The concept of socio-technical and environmental synergies applied in this project is used as an integrated approach to develop new solutions. In ISoTEc-Land (Integrated Socio-Techno-Ecological solutions on Land), we want to understand, across disciplines and integrating knowledge and preferences from society, how much land could be made available for climate protection without having adverse impacts on society and the environment. The aim of ISoTEc-Land is to develop a socio-technological and ecological land use model to assess the potentials of innovations to achieve climate goals. The model is intended to answer the question of how the Sustainable Development Goal of Climate Action (via carbon storage and renewable energy) can be achieved without negative trade-offs to other goals, in particular food security and preservation of biodiversity. The focus is on new or further technical developments from the field of bioeconomy and the energy transition for the production of renewable solar and bioenergy and for the release of land by increasing the land efficiency in food production, such as agrophotovoltaics (APV-RESOLA project description). The modelling is based on the further development and linking of existing area-based models with different functionalities and spatial levels. In contrast to existing modelling approaches, the modelling in ISoTEc-Land will take into account social land use conflicts between agriculture, energy transition, recreation and tourism, nature and landscape conservation, etc.

Building on an existing GIS-based model, the task of the research at ITAS is to develop a regional land use model that is not based solely on biological-physical and agricultural/infrastructural parameters and the knowledge and visions of scientists but also takes into account political-administrative and social settings and the narratives of land uses of municipalities and regions. To parameterize these aspects, literature and media response analyses will be conducted and existing solar park and bioenergy projects will be analyzed.