Projects

The need for a paradigm shift in the field of nature conservation: the importnace of the impact of landscape structure on biodiversity patterns and functions

Kiemelt/Jelentős projekt

Summary:

Both the intensification of agriculture and increasing urbanisation lead to the degradation of natural habitats, negatively impacting wildlife and their ecosystem functions (e.g., pollination of plants). However, these effects not only occur locally but can also be measured much further away, i.e. on a landscape scale. That is why it is impossible to conserve wildlife only in protected areas, but we need so-called landscape-level conservation strategies, including our cultivated and built environment. The main goal of our interdisciplinary, theoretical research is to understand how the complexity of the landscape structure (the composition of the landscape and the configuration of the landscape elements) influences wildlife, their function and thus the ecosystem services vital to humans. Thus, the theoretical and practical experience gained from this research can significantly contribute to practical nature conservation, from developing agri-environmental schemes to protecting urban biodiversity.