Knowledge Transfer 2.0 - Making Biodiversity Research Effective for Biodiversity Conservation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Christian Ammer
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems ; Forestry
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 325087694

With the rising public awareness for biodiversity loss, the pressure on policy and land managers increases to promote a forest management favorable for biodiversity. To identify synergies or trade-offs among different ecosystem functions and services, transdisciplinary research and a mutual knowledge transfer of scientific results and practical experience between science and practice are needed. Particularly in case of trade-offs, science should help to find management options that consider consequences for different forest functions at various spatial scales and thus provide decision corridors for science-based compromises, or that might help to set priorities depending on regional pre-conditions.The proposed project will directly build upon results of the first project phase (in the following called Knowledge Transfer 1.0) that initiated a bilateral transfer of results and expertise between the Biodiversity Exploratories (BE) and forest stakeholders of the three BE regions. We aim to perpetuate, intensify and extend this in the upcoming phase. After specifically asking for practitioners’ demand, contributions and practice-relevant questions in Knowledge Transfer 1.0, we now want to establish a new line of transdisciplinary research projects in the BE in close cooperation with our application partners. The co-designed tasks will extend the applicability of the BE results for forestry and nature conservation practice and increase their effectiveness for biodiversity conservation: Firstly, we will (i) assess the role of habitat trees and their maintenance within the BE plots for biodiversity and timber production, (ii) evaluate tree species of the BE plots in terms of associated biodiversity and vitality in times of climate change, and (iii) compare scientific data sampled beyond the BE plots within two protected areas of the BE regions with the data of the BE. BE results identified forest management as an important driver of biodiversity at the landscape scale. However, interviews with stakeholders in Knowledge transfer 1.0 showed that management decisions are often determined by natural site conditions or socio-economic constraints. By considering the diversity of forest management, of natural landscape conditions and of land tenure, we, secondly, aim to identify the most important driver(s) of biodiversity at the landscape scale within the BE regions. Practice-relevant results of our and all other BE projects will be regularly transferred to forestry and nature conservation practice using a knowledge transfer webpage and a network of multipliers identified in the previous phase. We will assess management options and their consequences for biodiversity as well as limitations for a generalization. Thirdly, urgent stakeholder questions will be passed to scientific experts of the BE and beyond and will form the basis for future transdisciplinary research projects.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes (Transfer Project)
• Subproject of: SPP 1374: Biodiversity Exploratories
• Application Partner: Biosphärengebiet Schwäbische Alb; Biosphärenreservat Schorfheide-Chorin; ThüringenForst; Forstamt Heiligenstadt; ThüringenForst; Forstamt Hainich-Werratal; ThüringenForst; Forstamt Leinefelde; ThüringenForst; Forstliches Forschungs- und Kompetenzzentrum Gotha (FFK Gotha); Landratsamt Reutlingen; Kreisforstamt; Landeskompetenzzentrum Forst Eberswalde (LFE); Nationalpark Hainich; Stadt Mühlhausen