Biodiversity Exploratories

Biodiversity Exploratories
Name	Biodiversity Exploratories
Caption	Long-term research plots in temperate ecosystems
Established	2006
Location	Germany
Research fields	Ecology, Conservation Biology, Landscape Ecology

Biodiversity Exploratories

The Biodiversity Exploratories are a long-term research infrastructure established to investigate links among biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and land-use change across temperate landscapes. Founded within the framework of German national and European research initiatives, the project integrates field experiments, observational studies, and socio-ecological research across multiple regions to inform policy and practice. The program collaborates with universities, research institutes, and government agencies to generate open datasets and synthesize results across taxa and scales.

Overview and Objectives

The initiative aims to quantify how species richness and community composition affect primary productivity, nutrient cycling, pollination, pest control, and soil processes while assessing implications for conservation policy and land-management strategies. It was launched through partnerships involving Helmholtz Association, German Research Foundation, Max Planck Society, and regional universities such as University of Göttingen, University of Jena, Technical University of Munich, and Leipzig University. Objectives include establishing standardized experimental plots, advancing methods in trait-based ecology, testing hypotheses from the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, the Island Biogeography Theory, and contemporary frameworks used by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The project seeks to support commitments under the European Union's biodiversity strategies and the Aichi Targets while informing national policy instruments like the Federal Nature Conservation Act.

Study Sites and Experimental Design

Field work is concentrated in three focal regions characterized by gradients of land use and habitat heterogeneity: regions in the Schwäbische Alb, the Hainich-Dün, and the Schorfheide-Chorin. Each region comprises a network of standardized plots nested within administrative boundaries such as Thuringia, Baden-Württemberg, and Brandenburg. The experimental design employs replicated plots varying in plant species richness, management intensity, and landscape context, drawing on protocols from large-scale networks including the Long-Term Ecological Research Network, the International Long Term Ecological Research Network, and the NutNet framework. Sampling stratification aligns with map products from agencies like Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and cadastral datasets used by regional planning authorities such as Nature Conservancy (Germany). Collaborating institutions such as Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, and the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development coordinate plot maintenance and experimental manipulations.

Research Themes and Methods

Research themes span plant community assembly, trophic interactions, soil microbial diversity, pollination networks, and ecosystem services assessment. Methodological approaches combine taxonomic surveys, trait measurement protocols influenced by the TRY database standards, molecular techniques like metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis used in studies with partners such as Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Remote sensing integration uses platforms and programs including Copernicus Programme, Landsat, and airborne campaigns aligned with European Space Agency initiatives. Statistical and modeling efforts draw on collaborations with groups at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, University of Würzburg, and ETH Zurich, employing structural equation modeling, machine learning pipelines inspired by work from Imperial College London and network analyses used in projects at Natural History Museum, London.

Key Findings and Contributions

Findings demonstrate strong links between plant diversity and functions such as biomass production, decomposition rates, and herbivore regulation, complementing results from experiments at Jena Experiment and the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Research has revealed context-dependency of biodiversity effects across land-use gradients similar to findings from BIODEPTH and meta-analyses led by groups at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Contributions include methodological standards cited alongside syntheses by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and assessments published in journals associated with institutions like Nature Research, Science (journal), and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The project has supported theses and publications by researchers trained at University of Berlin, University of Freiburg, and University of Munich, and has informed guidance documents by agencies such as European Environment Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Management, Funding, and Collaboration

The program is governed through consortia involving federal ministries including Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany), regional ministries such as the Thuringian Ministry of Infrastructure, and academic partners like Goethe University Frankfurt. Funding sources have included competitive grants from the European Research Council, national programs administered by the German Research Foundation, and collaborative funding from foundations such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation. International collaborations link researchers to networks at CNRS (France), University of Bern, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and the US National Science Foundation through joint projects and exchange programs. Management practices integrate stakeholder engagement with organizations such as Local Action Groups (LEADER), regional farmer associations, and conservation NGOs like BUND.

Data Access and Long-term Monitoring

Data management follows FAIR principles and supports long-term monitoring with standardized datasets deposited in repositories aligned with infrastructures like GBIF and national data centers coordinated by German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Longitudinal datasets span taxa including vascular plants, arthropods, soil microbes, and vertebrates, and are used in synthesis efforts with global initiatives such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Group on Earth Observations. The program maintains continuity through periodic reviews and integration with international long-term programs like the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network and contributes to capacity building via workshops hosted with institutions such as Leibniz Institutes, MPI for Biogeochemistry, and partner universities. Ongoing monitoring supports adaptive research addressing policy targets from the United Nations Environment Programme and contributes evidence for international assessments by the IPBES.

Category:Ecological research projects