The main results of project phase I and II are summarized for each work package (WP 1 - 6) in the respective subfolder.
SUSALPS experimental work quantified impacts of climate and land management changes on plant and microbial diversity, nutrient use efficiencies, biomass production and quality, soil carbon and nitrogen storage and turnover, greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching at several sites covering different elevations and thus, climatic conditions.
Results will be used to i) develop early warning systems (agri-ecological indicators) indicating potential negative impacts on grassland ecosystems and ii) inform and validate biogeochemical models which will be used in scenario studies to evaluate best management options for sustainable use of grassland ecosystems.
To allow the assessment of joint socio-economic impacts of current and climate smart grassland management practices the biogeochemical model will be coupled to a socio-economic model. This decision support system will represent a practical tool which will help stakeholders and farmers to understand consequences of grassland management on soil functions and other ecosystem services.