Field In Germany Research Articles

A LUCAS‐based mid‐infrared soil spectral library: Its usefulness for soil survey and precision agriculture#

AbstractBackgroundMid‐infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) is commonly recognized as a rapid and high throughput measurement technology for numerous soil properties, given that appropriate prediction models are calibrated. Soil spectral libraries (SSL) may reduce effort and costs for MIRS practical application.AimsTo calibrate MIR‐SSL‐based prediction models for soil properties and to test their applicability to independent sample sets at regional scale (e.g., for soil survey) and at field scale (i.e., for precision agriculture, PA).MethodsSpectra of 1013 arable topsoil samples of the European Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey 2009 (LUCAS) from Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany formed the basis for the MIR‐SSL. Leave‐one‐out cross‐validation (LOOCV) via partial least squares regression served to calibrate (1) generic prediction models including all samples, and (2) stratified models for different parent materials. Test‐set validation (TSV) was conducted on samples from independent campaigns at (1) regional scale with a sample set from Schleswig‐Holstein (Germany; n = 385) and (2) field scale for four individual fields in Germany (n = 513).ResultsGeneric LOOCV models successfully predicted soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, sand, silt, clay, carbonate, and pH. Calibration for available nutrients failed. The TSV was successful for the regional sample set for all variables (2.5 ≤ RPIQ ≤ 5.9), except for carbonate (RPIQ = 0). At field scale, the validation was highly variable for different sites and parameters. Stratified models using soil parent material as auxiliary variable improved only occasionally the applicability at field scale, that is, on single fields and only for clay and carbonate.ConclusionsAlthough the MIR‐SSL in its present state cannot be recommended for nutrient management, it provides valuable support for soil survey and PA.

African Studies in Distress: German Scholarship on Africa and the Neglected Challenge of Decoloniality

This paper is a response to Matthias Basedau's article published in issue 55/2020 of the present journal. At a time when African Studies scholarship is rising beyond the flogging of dead horses, certain strands in the field in Germany seem to ignore much of the valuable scholarship and intellectual contributions by excellent African and non-African researchers alike. It is striking to see how Basedau falls prey to the same shortcomings that he draws our attention to, that is, the domination of African Studies by sources and figures outside the continent and the construction of Africa as a space of lack. This underscores the urgency of decolonizing African Studies at many levels, including liberating it from the straightjacket of area studies, interrogating purportedly objective scholarship, and opening it up to new theoretical perspectives. The restriction to comparative approaches will only ensure that these strands in African Studies remain stuck in their epistemological cul-de-sac.

Who Belongs, and How Far? Refugees and Bureaucrats Within the German Active Welfare State

Concepts such as “belonging” (Yuval‐Davis, 2011) and “community of value” (Anderson, 2013) try to capture the multiple ways of classifying migrants. In this article, we argue that belonging needs to be analyzed against the backdrop of active social citizenship in European welfare states. Although the literature acknowledges the increasing links between migration and social policies, the latest “turn to activation” in social policy has hardly been accounted for. By focusing on two policy fields in Germany, the labor market and health policies, we briefly describe discourses and social right entitlements and their ambivalences. Empirically we show (a) how bureaucrats within the two policy fields regulate and justify refugees’ social rights in practice and (b) how refugees act vis‐à‐vis relevant institutional opportunity structures. Our study contributes to previous research twofold: Firstly, we illustrate processes of positioning and selecting refugees that stem from recent social policy architecture. Secondly, we demonstrate everyday experiences from refugees’ vis‐á‐vis relevant institutional opportunity structures in Germany. Our results show that inconsistencies within and between social policy fields of one welfare state have to be taken into consideration for further national and transnational research.

Hygiene and disinfection measures for monkeypox virus infections.

