Institute of Ecology
Organisational unit: Institute
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.
Main research areas
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.
ÖkoKult: Securing the Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity of Extensively Managed Cultural Landscapes (Ökokult): - Subproject 1: Ecosystem Functioning and Services of Cultural Landscapes
Temperton, V. (Project manager, academic), Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), Aßmann, T. (Project manager, academic), Walmsley, D. (Coordination) & Schuldt, A. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.08.16 → 31.01.23
Project: Research
SoilTemp Project
Haider, S. (Project staff), Lembrechts, J. J. (Project manager, academic) & Lenoir, J. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.18 → …
Project: Research
sPlot "Plant trait-environment relationships across the world's biomes"
Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Haider, S. (Project staff)
01.01.13 → …
Project: Research
Sukzessionsforschung und Ableitung waldbaulich nutzbarer Informationen in naturnahen Buchenwäldern mit langjährig ungestörter Walddynamik im Nordostdeutschen Tiefland
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic) & Westphal, C. (Project staff)
01.04.00 → 31.03.03
Project: Research
Sukzessions- und Regenerationsmodelle, vegetationskundliche Referenzsysteme
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic) & Redecker, B. (Project manager, academic)
01.09.97 → 31.03.01
Project: Research
sUMMITDiv "Europe’s alpine flora: past, present and future"
Wipf, S. (Project manager, academic), Haider, S. (Partner), Rixen, C. (Partner), Steinbauer, M. J. (Partner), Jurasinski, G. (Partner), Grytnes, J. A. (Partner) & Bjorkmann, A. (Partner)
10.11.14 → 31.12.18
Project: Research
"Sustainability and Digitalization - a European perspective"
Barth, M. (Project manager, academic), Trittin-Ulbrich, H. (Partner), Lang, D. J. (Partner) & von Wehrden, H. (Partner)
01.12.19 → 31.08.22
Project: Teaching
SUSTIL: Szenarien zur Umsetzung der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele in Stadt und Landkreis Lüneburg: Implikationen für die Steuerung von Landnutzung
Hörisch, J. (Project manager, academic), Lang, D. J. (Project manager, academic), von Wehrden, H. (Project manager, academic), Ackerschott, A. (Project staff), Kohlhase, E. (Project staff) & Schmidt, A. (Project staff)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.02.20 → 31.01.25
Project: Research
WaldGloWan: The Belgian Gagea (Gagea spathacea) in Germany: Conservation strategies in response to climate change within the context of sustainable forest management
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic) & Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic)
Federal Ministry of Education and Research
01.10.13 → 30.06.20
Project: Research
The future of biodiversity conservation in farming landscapes in south-eastern Australia
Hanspach, J. (Project manager, academic) & Schaal, T. (Project staff)
01.04.19 → 31.08.22
Project: Research
The future of brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Transylvania
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Dorresteijn, I. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.12 → 27.04.15
Project: Research
The future of the European brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Transylvania II: How to maintain coexistence in a rapidly changing system
Fischer, J. (Project manager, academic) & Dorresteijn, I. (Project manager, academic)
International Association for Bear Research and Management
01.02.13 → 20.04.15
Project: Research
The Mountain TransPlant Network
Haider, S. (Partner), Chisholm, C. (Project manager, academic), Walker, T. W. N. (Project manager, academic) & Alexander, J. M. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.17 → …
Project: Research
The role of herbivory in mediating ecosystem functions in species-rich forests
Aßmann, T. (Project manager, academic)
18.02.14 → 25.04.19
Project: Research
The role of herbivory in mediating ecosystem functions in species-rich forests
Schuldt, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.08.14 → 31.07.16
Project: Research
TP-Z "Coordination", Jena; Koordinationsmittel zu Plant-insect interactions, flower traits, and pollination along an experimental plant diversity gradient (FOR 1451 - Teilprojekt 03)
Klein, A.-M. (Project manager, academic)
01.05.12 → 10.09.13
Project: Research
TRACE: TRACE – TRAit-environment interactions driving elevational range expansions under ClimatE change
Haider, S. (Project manager, academic) & Ratier Backes, A. (Project manager, academic)
01.01.22 → 31.12.23
Project: Research
TreeDi: TreeDiversity Interactions (TreeDi): The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests - International Research Training Group funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic), von Oheimb, G. (Project manager, academic), Fichtner, A. (Project manager, academic), Perles-García, M. D. (Project staff), Bruelheide, H. (Project manager, academic) & Wang, Y. (Project manager, academic)
01.04.18 → 30.09.22
Project: Research
TR_Experiment Stickstoffeintrag
Härdtle, W. (Project manager, academic)
02.12.13 → 31.12.17
Project: Transfer (R&D project)