CARA - Climate change adaptation through flood-reducing agriculture

The "CARA" project pursues an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the influence of agricultural practices on hydrological and microbial soil processes. The aim is to identify agricultural practices that improve resilience to climate change by increasing water retention in the area; regionally, by reducing pluvial flooding and locally by improving the soil water balance and reducing soil erosion. As part of the project, agricultural measures are selected in collaboration with stakeholders and implemented by farms. Before and after the measures are implemented, representative soil samples are taken and their physical, chemical and microbiological properties are analysed. In the laboratory, the water retention capacity is analysed using an innovative rain simulator, also taking into account future changes in precipitation patterns due to climate change in order to quantify their effect at regional and local scales. The changes in the microbiome will be observed during the irrigation experiments in the laboratory to understand its influence on the soil water storage capacity and soil structure. The effect of different precipitation patterns on the soil microbiome and its functions will also be investigated. The collected data will be interpreted using various analytical methods in order to create a model of the mechanisms, cause-effect relations and interactions between the individual factors that enables forecasts of future changes in the soil water balace that may occur. The regional effects of the agricultural measures are then analysed and visualised for selected catchment areas using coupled hydrological-hydrodynamic modelling. Based on the knowledge gained, decision-makers can recommend and fund effective measures in a targeted manner.