In Germany, recommendations on infection prevention and control of current virus outbreaks are given as communications by the Association for Applied Hygiene e.V. (VAH) together with the joint Disinfectant Commission of the German Association for the Control of Virus Diseases e.V. (DVV) and the Society of Virology* (GfV). The DVV was founded in 1954 in response to the ongoing threat to the population from polio and was given its current name in 1977. The DVV is supported by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministries of Health of the Federal States, scientific societies, as well as social foundations and organisations. Private individuals cannot be members of the DVV. The Society of Virology e.V. (GfV) is a scientific society for all virological fields in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and is thus the largest virological society in Europe. With numerous commissions, guidelines and statements, it is the authoritative contact for research, healthcare and politics. The joint commission "Virus Disinfection" of these scientific societies focuses on the efficacy of chemical disinfection procedures against viruses. The VAH bundles the expertise of scientific societies and experts on infection prevention and is particularly committed to the quality assurance of hygiene measures. With the VAH disinfectant list, the association provides the standard reference for the selection of high-quality disinfection procedures. This disinfectant list has a tradition of more than 60 years in Germany. The original German version of this document was published in August 2022 and has now been made available to the international professional public in English. The document contains recommendations on hygiene and disinfection measures for monkeypox virus infections. Disinfectants against monkeypox must have at least proven efficacy against enveloped viruses (active against enveloped viruses); products with the efficacy ranges "limited virucidal activity" and "virucidal" can also be used. The disinfectant list of the VAH or the disinfectant list of the Robert Koch Institute are available for the selection of products. Especially in the case of contamination with crust or scab material, it should be noted that protein contamination can have a protective or stabilising effect on monkeypox. Therefore, cleaning - before disinfection - should always be carried out in this situation. Preventive measures such as vaccination and hygiene in the vicinity of people with monkeypox must be taken to prevent transmission to small children, pregnant women or people with a pronounced immune deficiency.

Niektóre problemy nowelizacji polskiego prawa o ubezwłasnowolnieniu

The article discusses the problems of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities in the Polish civil law. Polish legislator needs to choose the model of legal regulation of adult’s protection, which will replace the incapacitation. The article presents the solutions adopted in this field in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, France, Hungary, and in some other European countries. The institution of incapacitation is deeply rooted in the Polish legal system, both in law and in legal culture. The abolition of incapacitation will require changes in many areas of law such as family law, rights of the patient, the rules of the exercise of the legal professions and the medical professions, and others. The reform of adult’s protection law carried out in other European countries have faced many problems, such as rising costs of institutions dealing with the protection and the ineffectiveness of many of the new norms. The reform of the law to protect adults conducted in Poland can and should learn from the experience of other countries in this regard.

The recent stress state of Germany – results of a geomechanical–numerical 3D model

Abstract. A decisive criterion for the selection and the long-term safety of a deep geological repository for high radioactive waste is the crustal stress state and its future changes. The basis of any prognosis is the recent crustal stress state, but the state of knowledge in Germany is quite low in this respect. There are stress orientation data provided by the World Stress Map (WSM, Heidbach et al., 2018) and stress magnitude data from a database (Morawietz et al., 2020) for Germany, both providing selective information on the recent stress field. However, these data are often incomplete, of low quality and spatially unevenly distributed. Therefore, a 3D continuous description is not possible with these data so far, at most for the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax), but not for the most important magnitudes of the minimum (Shmin) and SHmax. In the course of the SpannEnD project, a geomechanical–numerical 3D model of Germany is created, with which a continuous description of the complete tensor of the recent stress field in Germany is possible. The model covers an area of 1250×1000 km2 from Poland in the east, to France in the west, from Italy in the south to Scandinavia in the north. The depth extent is 100 km. Even though the focus is primarily on Germany, the model area was chosen to be so wide to minimize boundary effects and for a simplified definition of the displacement boundary conditions, which are ideally oriented perpendicular or parallel to the orientation of SHmax. The model contains a total of 21 units: The upper part of the lithospheric mantle, the lower crust, four laterally overlapping units of the upper crust, and 14 stratigraphic units of the sedimentary cover. The stratigraphic subdivision of the sedimentary cover is only done in the core area of the model; because this area is the focus of our study, our calibration data are mainly from this region and well-resolved geometry data are available. Outside of the core area, the sediments are grouped into an undifferentiated unit. The units are parameterized with density and elastic material parameters (Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus). The model has a lateral resolution of 2.5×2.5 km2 and a vertical resolution of a maximum of 240 m; in total it includes 11.1 million hexahedral elements. The equilibrium of forces between body and surface forces is solved by finite element method. The model is calibrated with Shmin and SHmax magnitudes from the WSM and data from the stress magnitude database. First, an initial stress state is generated and in a second step displacement boundary conditions are defined at the model edges, which are adjusted until a best-fit to the calibration data is found. The results show good agreement with both the SHmax orientation data from the WSM and the magnitudes of the two principal horizontal stresses (Shmin and SHmax) from the magnitude database.

