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.
- 2021
- Published
Forest Ecosystems: A functional and biodiversity perspective
Fichtner, A. & Härdtle, W., 2021, Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems. Hobohm, C. (ed.). Cham: Springer, p. 383-405 23 p. 16. (Environmental Challenges and Solutions).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
- Published
Land use change and the future of biodiversity
Hobohm, C., Beierkuhnlein, C., Börtitz, C., Clark, V. R., El Balti, N., Fichtner, A., Franklin, S., Gaens, T., Härdtle, W., Hansen, A. S., Janišová, M., Jansen, J., Lindner, M., Moro-Richter, M., Müller-Benedict, V., Ott, K., Reinmuth, K. C., van Rooijen, N. M., Sandberg, M., Schaminée, J. H. J., Tang, C. Q., Vahle, H.-C. & Vanderplank, S. E., 2021, Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems. Hobohm, C. (ed.). Cham: Springer, p. 451-483 33 p. (Environmental Challenges and Solutions).Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
- Published
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves: Supporting Biocultural Diversity, Sustainability and Society: edited by Reed, M. and Price, M., Abingdon: Routledge, 2020. 342 pp
Hanspach, J., 2021, In: Society and Natural Resources. 34, 2, p. 269-270 2 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Critical reviews › Research
- Published
Wiederherstellung degradierter Sandheidelebensräume
Tischew, S., Dolnik, C., Meyer, F. & Härdtle, W., 2021, In: Natur und Landschaft. 96, 4, p. 184-191 8 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- 2020
- Published
The Caterpillar Hunter Beetles Calosoma Weber (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the southern Levant
Aßmann, T., Boutaud, E., Buse, J., Drees, C., Friedmann, A.-L.-L., Hetzel, A., Orbach, E., Renan, I., Reuter, C. & Wrase, D. W., 31.12.2020, In: Israel Journal of Entomology. 50, 2, p. 133-158 26 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Going beyond certificates: A systematic review of alternative trade arrangements in the global food sector
Rathgens, J., Gröschner, S. & von Wehrden, H., 10.12.2020, In: Journal of Cleaner Production. 276, 11 p., 123208.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
- Published
Provenance- and life-history stage-specific responses of the dwarf shrub Calluna vulgaris to elevated vapour pressure deficit
Ibe, K., Walmsley, D., Fichtner, A., Coners, H., Leuschner, C. & Härdtle, W., 01.12.2020, In: Plant Ecology. 221, 12, p. 1219-1232 14 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth: Visions of future systems and how to get there
Fazey, I., Schäpke, N., Caniglia, G., Hodgson, A., Kendrick, I., Lyon, C., Page, G., Patterson, J., Riedy, C., Strasser, T., Verveen, S., Adams, D., Goldstein, B., Klaes, M., Leicester, G., Linyard, A., McCurdy, A., Ryan, P., Sharpe, B., Silvestri, G., Abdurrahim, A. Y., Abson, D., Adetunji, O. S., Aldunce, P., Alvarez-Pereira, C., Amparo, J. M., Amundsen, H., Anderson, L., Andersson, L., Asquith, M., Augenstein, K., Barrie, J., Bent, D., Bentz, J., Bergsten, A., Berzonsky, C., Bina, O., Blackstock, K., Boehnert, J., Bradbury, H., Brand, C., Böhme, J., Bøjer, M. M., Carmen, E., Charli-Joseph, L., Choudhury, S., Chunhachoti-ananta, S., Cockburn, J., Colvin, J., Connon, I. L. C., Cornforth, R., Cox, R. S., Cradock-Henry, N., Cramer, L., Cremaschi, A., Dannevig, H., Day, C. T., de Lima Hutchison, C., de Vrieze, A., Desai, V., Dolley, J., Duckett, D., Durrant, R. A., Egermann, M., Elsner (Adams), E., Fremantle, C., Fullwood-Thomas, J., Galafassi, D., Gobby, J., Golland, A., González-Padrón, S. K., Gram-Hanssen, I., Grandin, J., Grenni, S., Lauren Gunnell, J., Gusmao, F., Hamann, M., Harding, B., Harper, G., Hesselgren, M., Hestad, D., Heykoop, C. A., Holmén, J., Holstead, K., Hoolohan, C., Horcea-Milcu, A. I., Horlings, L. G., Howden, S. M., Howell, R. A., Huque, S. I., Inturias Canedo, M. L., Iro, C. Y., Ives, C. D., John, B., Joshi, R., Juarez-Bourke, S., Juma, D. W., Karlsen, B. C., Kliem, L., Kläy, A., Kuenkel, P., Kunze, I., Lam, D., Lang, D. J., Larkin, A., Light, A., Luederitz, C., Luthe, T., Maguire, C., Mahecha-Groot, A. M., Malcolm, J., Marshall, F., Maru, Y., McLachlan, C., Mmbando, P., Mohapatra, S., Moore, M. L., Moriggi, A., Morley-Fletcher, M., Moser, S., Mueller, K. M., Mukute, M., Mühlemeier, S., Naess, L. O., Nieto-Romero, M., Novo, P., ÓBrien, K., O'Connell, D. A., O'Donnell, K., Olsson, P., Pearson, K. R., Pereira, L., Petridis, P., Peukert, D., Phear, N., Pisters, S. R., Polsky, M., Pound, D., Preiser, R., Rahman, M. S., Reed, M. S., Revell, P., Rodriguez, I., Rogers, B. C., Rohr, J., Nordbø Rosenberg, M., Ross, H., Russell, S., Ryan, M., Saha, P., Schleicher, K., Schneider, F., Scoville-Simonds, M., Searle, B., Sebhatu, S. P., Sesana, E., Silverman, H., Singh, C., Sterling, E., Stewart, S. J., Tàbara, J. D., Taylor, D., Thornton, P., Tribaldos, T. M., Tschakert, P., Uribe-Calvo, N., Waddell, S., Waddock, S., van der Merwe, L., van Mierlo, B., van Zwanenberg, P., Velarde, S. J., Washbourne, C. L., Waylen, K., Weiser, A., Wight, I., Williams, S., Woods, M., Wolstenholme, R., Wright, N., Wunder, S., Wyllie, A. & Young, H. R., 01.12.2020, In: Energy Research and Social Science. 70, 18 p., 101724.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Woody plant diversity, composition and structure in relation to environmental variables and land-cover types in Lake Wanchi watershed, central highlands of Ethiopia
Angessa, A. T., Lemma, B., Yeshitela, K., Fischer, J., May, F. & Shumi, G., 01.12.2020, In: African Journal of Ecology. 58, 4, p. 627-638 12 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Published
Plant traits alone are poor predictors of ecosystem properties and long-term ecosystem functioning
van der Plas, F., Schröder-Georgi, T., Weigelt, A., Barry, K., Meyer, S., Alzate, A., Barnard, R. L., Buchmann, N., de Kroon, H., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Engels, C., Fischer, M., Gleixner, G., Hildebrandt, A., Koller-France, E., Leimer, S., Milcu, A., Mommer, L., Niklaus, P. A., Oelmann, Y., Roscher, C., Scherber, C., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Scheu, S., Schmid, B., Schulze, E. D., Temperton, V., Tscharntke, T., Voigt, W., Weisser, W., Wilcke, W. & Wirth, C., 12.2020, In: Nature Ecology & Evolution. 4, 12, p. 1602-1611 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review