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

    Trees in the desert: Reproduction and genetic structure of fragmented Ulmus pumila forests in Mongolian drylands

    Wesche, K., Walther, D., von Wehrden, H. & Hensen, I., 02.2011, In: Flora. 206, 2, p. 91-99 9 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  2. Published

    Tree species and functional traits but not species richness affect interrill erosion processes in young subtropical forests

    Seitz, S., Goebes, P., Song, Z., Bruehlheide, H., Härdtle, W., Kühn, P., Li, Y. & Scholten, T., 21.01.2016, In: SOIL. 2, 1, p. 49-61 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  3. Published

    Tree species identity and functional traits but not species richness affect interrill erosion processes in young subtropical forests

    Seitz, S., Goebes, P., Song, Z., Bruehlheide, H., Härdtle, W., Kühn, P., Li, Y. & Scholten, T., 24.06.2015, Göttingen: Copernicus Publications, p. 701-736, 36 p. (SOIL Discuss; vol. 2).

    Research output: Working paperWorking papers

  4. Published

    Tree species identity, canopy structure and prey availability differentially affect canopy spider diversity and trophic composition

    Wildermuth, B., Dönges, C., Matevski, D., Penanhoat, A., Seifert, C. L., Seidel, D., Scheu, S. & Schuldt, A., 10.2023, In: Oecologia. 203, 1-2, p. 37-51 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  5. Published

    Tree-species interactions increase light absorption and growth in Chinese subtropical mixed-species plantations

    Forrester, D. I., Rodenfels, P., Haase, J., Härdtle, W., Leppert, K. N., Niklaus, P. A., Oheimb, G., Scherer-Lorenzen, M. & Bauhus, J., 01.10.2019, In: Oecologia. 191, 2, p. 421-432 12 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  6. Published

    Tree species richness modulates water supply in the local tree neighbourhood: evidence from wood δ13C signatures in a large-scale forest experiment

    Jansen, K., von Oheimb, G., Bruelheide, H., Härdtle, W. & Fichtner, A., 10.03.2021, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 288, 1946, 8 p., 3100.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  7. Published

    Tree species richness promotes an early increase of stand structural complexity in young subtropical plantations

    Perles-Garcia, M. D., Kunz, M., Fichtner, A., Härdtle, W. & von Oheimb, G., 10.2021, In: Journal of Applied Ecology. 58, 10, p. 2305-2314 10 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  8. Published

    Tree species richness strengthens relationships between ants and the functional composition of spider assemblages in a highly diverse forest

    Schuldt, A. & Staab, M., 01.05.2015, In: Biotropica. 47, 3, p. 339-346 8 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  9. Published

    Tree Species Traits but Not Diversity Mitigate Stem Breakage in a Subtropical Forest following a Rare and Extreme Ice Storm

    Nadrowski, K., Pietsch, K., Baruffol, M., Both, S., Gutknecht, J., Bruelheide, H., Heklau, H., Kahl, A., Kahl, T., Niklaus, P. A., Kröber, W., Liu, X., Mi, X., Michalski, S. G., Oheimb, G., Purschke, O., Schmid, B., Fang, T., Welk, E. & Wirth, C., 30.05.2014, In: PLoS ONE. 9, 5, 7 p., e96022.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

  10. Published

    Tree-tree interactions and crown complementarity: the role of functional diversity and branch traits for canopy packing

    Hildebrand, M., Perles García, M. D., Kunz, M., Härdtle, W., von Oheimb, G. & Fichtner, A., 01.02.2021, In: Basic and Applied Ecology. 50, p. 217-227 11 p.

    Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review