Slip tendency analysis of major faults in Germany

Abstract. Natural seismicity and tectonic activity are important processes for the site-selection and for the long-term safety assessment of a nuclear waste repository, as they can influence the integrity of underground structures significantly. Therefore, it is crucial to gain insight into the reactivation potential of faults. The two key factors that control the reactivation potential are (a) the geometry and properties of the fault such as strike direction and friction angle, and (b) the orientations and magnitudes of the recent stress field and future changes to it due to exogenous processes such as glacial loading as well as anthropogenic activities in the subsurface. One measure of the reactivation potential of faults is the ratio of resolved shear stress to normal stresses at the fault surface, which is called slip tendency. However, the available information on fault properties and the stress field in Germany is sparse. Geomechanical numerical modelling can provide a prediction of the required 3D stress tensor in places without stress data. Here, we present slip tendency calculations on major faults based on a 3D geomechanical numerical model of Germany and adjacent regions of the SpannEnD project (Ahlers et al., 2021). Criteria for the selection of faults relevant to the scope of the SpannEnD project were identified and 55 faults within the model area were selected. For the selected faults, simplified geometries were created. For a subset of the selected faults, vertical profiles and seismic sections could be used to generate semi-realistic 3D fault geometries. Slip tendency calculations using the stress tensor from the SpannEnD model were performed for both 3D fault sets. The slip tendencies were calculated without factoring in pore pressure and cohesion, and were normalized to a coefficient of friction of 0.6. The resulting values range mainly between 0 and 1, with 6 % of values larger than 0.4. In general, the observed slip tendency is slightly higher for faults striking in the NW and NNE directions than for faults of other strikes. Normal faults show higher slip tendencies than reverse and strike slip faults for the majority of faults. Seismic events are generally in good agreement with the regions of elevated slip tendencies; however, not all seismicity can be explained through the slip tendency analysis.

Performance of field‐scale lab vs in situ visible/near‐ and mid‐infrared spectroscopy for estimation of soil properties

AbstractComparison of laboratory versus in situ visible/near‐ (visNIR) and mid‐infrared (MIR) spectroscopy for prediction of various soil properties is required to demonstrate trade‐offs between accuracy and efficiency. Field measurements were made on an arable field in Germany (silt loam Haplic Luvisol) using visNIR (ASD FieldSpec 3 Hi‐Res) and MIR (Agilent Technologies 4300 Handheld FTIR) and material was collected for lab visNIR (Foss XDS Rapid Content Analyzer) and MIR (Bruker‐TENSOR 27) measurements on dried and ground soil and determination of total, labile (>63 μm light), stabilized (>63 μm heavy + <63 μm oxidizable) and resistant organic carbon (OC) content, total nitrogen (Nt), pH and texture. Partial least squares regression models were calculated for five repeated partitions of the dataset (n = 238) into training (75%) and test (25%) sets. Lab spectral models outperformed in situ models for total OC (root mean squared error [RMSE] = 0.24–1.0 g kg−1), Nt (RMSE = 0.026–0.088 g kg−1), pH (RMSE = 0.12–0.28) and texture (RMSE = 0.53–1.5%). For both lab and field spectra, the accuracy of visNIR models was comparable or slightly better than MIR for sand, silt and clay. Spectral estimations for labile (RMSE = 0.34–0.47 g kg−1) and stabilized OC (RMSE = 0.41–0.85 g kg−1) were slightly (lab spectra) to substantially (field spectra) inferior to estimations from multiple linear regressions using total OC, Nt, clay and pH as predictors. Variable importance in the projection scores elucidated differences in spectral prediction mechanisms by spectrometer and OC fraction, and found mineral spectral signatures were highly important. For this field‐scale study with 14% median soil gravimetric water content (GWC), the loss of accuracy from lab to field measurement was lower for visNIR than MIR. Analysis of the driest soils (<9% GWC) found field MIR outperformed field visNIR for OC and Nt estimation and vice versa for the wettest soils (>18%), demonstrating the moisture dependence of performance rankings.Highlights Lab vs field visible/near‐ (visNIRS) and mid‐infrared (MIRS) spectroscopy require comparison for prediction of soil C fractions, N, pH and texture. Lab MIRS prediction of C, N and pH were superior, while texture estimations were comparable or slightly inferior to lab visNIRS. At 14% median soil water content, the loss of accuracy from lab to field measurement was lower for visNIRS than MIRS. The ranking of field visNIRS vs MIRS performance for C and N estimation is moisture dependent.

