Organisation profile

Sustainability has many facets. Inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching characterize the School of Sustainability. Scientists in our research projects work together in the laboratory, on the heath, in the grassland, in the classroom, with the city administration, with farmers, with non-governmental organizations, with companies, with students in the lecture hall and of course at their desks.

Furthermore, we work with regional and national political actors, e.g. ministries, as well as international organizations, e.g. UNEP, UNESCO, EU. We are part of national and international bodies, e.g. sustainability advisory boards of companies, member of the German Sustainability Award, World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), in order to contribute to social change with scientific findings.

Main research areas

Vision
Sustainability science investigates on a theoretical, conceptual and empirical level how to promote sustainable development and how to find and implement effective solutions for current social and ecological challenges. The aim is to create a more sustainable future.

Sustainability researchers are called upon to take responsibility for their research, which is anchored in existing scientific knowledge and methods and serves to make the world a better place for everyone.

Mission
We promote change towards a sustainable future by developing theories, concepts and practices of inclusive education for sustainability, research, governance and management.

We acknowledge the diversity and dynamics of values, norms and behaviour and contribute with transdisciplinary methods to ensuring that tensions and differences between different disciplines, methods, topics and standards are fruitfully taken up and used with productive compromises and further developments towards sustainable development.

Principles
The School of Sustainability is guided by the normative concepts of ecological system integrity and social and economic justice.

Ecological system integrity refers to the safeguarding of life-support systems, as well as the maintenance of the well-being of life on Earth.

With social and economic justice we strive for a world in which all people can fulfil their potential without endangering system integrity and the well-being of others.

Information about the School
The School of Sustainability includes...
... ca. 25 professors
... ca. 100 research assistants
... ca. 1000 students in Bachelor and Master courses

In various inter- and transdisciplinary projects we are constantly researching and working together on changes and solutions for current challenges.

  1. Published

    Soil and tree species traits both shape soil microbial communities during early growth of Chinese subtropical forests

    Pei, Z., Eichenberg, D., Bruelheide, H., Kröber, W., Kühn, P., Li, Y., von Oheimb, G., Purschke, O., Scholten, T., Buscot, F. & Gutknecht, J. L. M., 01.05.2016, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 96, p. 180-190 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Soil carbon, multiple benefits

    Milne, E., Banwart, S. A., Noellemeyer, E., Abson, D., Ballabio, C., Bampa, F., Bationo, A., Batjes, N. H., Bernoux, M., Bhattacharyya, T., Black, H., Buschiazzo, D. E., Cai, Z., Cerri, C. E., Cheng, K., Compagnone, C., Conant, R., Coutinho, H. L. C., de Brogniez, D., Balieiro, F. D. C., Duffy, C., Feller, C., Fidalgo, E. C. C., da Silva, C. F., Funk, R., Gaudig, G., Gicheru, P. T., Goldhaber, M., Gottschalk, P., Goulet, F., Goverse, T., Grathwohl, P., Joosten, H., Kamoni, P. T., Kihara, J., Krawczynski, R., La Scala, N., Lemanceau, P., Li, L., Li, Z., Lugato, E., Maron, P. A., Martius, C., Melillo, J., Montanarella, L., Nikolaidis, N., Nziguheba, G., Pan, G., Pascual, U., Paustian, K., Piñeiro, G., Powlson, D., Quiroga, A., Richter, D., Sigwalt, A., Six, J., Smith, J., Smith, P., Stocking, M., Tanneberger, F., Termansen, M., van Noordwijk, M., van Wesemael, B., Vargas, R., Victoria, R. L., Waswa, B., Werner, D., Wichmann, S., Wichtmann, W., Zhang, X., Zhao, Y., Zheng, J. & Zheng, J., 01.01.2015, In: Environmental Development. 13, p. 33-38 6 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Soil chemical legacies trigger species-specific and context-dependent root responses in later arriving plants

    Delory, B. M., Schempp, H., Spachmann, S. M., Störzer, L., van Dam, N. M., Temperton, V. M. & Weinhold, A., 04.2021, In: Plant, Cell and Environment. 44, 4, p. 1215-1230 16 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  4. Published

    Soil conditions modify species diversity effects on tree functional trait expression

    Davrinche, A. & Haider, S., 12.2024, In: Scientific Reports. 14, 1, 16 p., 17114.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Soil seed banks near rubbing trees indicate dispersal of plant species into forests by wild boar

    Heinken, T., Schmidt, M., Kriebitzsch, W.-U., von Oheimb, G. & Ellenberg, H., 02.01.2006, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 7, 1, p. 31-44 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Soil texture and altitude, respectively, largely determine the floristic gradient of the most diverse fog oasis in the Peruvian desert

    Muenchow, J., Hauenstein, S., Bräuning, A., Bäumler, R., Rodríguez, E. F. & von Wehrden, H., 01.09.2013, In: Journal of Tropical Ecology. 29, 5, p. 427-438 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Solarpflicht durch Bundesgesetz: Rechtliche Chancen und Grenzen

    Schomerus, T., 2022, In: Klima und Recht - KlimR. 1, 4, p. 113-117 5 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesTransferpeer-review

  8. Published

    Sol-gel technology for greener and more sustainable antimicrobial textiles that use silica matrices with C, and Ag and ZnO as biocides

    Igal, K., Zanotti, K., Zuin, V. G. & Vazquez, P., 01.2021, In: Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry. 4, 11 p., 100177.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Solid Sorption Refrigeration With Calcium Chloride Methanolates on Technical Scale

    Neumann, K., Wiegand, M., Opel, O. & Korhammer, K., 04.02.2021, Proceedings of the 14th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference 2020 (IRES 2020). Stadler, I., Droege, P. & Trimborn, C. (eds.). Atlantis Press, p. 142-149 8 p. (Atlantis Highlights in Engineering; vol. 6).

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksArticle in conference proceedingsResearch

  10. Published

    Solketal as a renewable fuel component in ternary blends with biodiesel and diesel fuel or HVO and the impact on physical and chemical properties

    Türck, J., Singer, A., Lichtinger, A., Almaddad, M., Türck, R., Jakob, M., Garbe, T., Ruck, W. & Krahl, J., 15.02.2022, In: Fuel. 310, Part C, 122463.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review