Past and present soil use in Germany – an analysis of the social-ecological systems “agriculture” and “allotment gardening”

Abstract

Food security has been a recurring issue in the scientific community and among policy makers, and it affected societies in the past, for example during the World Wars. Agriculture and especially the production of cereals are important to provide the growing world population with enough food. This requires soils, which are suitable for cultivation, a climate in which the crops can successfully be cultivated, tools for cultivation, and the knowledge and management practices related to crop production. Agriculture, therefore, does not depend on a single natural resource, but on a ResourceComplex in which soil is central. The relevance of soil and its use in society has been investigated using the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 1070) RESOURCECULTURES. The focus is on the ResourceComplex “soil”, which consists of the central resource soil, and the resources crops, knowledge, technology in form of tools, management practices, and socio-cultural dynamics. [untranslated]