Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
The Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research is a German research institute studying agricultural landscapes and sustainable land use.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, commonly known as ZALF, is a non-profit scientific research institute based in Müncheberg, Brandenburg. It is a member institute of the Leibniz Association and investigates how agricultural landscapes function, how they can be governed and developed sustainably, and how they may change in the future. Its work combines basic research with application-oriented studies intended to support public policy, agricultural practice, environmental management and broader societal decision-making. ZALF focuses on the relationships among soils, crops, biodiversity, water, climate, land use, economic activity and governance. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer-facing brand, it functions as a scientific institution whose reputation is built through research, experimental infrastructure, data analysis, modelling, stakeholder engagement and the transfer of knowledge to politics, industry and society. Its statutory purpose is to examine causal relationships and interactions in agricultural landscapes and to generate knowledge for their sustainable use. The institute organizes its research around three interdisciplinary areas. Landscape Functioning examines the processes and interactions that determine how agricultural landscapes operate. Land Use and Governance addresses ways of shaping and managing intensively used landscapes while balancing ecological, economic and social objectives. Agricultural Landscape Research explores possible future configurations of agricultural landscapes and the conditions needed to make them resilient and sustainable. These areas are linked by a Research Platform for Data Analysis and Simulation, which supports modelling, data integration and quantitative analysis. ZALF also maintains an Experimental Infrastructure Platform. Its field- and landscape-scale facilities cover approximately 150 hectares across sites in Müncheberg, Dedelow and Paulinenaue. These facilities enable controlled and long-term investigation of agricultural systems, soils, crops, landscape processes and management practices. The institute had approximately 418 employees in July 2022, including scientific, technical, administrative and support personnel. The modern institute was re-established after German reunification in 1992 as Zentrum für Agrarlandschafts- und Landnutzungsforschung e.V. It succeeded a sequence of agricultural and plant-breeding research institutions associated with the Müncheberg site. The location’s research history reaches back to 1928, when Erwin Baur founded the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research to address the challenging sandy soils and dry conditions of eastern Germany. During the post-war period, the site was reorganized first as a central institute for arable and crop research and later as the Research Centre for Soil Fertility of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the German Democratic Republic. Following its 1992 re-establishment, ZALF entered the German research funding structure associated with the Blue List, which later developed into the Leibniz Association. Its basic institutional funding is provided in equal parts by the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. ZALF’s Müncheberg campus also includes an experimental orchard with roughly 1,000 varieties represented by about 4,000 trees. Since 2019, that orchard station has been affiliated as a department with the Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Gartenbau und Arboristik in Großbeeren. ZALF’s institutional ecosystem extends beyond its core research areas. Since 2009, the German Entomological Institute has been part of the research network of the Senckenberg Research Institute rather than being treated as a standard internal ZALF research area. A separate Müncheberg spin-off, Umwelt-Geräte-Technik GmbH, began operations in 1992 and developed scientific instruments, including polyethylene high-density lysimeter stations. Overall, ZALF presents itself as a research and knowledge-transfer institution addressing the long-term sustainability, resilience and governance of agricultural landscapes.