Waves to Weather: Exploring the Limits of Predictability of Weather

AbstractPrediction of weather is a main goal of atmospheric science. Its importance to society is growing continuously due to factors such as vulnerability to natural disasters, the move to renewable energy sources, and the risks of climate change. But prediction is also a major scientific challenge due to the inherently limited predictability of a chaotic atmosphere, and has led to a revolution in forecasting methods as we have moved to probabilistic prediction. These changes provide the motivation for Waves to Weather (W2W), a major national research program in Germany with three main university partners in Munich, Mainz, and Karlsruhe. We are currently in the second 4-yr phase of our planned duration of 12 years and employ 36 doctoral and postdoctoral scientists. In the context of this large program, we address what we have identified to be the most important and challenging scientific questions in predictability of weather, namely, upscale error growth, errors associated with cloud processes, and probabilistic prediction of high-impact weather. This paper presents some key results of the first phase of W2W and discusses how they have influenced our understanding of predictability. The key role of interdisciplinary research linking atmospheric scientists with experts in visualization, statistics, numerical analysis, and inverse methods will be highlighted. To ensure a lasting impact on research in our field in Germany and internationally, we have instituted innovative programs for training and support of early-career scientists, and to support education, equal opportunities, and outreach, which are also described here.

The Nazi Occupation of Theaterwissenschaft

Theaterwissenschaft was first developed as an academic field in Germany. In Berlin, Max Herrmann pursued a sociological and iconological approach; in Cologne and in Munich, Carl Niessen and Artur Kutscher followed an ethnographic and mythological direction, respectively. With the Nazi takeover in 1933, Herrmann was dismissed and replaced by a non-scholar, Hans Knudsen. Niessen’s open-air Thingspiel was co-opted to support Nazi ideas of Volkstum. Kutscher renounced his liberal background and joined the Party. In Vienna, Josef Gregor got the local Gauleiter to found a Central Institute for Theatre Studies that disseminated anti-Semitic propaganda. The most egregious case is that of Heinz Kindermann, who rose to be the most influential aesthetician of National Socialism, proposing a biological foundation to theatre studies and offering a racial-eugenic approach to theatre history. As this article demonstrates, in the post-war period, theatre studies sedulously avoided dealing with the Nazi interlude, where official denazification permitted these men and others to carry on teaching and publishing, winning honours and titles. It was not until the 1980s that attempts were made to confront this past. Laurence Senelick is Fletcher Professor Emeritus of Drama and Oratory at Tufts University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Conference on Transglobal Theatre. His most recent books include Jacques Offenbach and the Making of Modern Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2018); Stanislavsky: A Life in Letters (Routledge, 2013); and (with Sergei Ostrovsky) The Soviet Theatre: A Documentary History (Yale University Press, 2014).

