Research

Urban foraging, the practice of picking unmanaged or hardly managed plants and fungi in public urban green spaces, has an important role in the procurement and consumption of food in cities worldwide. Yet, case studies have also shown that competing interests relating to public urban green space use may lead to conflicts – rooted in different value systems – between urban foragers, green space managers and citizens, constraining the practice of urban foraging within urban food systems. This research aims to advance the understanding of plural values of urban residents towards urban foraging, and to explore the potential of urban foraging in relation to urban food systems transformations and edible city initiatives. We use a pioneering approach across four European cities that combines assemblage ethnography, photovoice, arts-based focus groups, Q-methodology, online surveys and visioning workshops. Moreover, we use participatory and inclusive ways of involving socio-culturally diverse groups of foragers in research processes.

In the spring of 2026, an agroforestry trial site was established on a 24-hectare arable plot in Fuchsenbigl, managed by Bundesversuchwirtschaften GmbH. The project aims to determine the production-related and ecological effects of agroforestry structures on arable farming in arid regions, as well as the impact of agroforestry strips on wind reduction and crop yields across varying widths of arable strips. The agroforestry area comprises 11 rows of woody plants and three distinct system types featuring different arable strip widths (81 m, 45 m, and 22 m). The spacing between the rows of woody plants is the primary factor in analyzing their effects on yield, wind reduction, and soil water dynamics. Additionally, the varied design of the woody rows—ranging from single rows of high-value timber with intermediate woody species to multi-row multi-purpose hedges and single rows of fruit-bearing trees—allows for the investigation of how different agroforestry systems influence arable crops and ecological parameters at the field level (such as erosion, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration).

In 2003, a comprehensive long-term study was established at the Rutzendorf organic farm (150 ha; Marchfeld, Lower Austria)—a subsidiary of the Federal Agricultural Research Farms (BVW) GmbH—to document, develop, and optimize organic arable farming and associated agro-ecological measures (Project MUBIL: Monitoring the Conversion to Organic Farming). The study aimed to determine how the transition to organic farming and its associated habitats affect soil parameters; nutrient, humus, and water balances; plant communities; crop yield potential and quality; fauna; and economic viability. Since 2003, IBIO has been conducting a long-term trial to evaluate the sustainability of stockless organic arable farming systems by comparing them with a control system that includes livestock. The trial examines four fertilization variants (DV1: green manure only; DV2: green manure + organic waste compost; DV3: alfalfa removed + farmyard manure; DV4: alfalfa removed + biogas digestate) regarding—among other factors—their impact on soil properties (humus and nutrient content, soil structure) and the yield and quality of harvested crops. This long-term trial in Rutzendorf is the only ongoing organic farming experiment in Austria. Consequently, the results obtained are of great importance for both agricultural practice and scientific understanding. Furthermore, the organic long-term trial has been designated a "Regular Site" by LTER-Austria (the Austrian Society for Long-Term Ecological Research) and, alongside other agricultural long-term trials, forms part of the agro-ecological eLTER Cluster Marchfeld.