History
The Müncheberg site has a long agricultural research tradition shaped by the region’s sandy soils and relatively dry conditions. In 1928, geneticist and plant breeder Erwin Baur established the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research there. The original objective was to develop crop varieties that were more resistant and less demanding under difficult growing conditions. After the Second World War, the institution was reorganized as the Central Research Institute for Arable and Plant Crops. From 1970 onward, it operated as the Research Centre for Soil Fertility under the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the German Democratic Republic. These successive institutions established the site’s emphasis on crop production, soils, plant breeding and the relationship between agricultural systems and their physical environment. German reunification brought a major institutional reorganization. In 1992, the present organization was established as the non-profit registered association Zentrum für Agrarlandschafts- und Landnutzungsforschung e.V. The institute subsequently joined the German research funding structure known as the Blue List, or Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blaue Liste. That structure later evolved into the Leibniz Association, of which ZALF became a member institute. The re-established institute broadened the site’s focus from crop and soil research toward integrated agricultural landscape research. Its remit covers causal relationships and interactions within agricultural landscapes and the development of land-use systems that are ecologically and economically sustainable. This remit combines fundamental scientific investigation with applied research and knowledge transfer for public authorities, policymakers, agricultural actors, businesses and civil society. ZALF’s current research structure consists of three interconnected areas: Landscape Functioning; Land Use and Governance; and Agricultural Landscape Research. A Data Analysis and Simulation Research Platform connects these areas through data-intensive methods, modelling and simulation. The Experimental Infrastructure Platform brings together field and landscape facilities in Müncheberg, Dedelow and Paulinenaue, with a combined experimental area of approximately 150 hectares. The institute has also maintained activities and relationships beyond its principal research areas. Since 2009, the German Entomological Institute has belonged to the research network of the Senckenberg Research Institute. At the Müncheberg campus, an experimental orchard containing approximately 1,000 varieties across about 4,000 trees became a department of the Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Gartenbau und Arboristik in Großbeeren on 22 July 2019. In addition, Umwelt-Geräte-Technik GmbH, a Müncheberg spin-off founded in 1992, developed scientific instruments such as polyethylene high-density lysimeter stations. ZALF is financed institutionally through equal basic contributions from the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. By July 2022, the institute employed approximately 418 people. Its contemporary role is to provide scientifically grounded understanding of agricultural landscapes and to support their sustainable use under changing environmental, economic and social conditions.
- 2019
Experimental orchard affiliated with LVGA
[1]On 22 July, the Müncheberg experimental orchard became a new department of the Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Gartenbau und Arboristik in Großbeeren.
- 2009
German Entomological Institute joins a research network
[1]The German Entomological Institute became part of the research network of the Senckenberg Research Institute.
- 1992
ZALF re-established after German reunification
[1]The present non-profit association was established as Zentrum für Agrarlandschafts- und Landnutzungsforschung e.V.
- 1992
Environmental instrumentation spin-off begins operations
[1]Umwelt-Geräte-Technik GmbH began operating in Müncheberg as a scientific instrument engineering spin-off.
- 1970
Site becomes a soil-fertility research centre
[1]The Müncheberg agricultural research institution became the Research Centre for Soil Fertility of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the GDR.
- 1928
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute established in Müncheberg
[1]Erwin Baur founded the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research at Müncheberg, with an emphasis on crop improvement for difficult sandy and dry conditions.
Products and positioning
An interdisciplinary public-interest research institute focused on the functioning, governance and future development of agricultural landscapes, combining ecological, agronomic, economic and social-science perspectives.
Research area
Landscape Functioning
Research on the ecological, physical and biological processes that determine how agricultural landscapes function. Topics include interactions among soils, crops, water, biodiversity and landscape structure, with the aim of explaining how agricultural systems respond to management and environmental change.
Research area
Land Use and Governance
Interdisciplinary work on how intensively used agricultural landscapes can be shaped and governed sustainably. The area links environmental evidence with institutions, policy, economics and stakeholder interests to examine practical pathways for balancing production, conservation and social objectives.
Research area
Agricultural Landscape Research
Research addressing the future form and resilience of agricultural landscapes. It considers alternative land-use configurations and the ecological, technological, economic and governance conditions that may influence how agricultural regions evolve.
Research platform
Research Platform for Data Analysis and Simulation
A cross-cutting platform that supports the institute’s research areas through data analysis, modelling and simulation. It helps connect observations from field and landscape experiments with analytical methods for understanding complex agricultural systems and exploring future scenarios.
Research infrastructure
Experimental Infrastructure Platform
A coordinated set of field- and landscape-scale experimental facilities located in Müncheberg, Dedelow and Paulinenaue. The platform provides approximately 150 hectares of experimental area for long-term and controlled studies of agricultural landscapes, soils, crops, management and environmental processes.
Experimental collection
Müncheberg experimental orchard
An experimental orchard holding approximately 1,000 varieties represented by about 4,000 individual trees. The collection supports horticultural and arboricultural research and is affiliated with the Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Gartenbau und Arboristik in Großbeeren.
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