Nov 24, 2025
IHI and Senckenberg research the loss of biodiversity in the German-Czech border region with the TU Liberec
Prächtiger Saftling (Hygrocybe cf. splendidissima), ein in der sächsisch-tschechischen Grenzregion vorkommender seltener Wiesenpilz
Typische Lausitzer Landschaft im Untersuchungsgebiet mit artenreichem Grünland.
The aim of the EU-funded Interreg project DiGraSo is to identify the causes of the decline in grassland diversity in protected areas in the Czech-Saxon border region and to develop measures to combat this. On November 11, 2025, a project meeting was held at the IHI Zittau by representatives of the Lower Nature Conservation Authority Görlitz, the Saxon Switzerland National Park and the project initiators from the Senckenberg Museum Görlitz, the TUD Dresden University of Technology Liberec and the IHI Zittau of the TU Dresden.
DiGraSo Projekttreffen mit Vertretern der Unteren Naturschutzbehörde (Frau Koppelt, Frau Mählig), Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz (Herr Goldberg, nicht auf dem Bild), Senckenberg Görlitz (Herr Escher), TU Liberec (Herr Pavlu) und dem IHI Zittau (Frau Roy, Herren Hofrichter, Karich und Kellner).
The special feature of this project is the focus of the various project partners not only on the plant diversity visible above ground, but also on what is happening underground in the soil. The bacterial and fungal communities are analyzed molecularly using high-throughput methods and compared with the fruiting bodies occurring above ground; in addition, the earthworm and horn mite communities are recorded and compared with soil chemical parameters. The species-rich grasslands surrounding Zittau have proven to be a hotspot for rare meadow fungi species in particular, which are to be further researched and protected in the future.