Fields of Activity

The Institute of Biodiversity has its core competencies in the field of natural science and ecology.

Longer-term guiding questions for the Institute's research are:

(A) How can the state of and changes in biodiversity be measured and assessed at national level?

(B) How do different management and land use options affect biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services?

(C) What recommendations for the further development of agriculture and land use can be made from an agro-ecological perspective and in the interdisciplinary overall view, taking social-ecological perspectives into account?

(D) What recommendations follow from this for the further development of agricultural and environmental policy?

Four Fields of Activity are dedicated to these guiding questions.

Our Fields of Activity in Summary

Agrosystems Ecology

We investigate ecological interactions, functions and services of agricultural systems in order to derive environmentally sound measures and agroecological practices for sustainable, biodiversity-enhancing agriculture. Our research ranges from the investigation of individual soil aggregates to crop rotation planning of farm networks.

Landscape Ecology

Biodiversity at the landscape level depends on the type and diversity of ecosystems, their land use and the provision of structural elements, as well as on interactions between these factors. We investigate how the proportion of land and the spatial arrangement of habitats and food resources in agricultural landscapes affect the species richness of different groups of organisms and ecosystem services. Landscape laboratories (living labs) serve us as real laboratories for investigating the landscape-wide biodiversity impact of different land use practices and agri-environmental measures.

Monitoring and indicators

Around 50 per cent of the land in Germany is used for agriculture. Agriculture therefore plays an important role in the conservation and promotion of biodiversity. Changes in land use and in forms of cultivation have profoundly altered the agricultural landscape in recent decades and led, among other things, to the decline of once typical elements and organism groups of the agricultural landscape. We develop and test monitoring concepts and indicators for a scientifically reliable inventory and differentiated assessment of the trends and their causes.

Transformative Vision and Pathways

The agriculture of the future must meet societal demands and global challenges to achieve climate goals, preserve biodiversity and ensure food security. This requires fundamental transformations of agricultural production systems. We develop and communicate target images and transformation paths that offer targeted guidance here.

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Institute of

BD Biodiversity