Keyline Planner – Planning Water-optimized landscape patterns for climate-resilient agriculture
A digital tool for implementing Keyline designs – a water-optimized landscape pattern for climate-resilient agriculture. It retains water in the soil and boosts resilience to drought and storm events. We want to create a web app for farmers to explore keyline potential and connect with planners, and a QGIS-Plugin that uses a custom least-cost algorithm to generate keyline patterns and estimate water retention based on topography and other boundary conditions.
What issue does your project address, and why do you want to tackle it?
Our project addresses the need to scale up the implementation of Keyline designs – a proven nature-based solution for water retention, erosion control, soil regeneration and climate resilience in agriculture. While pilot projects exist, we now aim for broad application across entire catchments by providing a digital planning tool. Keyline design is more cost-effective, multifunctional and sustainable compared to “grey” infrastructure solutions for irrigation and water control.
What is your project about and how does it make Switzerland water-wise?
Our project supports water-wise agriculture in a changing climate. With runoff shifting from summer to winter due to reduced snow and glacier storage, it’s vital to retain water in soils. Keyline design prepares landscapes for drought, reduces flood peaks from heavy rainfall, and helps stabilize groundwater and base flow in streams. It’s cost-effective and multifunctional, improving agriculture, flood protection, landscape aesthetics, biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.
How do you measure your project's success?
We will integrate statistics into the planning tool to estimate how much water can be retained through implementing Keyline designs. Success of the digital tool will be measured by the number of planned projects using the tool in Switzerland and internationally, as well as by positive user ratings and feedback from farmers and planners.
Who are the people behind the project and what is your secret to a great collaboration?
Katja Degonda (MSc Environmental Sciences ETH Zürich) is a Keyline planner and founder of Ondaka, advising farms on water management and agroforestry. Timo Wicki (MSc Environmental Engineering ETH Zürich, MSc GIS University of Salzburg) is a water and GIS expert at Aqua Plus AG, working in hydrology and water catchment management.
