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. The investigated RESOURCECULTURE concerns soil use in Germany from the Neolithic transition to today. The time span of several millennia necessitates a separation of the study into different social-ecological systems (SES) which depend on the ResourceComplex “soil”. Therefore, an SES concerning agrarian soil use from a prehistoric and historic perspective was investigated using the adaptive cycle metaphor. The research interest was to analyze changes occurring within the SES “agriculture”, which are observable in the variables of the ResourceComplex “soil”. With industrialization, the ResourceComplex “soil” is no longer only present in the SES “agriculture” but also in the SES “allotment gardening”. The different variables of the ResourceComplex “soil” were investigated using questionnaires in six allotment garden associations. The specific characteristics of the ResourceComplex “soil” in the two contrasting SESs were used to define a RESOURCECULTURE concerning the ResourceComplex “soil”. The SES “agriculture” was analyzed using the adaptive cycle approach, which shows, that the SES is currently in its second cycle. Changes of the variables of the ResourceComplex “soil” indicate the different stages of the adaptive cycle and illustrate the complexity of the SES. The agrarian tools advanced from the spade to the ard to the plow, and management practices developed, such as crop rotation. Both had an impact on the soils of Central Europe, as the anthropogenic colluvial deposits show. With industrialization, the SES “agriculture” transforms and a second adaptive cycle begins. It relies on heavy machinery, industrialized fertilizer and herbicide production, and in part on genetically modified crops. The change of the SES “agriculture” led to more people living in urban agglomerations, where the ResourceComplex “soil” seems unimportant for society. However, it is substantial for the gardening community in the SES “allotment gardening”. There, soil knowledge and management practices are shaped by traditions. Experiments with the soil, plants and management practices lead to a specific gardening approach. Today, the ResourceComplex “soil” is used professionally by farmers and leisurely by gardeners. Further, society depends on the ResourceComplex “soil” for food provisioning. Most people in industrialized countries, however, do not actively engage with the ResourceComplex, but have a passive influence on it, through socio-cultural dynamics. Still, their dependency on agrarian products, which require soils, allows the definition of a SOILCULTURE. This culture is shaped by the farmers, leisure gardeners, and society in general, who rely on the ResourceComplex “soil” for food security.Ernährungssicherheit ist ein wiederkehrendes Thema in der Fachwelt und bei den politischen Entscheidungsträgern, sie zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch die gesamte Menschheitsgeschichte. Die Landwirtschaft und insbesondere die Getreideproduktion sind wichtig, um der wachsenden Weltbevölkerung genügend Nahrungsmittel zu liefern. Dies erfordert Böden, die für den Anbau geeignet sind, ein Klima, in dem die Kulturen erfolgreich angebaut werden können, Werkzeuge für den Anbau und die Wissens- und Bewirtschaftungspraktiken im Zusammenhang mit der Pflanzenproduktion. Die Landwirtschaft ist daher nicht von einer einzigen natürlichen Ressource abhängig, sondern von einem Ressourcenkomplex, in dem der Boden zentral ist. Die Bedeutung des Bodens und seine Nutzung in der Gesellschaft wird in der Arbeit untersucht. Der Fokus liegt auf dem Ressourcen-Komplex "Boden", der aus der zentralen Ressource Boden besteht und den Ressourcen Kulturen, Wissen, Technologie in Form von Werkzeugen, Management-Praktiken und sozio-kulturelle Dynamiken. Mit Hilfe einer Zeittafel werden in der Arbeit die sozial-ökologischen Systeme unterteilt, die vom Ressourcen-Komplex Boden abhängen. Die weiteren Forschungsfragen beschäftigen sich im Verlauf der Erörterung mit den Änderungen im Bereich Landwirtschaft, die Nutzung des Bodens als Freizeitbeschäftigung in Form der Kleingärten. Die Veränderungen im Rahmen der Industrialisierung führten dazu, dass immer mehr Menschen in städtischen Gebieten leben, wo der Boden von untergeordneter Rolle für die Gesellschaft zu sein scheint. Heute wird Boden von Landwirten professionell und von Freizeitgärtnern auf freiwilliger Basis genutzt. Es wird festgestellt, das Wohlergehen der Gesellschaft hängt vom Ressourcen-Komplex Boden ab.