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.
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Terry Erwin’s legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology
Assmann, T., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 1044, p. 23-39 17 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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The ground beetle tribe platynini bonelli, 1810 (Coleoptera, carabidae) in the southern levant: Dichotomous and interactive identification tools, ecological traits, and distribution
Assmann, T., Boutaud, E., Buse, J., Drees, C., Friedman, A. L. L., Harry, I., Khoury, F., Orbach, E., Renan, I., Schmidt, C., Schmidt, K., Wrase, D. W. & Zumstein, P., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 2021, 1044, p. 449-478 30 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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The patterns of curriculum change processes that embed sustainability in higher education institutions
Weiss, M., Barth, M. & von Wehrden, H., 01.09.2021, In: Sustainability Science. 16, 5, p. 1579-1593 15 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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sPlotOpen – An environmentally balanced, open-access, global dataset of vegetation plots
Sabatini, F. M., Lenoir, J., Hattab, T., Arnst, E. A., Chytrý, M., Dengler, J., De Ruffray, P., Hennekens, S. M., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Kattge, J., Levesley, A., Pillar, V. D., Purschke, O., Sandel, B., Sultana, F., Aavik, T., Aćić, S., Acosta, A. T. R., Agrillo, E., Alvarez, M., Apostolova, I., Arfin Khan, M. A. S., Arroyo, L., Attorre, F., Aubin, I., Banerjee, A., Bauters, M., Bergeron, Y., Bergmeier, E., Biurrun, I., Bjorkman, A. D., Bonari, G., Bondareva, V., Brunet, J., Čarni, A., Casella, L., Cayuela, L., Černý, T., Chepinoga, V., Csiky, J., Ćušterevska, R., De Bie, E., de Gasper, A. L., De Sanctis, M., Dimopoulos, P., Dolezal, J., Dziuba, T., El-Sheikh, M. A. E. R. M., Enquist, B., Ewald, J., Fazayeli, F., Field, R., Finckh, M., Gachet, S., Galán-de-Mera, A., Garbolino, E., Gholizadeh, H., Giorgis, M., Golub, V., Alsos, I. G., Grytnes, J. A., Guerin, G. R., Gutiérrez, A. G., Haider, S., Hatim, M. Z., Hérault, B., Hinojos Mendoza, G., Hölzel, N., Homeier, J., Hubau, W., Indreica, A., Janssen, J. A. M., Jedrzejek, B., Jentsch, A., Jürgens, N., Kącki, Z., Kapfer, J., Karger, D. N., Kavgacı, A., Kearsley, E., Kessler, M., Khanina, L., Killeen, T., Korolyuk, A., Kreft, H., Kühl, H. S., Kuzemko, A., Landucci, F., Lengyel, A., Lens, F., Lingner, D. V., Liu, H., Lysenko, T., Mahecha, M. D., Marcenò, C., Martynenko, V., Moeslund, J. E., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Mucina, L., Müller, J. V., Munzinger, J., Naqinezhad, A., Noroozi, J., Nowak, A., Onyshchenko, V., Overbeck, G. E., Pärtel, M., Pauchard, A., Peet, R. K., Peñuelas, J., Pérez-Haase, A., Peterka, T., Petřík, P., Peyre, G., Phillips, O. L., Prokhorov, V., Rašomavičius, V., Revermann, R., Rivas-Torres, G., Rodwell, J. S., Ruprecht, E., Rūsiņa, S., Samimi, C., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Shan, H., Shirokikh, P., Šibík, J., Šilc, U., Sklenář, P., Škvorc, Ž., Sparrow, B., Sperandii, M. G., Stančić, Z., Svenning, J. C., Tang, Z., Tang, C. Q., Tsiripidis, I., Vanselow, K. A., Vásquez Martínez, R., Vassilev, K., Vélez-Martin, E., Venanzoni, R., Vibrans, A. C., Violle, C., Virtanen, R., von Wehrden, H., Wagner, V., Walker, D. A., Waller, D. M., Wang, H. F., Wesche, K., Whitfeld, T. J. S., Willner, W., Wiser, S. K., Wohlgemuth, T., Yamalov, S., Zobel, M. & Bruelheide, H., 09.2021, In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 30, 9, p. 1740-1764 25 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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The effect of industrialization and globalization on domestic land-use: A global resource footprint perspective
Dorninger, C., von Wehrden, H., Krausmann, F., Bruckner, M., Feng, K., Hubacek, K., Erb, K. H. & Abson, D. J., 01.07.2021, In: Global Environmental Change. 69, 21 p., 102311.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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Dinotefuran alters Collembola-fungi-bacteria interactions that control mineralization of maize and soil organic carbon
Yu, Z., Schmidt, O., Zhao, Y., Liu, M., Kumar, A., Luo, Y. & Xu, J., 15.09.2021, In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. 418, 11 p., 126391.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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What shapes ground beetle assemblages in a tree species-rich subtropical forest?
Zumstein, P., Bruelheide, H., Fichtner, A., Schuldt, A., Staab, M., Härdtle, W., Zhou, H. & Aßmann, T., 16.06.2021, In: ZooKeys. 2021, 1044, p. 907-927 21 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres 2020: Borstgrasrasen
Schwabe-Kratochwil, A., Tischew, S., Bergmeier, E., Garve, E., Härdtle, W., Heinken, T., Hölzel, N., Peppler-Lisbach, C., Remy, D. & Dierschke, H., 2019, In: Tuexenia. 39, p. 287-308 22 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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Das Eiablageverhalten des Großen Feuerfalters (Lycaena dispar rutilus) in der Kulturlandschaft Siebenbürgens, Rumänien
Höppner, O. & Loos, J., 06.2020, In: Oedippus. 37, p. 5-13 9 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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Preserving Colias myrmidone in European cultural landscapes: requirements for the successful development from egg to higher larval stages at a Natura 2000 site in Romania
Nippen, P., Dolek, M. & Loos, J., 08.2021, In: Journal of Insect Conservation. 25, 4, p. 643-655 13 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review