Ecology and Nature Management

Ecology and Nature Management - Research Area

The Ecology and Nature Management research group conducts basic and applied research in system ecology in natural, semi-natural and managed ecosystems and interactions with drivers of change both as climate, nutrients and invasive species. Research is conducted at process and organism level to ecosystem and landscapes level and thus covers many topics: 

• System Ecology: We study the relationship and feedbacks between organisms, ecosystem structure, processes and abiotic and biotic factors under natural and anthropogenic influence.
• Habitats and biodiversity: We conduct research to identify landscape elements, ecosystem structures and processes that maintain and promote biodiversity (water, dead wood, soil nutrients, topography, grazing).
• Organisms:  We study organisms and their interactions with the environment and interactions with other organisms (indicator species, invasive species, herbivory, grazing, competition, symbiosis).
• Biological processes: We study biological processes and how these can be used in management and restoration of habitats (succession, un-managed forests, natural hydrology, grazing).
• Adaptation: We study how ecosystems, ecological processes and organisms respond to drivers of change (climate, nutrients, catastrophic events etc) and evaluate the resilience and feed-back mechanisms.
• Management and restoration: We provide research in management and restoration of habitats for flora and fauna to quantify ecosystem service (e.g. biodiversity, plant protection, water protection, C-sequestration) and dissemination of best practice to inform land managers and policy makers. Hereby we work with Natura 2000 (Habitats and Bird Directives) and the national Danish §3.

The experimental basis: We deliver basic and applied research based on long-term monitoring and large scale experiments in natural and semi-natural ecosystems in forest, landscape and urban areas.

Our research focuses on developing fundamental and practical knowledge on how different management, conservation and restoration options either diminish pressures, improve services, and/or improve ecosystem robustness. The research has special focus on climate change and invasive species, which threaten the native flora and fauna and their habitats. Research span from species to landscape level and is based on long term monitoring or conducted in long term and large scale manipulation experiments in natural, semi-natural, urban and forest ecosystems.

• Nørholm Heath – Long term succession from heathland to forest
• INCREASE - An Integrated Network on Climate Change REsearch Activities on Shrubland Ecosystems. We coordinate the EU-funded infrastructure project www.increase.ku.dk  of 7 long-term and large scale climate manipulation experiment in shrublands across Europe.
• CLIMAITE – VKR-Climate Centre of Excellence -Climate change effects on biological processes in terrestrial ecosystems.
• Ecological restoration of the upper river Øle Å, Bornholm, Denmark. www.olea.ku.dk
• Invasive arters introduktionsveje
• Cryphalus - about Cryphalus piceae 

Semi natural vegetation for urban environments 
Read more about our major research and PhD projects

Completed projects

• VULCAN
• Vildt og Landskab

• Biodiversity in Urban Nature
• Landscape and Restoration Ecology
• Naturpleje og plejeplanlægning
• Environmental Management in Europe
• Thematic Course: Ecology and Management of Forests and other Semi-natural Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Feltkursus i naturforvaltning
  

The group collaborates with a large number of national and international institutes, scientists and land managers.

National collaboration

CLIMAITE – VKR-Climate Centre of Excellence -Climate change effects on biological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Other partners are DTU, KU-BIO and AU. www.climaite.dk
Contact: Inger Kappel Schmidt iks@ign.ku.dk 

International collaboration

The European Heathland Network - The European Heathlands Network has been established to enable all persons involved or interested in ecological research, conservation of wildlife, and in policy formulation and implementation in relation to European heathlands to meet, to stimulate discussion, to promote communication, to further the understanding of heathland ecosystems and to disseminate information as widely as possible.

INCREASE – An Integrated Network on Climate Change REsearch Activities on Shrubland Ecosystems. INCREASE is an EU-funded network of large-scale field experiments for studies of climate effects on vulnerable shrubland ecosystems in Europe. Facilities and partners in Hungary, University of Tuscia, Italy, CREAF, University of Barcelona, Spain, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, CEH, Bangor and Bangor University, UK and University of Copenhagen and Technical University of Denmark, Denmark. In Denmark we have two large scale climate experiments with manipulations of temperature, precipitation and atmospheric CO2.
www.increase.ku.dk

Contact

Inger Kappel Schmidt iks@ign.ku.dk