FZT 118:  German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research - iDiv

• Subject Area: Biology
• Term: since 2012
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 202548816

Life on earth is remarkable in its diversity of forms and functions – and the richness of its emergent properties, from the molecular to the ecosystem level. The question “what determines species diversity” is still a largely open question, which we actively research. Answers to this question are urgently needed, because as we have altered the land surface and our global climate, we are having increasing and irreversible impacts on all aspects of life, most notably on its distribution and diversity. In this context of global biodiversity change, iDiv was established to develop an integrative biodiversity science by bridging molecular to ecosystem approaches, experiments and theory, and the sciences of nature and society. iDiv’s overarching goals are to (1) provide international leadership and support collaborative research on the generation, maintenance and change of biodiversity and its function from local to global scales; (2) use this knowledge to engage with policy makers and the public to preserve and restore our planet’s biodiversity. Integrating the individual research programmes of more than 100 active members across 11 institutions, iDiv has defined five, highly linked, main research areas (RA) for the third funding phase: (1) RA Biodiversity change examines how and why biodiversity is (or is not) changing in the face of anthropogenic drivers (e.g., climate change, land use). (2) RA Biodiversity and complexity studies the population- and community-level mechanisms generating and maintaining biodiversity. (3) RA Molecular biodiversity and adaptation focuses on critical aspects of biodiversity at the molecular level using cutting-edge molecular tools and informatics. (4) RA Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning explores the linkages between biodiversity change and the functioning of ecosystems from plots to landscapes. (5) RA Biodiversity and society emphasises that biodiversity is critically tied to society via ecosystem services and identifies ways how science and policy can interact to attain a sustainable future.

• DFG Programme: DFG Research Centres

Projects

• Biodiversity and Society (Project Heads Bonn, Aletta ;  Kuehl, Hjalmar ;  Pereira, Henrique Miguel ;  Settele, Josef )
• Biodiversity Conservation - safeguarding ecosystem functions and services (Project Heads Bruelheide, Helge ;  Klotz, Stefan ;  Seppelt, Ralf ;  Wesche, Karsten )
• Biodiversity Functions (Project Heads Brose, Ulrich ;  Bruelheide, Helge ;  Eisenhauer, Nico ;  Wirth, Christian )
• Biodiversity Patterns (Project Heads Chase, Jonathan ;  Knight, Tiffany Marie ;  Kühn, Ingolf ;  Küsel, Kirsten )
• Biodiversity Processes (Project Heads Buscot, Francois ;  van Dam, Nicole M. ;  Harpole, William Stanley ;  Schlegel, Martin )
• Biodiversity Synthesis (Project Heads Reichstein, Markus ;  Wirth, Christian )
• Central Management (Project Heads Bruelheide, Helge ;  Buscot, Francois ;  van Dam, Nicole M. ;  Knight, Tiffany Marie ;  Küsel, Kirsten ;  Pereira, Henrique Miguel ;  Quaas, Martin F. ;  Wirth, Christian )
• Evolution and Adaptation, and Physiological Diversity (Project Heads Moritz, Robin F. A. ;  Schlegel, Martin ;  Wilhelm, Christian )
• Experimental Interaction Ecology (Project Heads Buscot, Francois ;  Harms, Hauke )
• Molecular Interaction Ecology (Project Heads Buscot, Francois ;  Küsel, Kirsten )
• Theory in Biodiversity Sciences (Project Heads Grimm, Volker ;  Wirth, Christian )

• Applicant Institution: Universität Leipzig
• Co-Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena; Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Participating Institution: Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ); Leibniz-Institut DSMZ-Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH; Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzenbiochemie (IPB); Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK); Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie (MPI-BGC); Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Ökologie; Beutenberg Campus; Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie (MPI EVA); Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz
• Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Martin F. Quaas, since 1/2024; Professor Dr. Christian Wirth, until 1/2024