Dissolution - reprecipitation reactions as a mechanism for magma contamination: An example from interaction of partially melted sanidine megacrysts and clinopyroxene phenocrysts in nephelinite from Graulei, West Eifel Volcanic Field, Germany

Sanidine – diopside – aegirine-augite enclaves in a nephelinite from the West Eifel Volcanic Field in Germany provide new insights into the process of xenolith assimilation. The enclaves originated as sanidine megacrysts which were entrained by the rising nephelinite magma and partly melted at ~1190 °C and 0.5 GPa. The partly melted sanidine captured clinopyroxene phenocrysts (Type 1 cpx) from the nephelinite. These captured phenocrysts underwent dissolution and reprecipitation to form sieve-textured to euhedral near end member diopside crystals (Type 3 cpx) that grew epitaxially on the original phenocryst. The components of the dissolved phenocryst that were not taken up by the diopside were enriched in the potassic melt that formed the enclave, and during quenching formed aegirine-augite crystals (Type 4 cpx) that locally overgrow the Type 3 diopside. Only enclaves > ~ 5 mm preserve the diopside – aegirine-augite – sanidine assemblage. Small Type 2 clinopyroxene-and leucite-rich clusters in the nephelinite are the remnants of assimilation of mm-sized sanidine crystals. The mechanism of phenocryst capture by molten enclaves shows that the assimilation process is more complex than simple dispersal of melt and crystals from disaggregated xenoliths and that crystal transfer from the magma to partly molten xenoliths may play a significant role in the process.

Modes of drought climatization: A frame analysis of drought problematization in Germany across policy fields

AbstractSince 2003, droughts have been problematized within a climate change frame in Germany. Scholars describe this framing process as climatization. In our research, we conduct a qualitative content analysis of sector journal articles to investigate the climatization of drought within the three most affected policy fields in Germany: agriculture, water management, and forestry. The research objectives are to investigate how climatization processes evolve and take place within a specific policy field, and what different modes of climatization can be identified. The results are based on a framing analysis of 267 articles from journals published by political associations of farmers, water managers, and foresters at both the national and a state level, covering drought problematization relating to two major drought events in 2003 and 2011–2012. The article shows that four modes of climatization can be distinguished: scientification, securitization, technocratization, and transformation. With this empirically based heuristic, we contribute to advancing the concept of climatization by operationalizing it into a more profound, empirically grounded analytical concept that can be applied to critically investigate policymaking processes related to reducing disaster risks and achieving climate adaptation.

Ticks on the turf: investigating the presence of ixodid ticks on and around football fields in Germany

Ixodes ricinus is the most abundant tick species and an important vector of pathogens in Germany and in large parts of Europe. A few other ixodid tick species, e.g., Dermacentor reticulatus, may also be of eco-epidemiological relevance. As ticks are not only found in natural but also in suburban areas (parks, gardens), the present study investigated whether ticks occur on and near football grounds thus posing a potential risk to players and visitors. Thirty-two football grounds from all 16 German federal states were selected, mainly situated adjacent to a green area (forest, park). Ticks were collected by the conventional flagging method in spring 2018, and nymphs and adults were counted and morphologically determined. Altogether 807 nymphal and adult ticks were collected from 29 football grounds: 714 I. ricinus, 64 Ixodes inopinatus, 2 Ixodes frontalis, 24 Ixodes sp. ticks, and 3 D. reticulatus. Ixodes inopinatus was found in 13 out of 16 German states. Three ticks were even found on the turf of two football fields. It can be concluded that ticks occur quite frequently and sometimes in high abundance near football grounds situated close or adjacent to a forest or a park.

The bioenergy crop Sorghum bicolor is a relevant pollen source for honey bees (Apis mellifera)

