Bavarian research & innovation Bavarian Research Cooperation “Impact of climate on ecosystems and climatic adaption strategies” UNDER THE SIGN OF CLIMATE CHANGE Ecosystems research regarding climate adaptation mpacts from changes in the global climate are Iincreasingly manifesting themselves in terms of the regional sphere. Ecological impacts in all their dimensions are still not completely visible to date, hence there exists such a sense of urgency regarding solutions for the challenges we are facing in climate and ecological systems research. Forests, grasslands and lakes are ecological systems with longevity, thus causing to be considerably impacted by future climate changes. These ecological Modelling of future expected climate changes is a useful tool for ecosystem research systems cover a large pro- (here: A1B-climate-scenario for Bavaria; database: Remo) portion of Bavaria and carry considerable economic signifi - cance. In light of current climate of Munich. They research the changes, the probability is in - impacts of climate upon eco- Spokesperson: creasing that seldom-seen and systems and make thorough in - Prof. Dr. Carl Beierkuhnlein, University of Bayreuth extreme climatological events vestigations in reference to the will occur more often and with following central issues: How do Scientific & administrative coordination: rising intensity. Moreover, extreme climatic conditions Dr. Camilla Wellstein novel forms of extreme con- (e.g. drought and torrential rains) Dipl.-Geoökol. Andreas Gohlke ditions can be expected. Eco - affect the characteristics of eco - Chair of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth nomic damages can be pre- logical systems and functions? Universitätsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth sumed. Possibly negative deve - How are ecological processes, Phone +49 (0) 921-55-2299 lopments must therefore be im - such as the production of bio- Fax +49 (0) 921-55-2315 mediately addressed with mass or the interaction between E-Mail [email protected] sufficient adaptive measures. animals and plants, affected? [email protected] How resilient are our ecological Internet: www.bayfor.org/forkast There are researchers involved systems? Research results in www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/forkast/ at the research cooperation this matter are essential pre- FORKAST from 19 chairs and requisites in order to evaluate Funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science, faculties at the universities of how ecological services (e.g. Research and Art (StMWFK) with €3 million for 3 years, Bayreuth, Regensburg, Würz - stability of mountain slopes, agri - commencing in the spring of 2009. burg, Erlangen-Nuremberg as cultural and silvicultural produc - well as the Technical University tion) will be affected. Moreover, Member of the Association of Bavarian Research Cooperations RESEARCH TOPICS eventual positive developments In this manner, the various should be recognised and qualities of monitoring, mani - developmental opportunities in pulative experiments and the offing should be utilised modelling (i.e. simulations) can early on. be optimally networked. The fundamental research results To facilitate the realisation of sought after within the co- these subject-overlapping and operation offer opportunities for inter-structural demands, FOR - implementation in commerce KAST has inter-linked research and society in, for example, competencies of Bavarian uni - agriculture and silviculture, versities with technical authori - prognosis of natural hazards, ties. FORKAST is, furthermore, nature conservation, planning included in the network of inter - of spaces and water manage - national research consortiums. ment. In this manner, this cru - Up-to-date developments in cial Bavarian enterprise is able methodology are continuously to assume the role of trailbla - implemented and combined zer within the sphere of clima - within the research cooperation. te impact research in Germany. Dry out phenomenom at maple as result of drought in the summer of 2003 Academic Partners University of Bayreuth - Chair of Biogeography - Department of Micrometeorology - Department of Agroecosystem Research - Working Group Soil Physics - Working Group Animal Population Ecology - Junior Professor for Disturbance Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics - Junior Professor for Biogeographical Modelling Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg - Chair for Physical Geography Technical University of Munich - Chair of Vegetation Ecology - Chair of Forest Yield Science - Chair of Soil Ecology - Chair of Atmospheric Environmental Research - Chair of Soil Sciences - Section of Limnology - Section of Geobotany - Section of Eco-Climatology University of Regensburg - Chair of Botany Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg - Chair of Zoology III Bavarian State Institute of Forestry (LWF) Bavarian Office of Forest Seeding and Planting (ASP) Helmholtz Zentrum München (former GSF) Institute for Atmospheric Environmental Research Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Experimental area for extreme climate events - Research Group "Ecosystem Matter Fluxes" (EVENT-Experiment at the University of Bayreuth) Member of the Association of Bavarian Research Cooperations.