Poster, GfÖ 40th Anniversary Meeting 2010 "The Future of Biodiversity - Genes, Species, Ecosystems", Giessen, Germany: 2010-08-30 - 2010-09-03
Abstract:
Repercussions from changes in the global climate are increasingly manifesting themselves in terms of the regional sphere. Ecological repercussions in all their dimensions are still not completely visible to date, hence there exists such a sense of urgency regarding solutions for the challenges we are facing in climate and ecological systems research. Forests, grasslands and lakes are ecological systems with longevity, thus causing to be considerably impacted by future climate changes. In the light of current climate changes, the probability is steadily increasing that seldomseen and extreme climatological events will occur more often and with rising intensity. Moreover, novel forms of extreme conditions can be expected. There are climate researchers involved at the research cooperation FORKAST from 19 chairs and faculties at the universities of Bayreuth, Regensburg, Würzburg, Erlangen-Nuremberg as well as the Technical University of Munich. They make thorough investigations in reference to the following central issues: How do extreme climatic conditions (e.g. drought and very heavy rains) affect the characteristics of ecological systems and functions? How are ecological processes, such as the production of biomass or the interaction between animals and plants, affected? How resilient are our ecological systems? Research results in this matter are essential prerequisites in order to evaluate how ecological services (e.g. stability of mountain slopes, agricultural and silvicultural production) will be affected.