AbstractAbundance and diversity of pollinating insects are decreasing. Intensification of agricultural bioenergy production is presumed to accelerate the decline of pollinators. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a promising bioenergy crop. Enhanced dual‐purpose type cultivars have been developed and tested for suitability for bioenergy cropping in Germany. Sorghum is assumed to be a nutritional resource for pollen‐collecting insects. To evaluate this assumption, we studied the foraging strategy of A. mellifera colonies, which were migrated to sorghum fields in Germany. The bee hives were equipped with bottom fixed pollen traps. The pollen loads of the colonies contained variable shares of sorghum pollen ranging between approx. 10% and 50% (weight/weight). Sorghum pollen occurred frequently in more than 50% of all pollen samples. Experimental mini colonies were placed in plots which were grown with two varieties of sorghum, phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), maize (Zea mays) and a control plot without any vegetation. All plots were encased with flight tents. Significant effects of the crop were found for the productivity parameters brood rearing and pollen collection. The sorghum and maize variants performed significantly better than the controls but significantly poorer than phacelia (p < 0.05). The parameters number of dead bees and colony sizes were not affected by the crops (p < 0.05). Pollen of sorghum is a valuable food for bees which supports nursing of bee brood, but its availability proved to be inferior to phacelia as the pollen shedding of sorghum lasted a considerably shorter time. Pollen collection by honeybees did not negatively affect seed yield of sorghum in any case. Under unfavourable weather conditions, flower visiting bees enhanced seed yield of sorghum.

What do Germans really think about health-nudges?

BackgroundIn recent years, policymakers have increasingly used behaviourally informed policies, including ‘nudges’. They have been implemented to produce desirable social outcomes such as healthier eating and physical activity. In Germany, a small research team at the Federal Chancellery acts as the central unit to promote the introduction of nudges in the design of public life. Despite this, the nudging concept itself as well as the understanding around it has not spread widely among German citizens. When reporting about the concept, German media is often very critical of the concept.MethodsUsing a for age, sex and educational level nationally representative online survey with 1000 participants, we investigate whether German citizens know about the concept of nudging. We also explore if they approve of the theoretical concept as well as a list of seven specific interventions regarding healthy eating and physical activity. A particular focus is placed on whether the level of approval is dependent on the target group of the intervention, as well as different intervention-initiators.ResultsWe find that nearly 80% of the respondents have never heard of nudging. However when being provided with a definition, we find that a strong majority (90%) supports the concept of nudging as well as all the specific interventions. Acceptance rates are higher if interventions are targeted at the general population compared to only children. All initiators – statutory health insurers, the government, private companies, and independent experts – are accepted as nudge initiators.ConclusionAmongst Germans nudges are an accepted method to promote health behaviours. Policy makers from various fields in Germany should take that into account to improve future health policy.

Long-term behavior of PFAS in contaminated agricultural soils in Germany

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminated compost materials have been applied over the last few decades to agricultural fields in Germany, resulting in large-scale diffuse PFAS plumes. The leaching behavior of PFAS from the first two identified contaminated agricultural sites in Germany were investigated, one at Brilon-Scharfenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia (BS-NRW), and the other at Rastatt/Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. The specific objectives of this study were to assess the longevity of the PFAS agricultural sources and compare standardized column percolation tests to long-term leaching of PFAS from contaminated sites. The advection-dispersion model (ADM) was used to compare the leaching behavior of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) from standardized column percolation tests and long-term field leaching data from the BS-NRW site. Column leaching tests conducted with PFOS and PFOA contaminated soil simulated the initial rapid decline but did not predict the long-term behavior (tailing) observed at the field site over 12 years. Trend analyses of the PFAS field data from the BS-NRW showed that concentrations had stabilized and that individual PFAS exhibited distinct seasonal fluctuations; the latter is likely due to the ongoing transformation of precursors and a seasonal influence on production rates of mobile PFAS. Mass balances conducted at both sites indicate that complete removal of these compounds will likely take years to decades to occur, which is expected from the results of the column leaching tests.

Why does competitive psychological climate foster or hamper career success? The role of challenge and hindrance pathways and leader-member-exchange

This study integrated research on competitive psychological climate (CPC) and successful career development within transactional stress theory and the job-demands resources model. The theoretical model assumed two different processes from CPC at work that might either foster or hamper career success. Specifically, CPC might be positively related to work engagement (motivation-enhancing path, CPC appraised as challenge) or burnout (energy-decreasing path, CPC appraised as hindrance), which then should be positively or negatively related to objective and subjective career success, respectively. High versus low leader-member exchange relationships are assumed to moderate the relationships between CPC and work engagement and burnout. In Study 1, we tested the theoretical model within a sample of 808 academic scientists from different research fields in Germany. By doing so, we applied conditional indirect effects analyses within a path-modeling framework. The results largely supported the theoretical model, and showed that CPC is positively related to the number of publications and career satisfaction via work engagement under the condition of a high LMX quality. By contrast, CPC was negatively related to career satisfaction via burnout under the condition of a low LMX quality. Within Study 2 and an additional independent sample, results showed that these pathways are explained via hindrance and challenge appraisals of CPC. We discuss these results against the background of competition-based HR systems, as well as the integration of challenge–hindrance frameworks in career developmental research.

