Institute of Ecology
Organisational unit: Institute
- Junior Professorship of Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
- Professorship for Ecology, especially Animal Ecology
- Professorship for Ecology, especially Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation
- Professorship for Ecosystem Functioning and Services
- Professorship for Vegetation Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation
Organisation profile
The Institute of Ecology is the biological and natural science department of Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Research focuses on the effects of global changes such as climate change and land use change on organisms and communities biodiversity loss as well as on biological and chemical processes. In cooperation with the human sciences, socio-economic factors of ecosystem research are considered.
Topics
Research foci at the Institute of Ecology are the effects of global change such as climate change and land use change on organisms and their communities and on biological functional and chemical processes. The focus is on the causes and effects of declining animal and plant populations as well as current biodiversity loss and the associated changes in abiotic and biotic ecosystem functions. In collaboration with human science research groups at Leuphana University, socio-economic factors of ecosystem research are also jointly considered.
Experimental research takes place both in laboratories, in greenhouses and in open spaces at Leuphana University. Further, many investigations take place in cultivated landscapes and in urban areas. The field studies are carried out in various countries of the temperate and Mediterranean latitudes and the tropics and sub-tropics, but also regionally, e.g. in Lüneburg and the Lüneburg Heath. Research cooperations exist with many different national and international universities and non-university institutions such as local nature conservation organizations and schools. Particularly noteworthy are the cooperations with the Alfred Töpfer Academy for Nature Conservation and the biosphere reserve administration Niedersächsische Elbtalaue.
The courses range from basic and advanced courses in various sub-fields of ecology and biology, including the performance of experiments in laboratory practicals and in the field, to interdisciplinary courses in the Bachelor's and Master's programs.
In interdisciplinary courses, contents from the fields of landscape ecology, botany, soil ecology, zoology, genetics and nature conservation are linked together, as well as courses that combine different disciplines of the natural sciences with those of the human sciences.
- 2024
Member of the Expert Evaluation Committee for Plant Sciences of the DFG (German Science Foundation) representing the topic Ecology, Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
Vicky Temperton (Consultant)
01.05.2024 → 30.04.2028Activity: Consultancy
Food security and livelihoods in restoration landscapes in western Rwanda: An overview and some reflections on the path to the Rwanda Restore DFG Research Unit on social-ecological restoration in western Rwanda.
Vicky Temperton (Speaker)
09.04.2024Activity: Talk or presentation › talk or presentation in privat or public events › Research
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Government and the German Ministry of the Environment in Natural Climate Solutions
Vicky Temperton (Consultant)
19.03.2024 → …Activity: Consultancy
- 2023
A story about grasslands that needs to be told: their importance, assembly dynamics and ecological restoration in a changing world
Vicky Temperton (Lecturer)
17.01.2023Activity: Talk or presentation › Guest lectures › Research
- 2022
Ecological restoration as a tool out of multiple crisis - examples from grassland restoration
Vicky Temperton (Oral presentation)
08.11.2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Guest lectures › Research
Priority effects and ecological restoration of grasslands
Vicky Temperton (Keynote Speaker)
24.06.2022Activity: Talk or presentation › Conference Presentations › Research
Restoration Ecology (Journal)
Emanuela W A Weidlich (Editorial Board)
2022 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editor of journals › Research
- 2021
The Implementation of Urban Nature-Based Solutions for Water Retention in the Delta Cities Hamburg and Rotterdam
Teresa Spantzel (Speaker), Hendrike Clouting (Speaker) & Brigitte Urban (Coauthor)
17.11.2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Conference Presentations › Research
Journal of Applied Ecology (Journal)
Emanuela W A Weidlich (Editorial Board)
2021 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editor of journals › Research
SER Conference (online)
Emanuela Weidlich (Speaker), Joao P. Ernzen (Speaker), I. Conti (Speaker) & Maria A. Neves (Speaker)
2021Activity: Talk or presentation › Conference Presentations › Research