At the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, we have been investigating the question of how a future climate will affect the grassland ecosystem and its management for just over 10 years. In accordance with the climate researchers' forecasts, we simulate the most important climate factors in a very complex and globally unique outdoor experiment and observe with scientific care how the plants, the water content in the soil and the gas exchange between soil and plants react to this.

We have equipped 54 test plots with a heating and fumigation system that allows us to increase the temperature using infrared heaters. At the same time, we can change the greenhouse gas concentration in the ground-level atmosphere on the experimental plots by gassing the experimental plots with air enriched with carbon dioxide. Since periods of drought will most likely occur more frequently in the future, this facility also gives us the opportunity to block the rain from test plots for a certain period of time using rain roofs and thus simulate dryness and drought. The field simulation is accompanied by a whole series of regular measurements and observations that precisely record the influence of the future climate on various aspects of the grassland ecosystem.

The new podcast series has also recently been online, in which our scientific staff talk about the challenges, adaptation options and opportunities created by climate change. Click here for the link: Podcast series :/> Climate Change - Adaptation Strategies (raumberg-gumpenstein.at)