Innovationswandel in der deutschen Kfz-Industrie: Eine Analyse mit der IW-Patentdatenbank

Social and political change necessitates corresponding innovations in motor vehicle technology. This paper analyses the nature of current technological progress in Germany's motor vehicle industry. Building on an existing methodology for gauging the extent of innovation, the authors present a new procedure for analysing patent performance in the electrified powertrain segment. From 2010 to 2018, the period under review, the total patent output of the motor vehicle industry in Germany increased by 35 per cent. At the same time, the total number of patent applications in Germany identified by the electric hybrid filter (EHF) introduced here increased by almost 125 per cent. Since 2015 there has been a clear shift between patent applications relating to conventional and to electrified powertrains: the proportion of the car industry's total patent output dealing with conventional powertrains has seen a sharp decline, while the share of patent applications based on electrified powertrains has expanded significantly. At Germany's three big car manufacturers, BMW, Daimler and the Volkswagen Group, electric powertrain patents already outnumbered those for its conventional counterpart in 2018. The same shift in innovatory activity has been apparent among the five largest suppliers of automotive components, although here the conventional powertrain still dominates. Aside from these eight automotive giants, which between them have filed 88 per cent of all recent patent applications concerned with electrified powertrains, there is very little patent activity in this field in Germany. Among the smaller suppliers, the transition to electrified powertrains actually seems to have stopped. While this is a serious challenge to their future viability, it also offers a great potential for making up lost ground.

Assimilation of Sentinel-2 Estimated LAI into a Crop Model: Influence of Timing and Frequency of Acquisitions on Simulation of Water Stress and Biomass Production of Winter Wheat

The Sentinel-2 (S2) Toolbox permits for the automated retrieval of leaf area index (LAI). LAI assimilation into crop simulation models could aid to improve the prediction accuracy for biomass at field level. We investigated if the combined effects of assimilation date and corresponding growth stage plus observational frequency have an impact on the crop model-based simulation of water stress and biomass production. We simulated winter wheat growth in nine fields in Germany over two years. S2 LAI estimations for each field were categorized into three phases, depending on the development stage of the crop at acquisition date (tillering, stem elongation, booting to flowering). LAI was assimilated in every possible combinational setup using the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). We evaluated the performance of the simulations based on the comparison of measured and simulated aboveground biomass at harvest. The results showed that the effects on water stress remained largely limited, because it mostly occurred after we stopped LAI assimilation. With regard to aboveground biomass, we found that the assimilation of only one LAI estimate from either the tillering or the booting to flowering stage resulted in simulated biomass values similar or closer to measured values than in those where more than one LAI estimate from the stem elongation phase were assimilated. LAI assimilation after the tillering phase might therefore be not necessarily required, as it may not lead to the desired improvement effect.

DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS FOR WEED DETECTION IN AGRICULTURAL CROPS USING OPTICAL AERIAL IMAGES

Abstract. The presence of weeds in agricultural crops has been one of the problems of greatest interest in recent years as they consume natural resources and negatively affect the agricultural process. For this purpose, a model has been implemented to segment weed in aerial images. The proposed model relies on DeepLabv3 architecture trained upon patches extracted from high-resolution aerial imagery. The dataset employed consisted in 5 high-resolution images that describes a sugar beet agricultural field in Germany. SegNet and U-Net architectures were selected for comparison purposes. Our results demonstrate that balancing of data, together with a greater spatial context leads better results with DeepLabv3 achieving up to 0.89 and 0.81 in terms of AUC and F1-score, respectively.