Ecology and Biological Resources

In the field of Ecology and Biological Resources, the Department of Biology deals with current fundamental questions about the future viability of our society: What are the impacts of human use and climate change on biodiversity? How do organisms react to environmental changes? What role do plants, animals and microorganisms play in the Earth's climate system? How can the social benefits of biological resources be improved?

To answer these questions, employees of the Department of Biology in Animal and Plant Ecology record biodiversity patterns and their temporal changes throughout the world: in forests in Madagascar, in drylands in Africa, in coastal ecosystems in Central Europe and also in the North and Baltic Seas. By means of ecophysiological methods, reactions of plants and animals to environmental changes and stress are analyzed and the functionality of marine ecosystems is investigated by means of hydrobiological analyzes.

At the same time, sustainable uses of marine and terrestrial biological resources in fisheries biology and forestry are being developed. At the Center for Timber Management, the focus is on the raw material wood and other lignocelluloses: Here, the biological and chemical structure as well as the physical properties of the wood substance are investigated. In addition, processes are being developed to make renewable raw materials usable as basic chemicals and in composite materials.

The following research units contribute to the research focus Ecology and Biological Resources: