Research for the Environment

The focus of our department is on the analysis and assessment of natural and anthropogenic structural changes in biological communities, and thus on the development of a scientific basis for understanding and managing biodiversity. Basic research at the department is concerned with functional relationships in populations and communities, and with degradation, stability and the regenerative potential of biological communities. Applied research questions include the forecasting of community dynamics under environmental change using plants and animals as indicator systems, and the monitoring of management, remediation and conservation scheme efficiencies. A characteristic feature of the department is the merging of plant and animal ecology with population biology and community ecology. Current research addresses: (1) community dynamics, spatiotemporal mechanisms and succession, (2) the causes and consequences of biological invasions, and (3) population isolation and the consequences of landscape fragmentation for animal and plant communities