Wolfgang Kießling traces Earth’s history through layers of fossils. The data he uncovers together with his team serves to create a reliable database for climate research, opening up opportunities for nature-based conservation solutions.
Biodiversity researchers develop mechanistic simulation models to unravel the processes influencing biodiversity origin, maintenance and dynamics across space and time, from individuals to entire ecosystems.
Scientists at the University of Bayreuth are investigating how extreme weather events affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Together with their international partners, they study the local impacts of global climate change.
Although more than half of the world’s rivers have been altered by human activity and climate change, the floodplain ecosystems along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan remain largely untouched.
The number of tree species growing in regions close to the equator is significantly higher than in regions further north and south of the earth. An international study published in „Nature Ecology and Evolution“ investigates the causes of this with a precision never before achieved. It emphasizes that the diversity of tree species in the tropics does not depend solely on bioclimatic factors. The study is based on a cooperation of 222 universities and research institutions. On the part of the University of Bayreuth, PD Dr. Andreas Hemp, who has been researching vegetation in mountainous regions of East Africa for more than 30 years, was involved in this international research.
The World Biodiversity Council (IPBES) has selected Dr Stephanie Thomas, a scientist in the Biogeography research group at the University of Bayreuth, as lead author of the next IPBES report. She is one of two experts from Bavaria who will work on the new report. IPBES reports collect and evaluate existing knowledge on the state of nature worldwide, and use it to derive options for action by governments to protect biodiversity. IPBES has 139 member states worldwide.
The further people in Sub-Saharan Africa live from the coast, the greater the likelihood of a comparatively low standard of living. This is the conclusion reached by economists at the University of Bayreuth in a study of 17 African coastal countries published in the Review of Development Economics. Proximity to ports attracts people with higher levels of knowledge and education, promotes the growth of cities and the expansion of infrastructure, and thus increases prosperity. To achieve similar standards of living, geographically determined disadvantages in regions of Africa far from the coast would have to be offset by targeted measures, which often do not happen.
Researchers from the University of Augsburg and Lancaster University are investigating how soil tillage on slopes affects the crop yields of entire regions. The results of their study have now been published in the journal Nature Food.
Peatlands are the focus of a podcast series by the Bayreuth Centre of Ecology & Environmental Research (BayCEER) at the University of Bayreuth. For four years, as part of the Bavarian Climate Research Network, the "AquaKlif - Effects of multiple stressors on stream ecosystems during climate change" project has been asking the question of what we can do to mitigate the effects of climate change on streams? An important step here is the protection of the moors in the headwaters of low mountain ranges. Two young scientists who are researching lowland moors at the Hydrology research group in BayCEER talked to experts about this. The outcome was the "Moorminuten" podcast.
Living conditions for forests at high elevations have changed significantly in recent decades as a result of climate change. In many mountain regions, they have become more favorable above the tree line than in lower-lying forested areas. Nevertheless, climate change has not yet led to forests adapting directly to this change and shifting to higher regions. This is confirmed by a new biogeographical study of the University of Bayreuth using the example of the Mediterranean island of Crete. The scientists present their research results in the journal "Forest Ecosystems". They warn of the possible consequences.
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