Didactic evaluation and dissemination of the FarmLife educational concept
Environmentally and climate-friendly agriculture is essential for sustainability. FarmLife has established itself in recent years as a practical...
Workshop Environmental Assessment Concept
As part of a workshop within Project V of the "Digitalization in Agriculture" cluster, international experts from Germany...
Will site-appropriate agriculture save the conventional family farm from extinction?
Applied research carries responsibility towards stakeholders. In this sense, the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein is connected to the farms in Austria...
On the trail of the drought
This spring was severely affected by drought in large parts of Austria. This was particularly true during the period when grassland areas...
Concept and criteria for assessing environmental impacts when using digital technologies
Digitalization has become an integral part of our daily lives and has long since found its way into agriculture. The greatest benefit...
Nutrient flows and environmental impacts of closed-loop milk production in an extensive grassland area
This proposed project represents the national component of an already approved Horizon 2020 project. The project title is: CI...
Water balance in the alpine ecosystem Stoderzinken - Analysis of influencing factors and their effects on soil, water and plants
Building on the completed projects (Nos. 100566, 100810), the data already collected at the Stoderzinken research station will be expanded...
Impact of climate change on the hydrology and productivity of alpine grassland using weighable lysimeters
The altered climate conditions predicted by the Austrian APCC assessment report "Climate Change 2014", in the form of increased CO2 concentrations...
Comparison and analysis of the synergies of environmental and sustainability assessments on dairy farms in Austria
In the context of future European agricultural policy, the competitiveness of the Austrian dairy industry depends on its ability to...
Sustainable use of nutrients for a future-proof agriculture
The "Circular Agronomics" (CircAgro) project aims to improve the understanding of the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles as the fundamental principles of agriculture.
Individual farm life cycle assessment of agricultural holdings in Austria
Farmers are increasingly confronted with questions of resource consumption and the environmental impact of their production systems. Both aspects are closely linked...
Practical application of the farm management tool "FarmLife" in the model region "Liezen district" - Eco-efficient dairy farming
Dairy farms with volatile product prices and uncertain future prospects require long-term decisions. A well-prepared farm...
Eco-efficiency in practice
Soil, plants, animals, and fertilizer form a cycle in which food is produced. In a closed cycle, exactly the same things happen...
Scientific principles of eco-efficiency
Eco-efficiency expresses the relationship between the environmental impact/resource consumption and the economic value of a production process...
Circular Agronomics - A Horizon 2020 Project
The Eco-efficiency working group of HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein is a partner in the Horizon 2020 project "CIRCULAR AGRONOMICS: Efficient Carbon, Nitrogen and...".
Further development and testing of a measurement system for quantifying atmospheric nitrogen deposition into a soil/plant system
The usual methods for determining the quantification of nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere are "wet and dry-only" and "bulk samplers"...
Species and variety screening of grasses, herbs and legumes
Species and variety screening of grasses, herbs and legumes as a basis for grassland management on dry sites. The permanent grass...
2005: Projects involving teaching
Teaching and research
2311: Manure trial
Comparison of permanent grassland under different fertilization levels
2386: Farmlife
Individual farm life cycle assessment of agricultural holdings in Austria
2393: DATALYS
Development of a testing and analysis system for continuous data streams and their conversion into relational data models
2401: CCN grassland
Impact of climate change and nitrogen deposition on plant diversity in grassland ecosystems
2420: SpectroGrass
Implementation of field spectroscopy for the non-invasive investigation of plant populations
2440: FarmLifeWF
Development of an assessment system for animal welfare for implementation in the farm management tool FarmLife
2449: Reine Lungau
Results presentation Farmlife and Reine Lungau
2454: HyproGrass
Impact of climate change on the hydrology and productivity of alpine grassland using weighable lysimeters
2456: FarmMilk
Holistic eco-efficiency as a method to support the dairy industry
2918: Management systems MAB
Recording of management systems in grassland
3408: WT: N cycles in agricultural ecosystems
Nitrogen cycle in an agricultural ecosystem
3444: WT: Substance loads monolith lysimeter
Material loads monolith lysimeter
3450: WT: Soil water content and (de-)nitrification rate
The influence of soil water content on the gross nitrification and denitrification rate in the soil
3476: WT: Mountain lysimeter Stoderzinken
Stoderzinken mountain lysimeter
3487: WT: DOC leachate
Dissolved total nitrogen and carbon in leachate
3550: WT: Species and variety screening
Species and variety screening of grasses, herbs and legumes for suitability for a competition trial
3557: WT: GWStoder
Groundwater recharge dynamics in the Stoderzinken alpine ecosystem: Combined analysis of infiltration and drainage processes
3564: WT: ClimClass
Investigation of climatic demarcation criteria for the disadvantaged area of Austria
3566: WT: GwSchnee
Influence of snow accumulation and melting on groundwater recharge at the mountain site of Stoderzinken.
3619: WT: Nitratmo
Further development and testing of a measurement system for quantifying atmospheric nitrogen deposition in a soil-plant system
3627: WT: Uranium Green
Behavior of uranium from phosphate-containing fertilizers in a grassland soil-water-plant system
3650: WT FarmLifeII
Eco-efficiency toolbox for agricultural consulting and education practice
3651: WT FarmLifeApp
Practical application of the farm management tool “FarmLife” in the model region “Liezen district”
3652: WT BilOsKarst
Balancing of organic pollutants in karst regions using PAHs as an example
3673: WT SmartFarmLife
Comparison and analysis of the synergies of environmental and sustainability assessments on dairy farms in Austria
3680 WT: FarmEdu
Integration of the eco-efficiency tool FarmLife into the agricultural education landscape of Austria
3962: Agricultural Reserve: Management of development areas
Management of development areas