Towards Sustainable and Resilient Ecosystems

"Towards Sustainable and Resilient Ecosystems" focuses on understanding the complex dynamics of ecosystems and developing strategies to ensure their sustainability and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges posed by human impact.

Ecosystems provide essential services such as clean water, pollination, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling; their protection is critical. Primary objectives include:

• Assessing the current state of ecosystems and developing indicators and models to evaluate their sustainability and resilience.
• Investigating how different facets of biodiversity contribute to ecosystem resilience and stability.
• Evaluating the impacts of human activities, such as land-use patterns and urbanisation, on the provision of ecosystem services and ecosystem sustainability.
• Engaging communities and implementing social interventions to promote ecosystem sustainability and resilience.
• Developing strategies to adapt ecosystems to mitigate climate change impacts and enhance adaptive capacity through sustainable practices.
• Identifying and applying the most effective methodologies for restoring degraded ecosystems.
• Utilising emerging technologies, including remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, to monitor and enhance ecosystem health sustainably.

Research spans a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, invertebrates, and small mammals, and encompasses diverse habitats from natural, semi-natural (agroforestry), and urban ecosystems to both terrestrial and freshwater environments. We take advantage of exceptional field resources such as LTER sites, field stations, and fully equipped ecology laboratories. This research area is supported by 12 research groups working on diagnostics, monitoring, management, and technological applications in diverse ecosystems.

Coordination