ITMS-Q&S brings together agricultural management experts to improve greenhouse gas emission modeling

In order to correctly model greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, a deeper understanding of agricultural management is required. Experts from the agricultural sector came together at the workshop on 2 April 2025 at the Freie Universität Berlin to improve and harmonise the assumptions for agricultural management in Germany. The event was organised by the ITMS Q&S module coordinated by Ralf Kiese and Clemens Scheer from the Terrestrial Biogeochemical Processes department.

The BMBF-funded project ITMS (Integrated Greenhouse Gas Monitoring System for Germany) is establishing a system to enable Germany to operationally monitor the three most important long-lived greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 & N2O). A prerequisite for this is the modelling of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, as these have very high uncertainties. In order to model these correctly, a deeper understanding of agricultural management is essential.

In order to improve and harmonise the assumptions for agricultural management in Germany, the Q&S module organised a specialised workshop at the Institute of Meteorology at the Free University of Berlin. This brought together experts from the agricultural sector, greenhouse gas reporting and the modelling of agricultural activities. The Q&S module is coordinated by Ralf Kiese and Clemens Scheer from the Department of Terrestrial Biogeochemical Processes.

The first knowledge exchange served to network experts and identify knowledge gaps to guide future research, activities, and comparisons. The results of this workshop will primarily be used within ITMS to improve the modeling of the spatio-temporal variability of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, they will contribute to deepening existing collaborations. A follow-up workshop is planned for 2026 to build on the results and continue the cooperation between experts.