In order to develop and grow, apart from adequate water, plants need nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate and potassium and trace elements such as copper and zinc. Only if these requirements are met can high yield, high quality crops be obtained. Crop plants obtain nutrients and trace elements from the soil via their root systems, a process in which soil humus content plays an instrumental role.... read more
More than half of Germany's surface area is used for agriculture. Agriculture thus is the largest land user in Germany and a significant contributor to environmental stress. On the other hand, agriculture is also affected, for example, by the effects of climate change. In the flyer "Environment and agriculture 2018" UBA presents key facts about agriculture and environment. read more
Pharmaceuticals, which have become a lynchpin of our high standard of living, improve our quality of life and palliate and cure human and veterinary diseases. However, pharmaceuticals need to be used sparingly and with due care, for their positive effects also entail human and environmental risks and collateral effects. read more
The European Nitrates Directive places Germany under the obligation to prevent exceedances of the threshold of 50 milligrammes nitrate per litre.Since 2008, the threshold has been exceeded every year at almost one in five measuring points.On June 21, 2018, the European Court of Justice found Germany guilty of violating the EU Nitrates Directive.Agriculture is the most important source of high nitr... read more
The impact of climate change will be felt more strongly in the future – and in Germany too. This is the conclusion reached in what is called the vulnerability analysis, a comprehensive study on Germany's vulnerability to climate change.
