Representative research projects, ex. 1: Biodiversity Exploratories

Since 2008, the Chair of Environmental Biotechnology (Dr. Harald Kellner, Prof. Martin Hofrichter) is involved with a total of nine projects in the DFG priority program "Biodiversity Exploratories" (SPP 1374) (https://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/en/). The Biodiversity Exploratories, which are located at three sites in Germany (Schorfheide, Hainich, Swabian Alb), address key questions about biodiversity change. For the first time, they combine biodiversity and ecosystem research in real landscapes with a long-term perspective (over 20 years) taking into account management practices. Work at IHI Zittau focuses on enzymatic and molecular studies of deadwood degradation in the BELongDead project network (https://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/en/?s=belongdead) by specialized fungi (causing white, brown or soft rot) and their biocatalytic degradation systems (including peroxidases, laccases, cellulases, xylanases) as well as their interactions with other groups of organisms (including bacteria, arthropods, nematodes). Partners are the UFZ Leipzig-Halle, the University of Frankfurt a.M. and the Julius Kühn Institute Braunschweig. The knowledge gained is equally important for functional biodiversity research and nature conservation. For example, it was shown that any form of deadwood that remains in the forest - regardless of the forest management method - has a positive impact on the diversity of fungi and arthropods. The research work in the Biodiversity Exploratories is in active scientific exchange with another ongoing DFG project (MicroLink), which is being carried out by Dr. H. Kellner together with Czech colleagues from the Academy of Sciences in Prague.