Mission statement

Our goal is to understand the processes that drive biodiversity patterns and their spatio-temporal dynamics across scales, the assembly of ecological communities, the factors that determine the value of landscapes for ecosystem service provision

By observing and predicting the long-term effects of global change and of socio-economic activities (including climate and landuse change, landscape fragmentation and habitat loss, biological invasions) on biodiversity patterns, we want to provide the knowledge basis for sound conservation management and ecological restoration.

Current news

  • Television: Dramatisches Insektensterben
    For those who missed yesterday's edition of ORF's Zeit im Bild 2 about the massive insect loss featuring relevant statements by Franz Essl (University of Vienna - CVL), the report is available on ORF TVthek.
    Link: https://tvthek.orf.at/profile/konkret/13887640/konkret/14004243/Dramatisches-Insektensterben/14445535
  • Zeitungsbericht: Betoniergehabe: Österreich könnte bald zugepflastert sein
    Wenn so gedankenlos weitergebaut wird wie bisher, ist Österreich bis zum Jahr 2050 praktisch zugepflastert - von den klimatechnischen Folgen ganz zu schweigen. Wie kann der Flächenfraß gestoppt werden?

    Unser Kollege Franz Essl (University of Vienna - CVL) kommt dazu in der aktuellen Ausgabe von profil zu Wort.
    profil: https://www.profil.at/wissenschaft/verbauung-flaechenwidmung-oesterreich-10643712
  • Radio Feature: "Artenvielfalt - Wandernde Tierarten lange unbemerkt"
    Wie lange dauert es, bis man bemerkt, dass sich eine Tier- oder Pflanzenart in einem neuen Lebensraum angesiedelt hat? Damit hat sich ein Team aus Tschechien, Serbien, Deutschland und Österreich in einer neuen Studie beschäftigt. Manchmal könne es Jahre und Jahrzehnte dauern, bis man sogenannte "invasive Arten" überhaupt bemerkt.
     
    Mit: Franz Essl, Ökologe und Biodiversitätsexperte
  • Award of Excellence
    Our colleague Sabine Rumpf was honoured with the Award of Excellence ('Staatspreis für die besten Dissertationen') for her outstanding PhD thesis by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.
  • Our colleague Franz Essl is among the highly cited researchers 2018
    This list recognizes researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by producing multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% citations for their field and year in Web of Science.
  • Dissertation award
    Congratulations to our collegue Johannes Wessely – winner of The International Biogeography Society 2019 Dissertation Award!
    Check out the synopsis here: www.biogeography.org/news/news/2019-ibs-dissertation-awardee-johannes-wessely/

Recent Publications

2019

Maas B., Heath S., Grass I., Cassano C., Classen A., Faria D., Gras P., Williams-Guillén K., Johnson M., Karp D. S., Linden V., Martínez-Salinas A., Schmack J. M. & Kross S. (2019): Experimental field exclosure of birds and bats in agricultural systems — Methodological insights, potential improvements, and cost-benefit trade-offs
Basic and Applied Ecology 35: 1-12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.12.002
Zechmeister H. G., Kropik M., Popovtschak M. & Scharrer-Liška G. (2019): Bryophytes in a latrine as indicators of climate change in the 17th century
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00717-6
Pakeman R. J., Bates A., Corlett R. T., Cumming G. S., Johns D., Koh L. P., Loyola R., Maas B., Pejchar L., Primack R. B., Regan T. J., Roth R., Godet L., Descoteaux D. & Devictor V. (2019): Fifty years of biological conservation
Biological Conservation 230: A1-A4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.12.005
Miller-Rushing A. J., Primack R. B., Devictor V., Corlett R. T., Cumming G. S., Loyola R., Maas B. & Pejchar L. (2019): How does habitat fragmentation affect biodiversity? A controversial question at the core of conservation biology
Biological Conservation 232: 271-273 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.12.029
Prevéy J. S., Rixen C., Rüger N., Høye T. T., Bjorkman A. D., Myers-Smith I. H., Elmendorf S. C., Ashton I. W., Cannone N., Chisholm C. L., Clark K., Cooper E. J., Elberling B., Fosaa A. M., Henry G. H., Hollister R. D., Jónsdóttir I. S., Klanderud K., Kopp C. W., Lévesque E., Mauritz M., Molau U., Natali S. M., Oberbauer S. F., Panchen Z. A., Post E., Rumpf S. B., Schmidt N. M., Schuur E., Semenchuk P. R., Smith J. G., Suding K. N., Totland Ø., Troxler T., Venn S., Wahren C. H., Welker J. M. & Wipf S. (2019): Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities
Nature Ecology and Evolution 3: 45-52 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0745-6
Semenchuk P. R., Krab E. J., Hedenström M., Phillips C. A., Ancin-Murguzur F. J. & Cooper E. J. (2019): Soil organic carbon depletion and degradation in surface soil after long-term non-growing season warming in High Arctic Svalbard
Science of the Total Environment 646: 158-167 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.150

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