In a context of continuous land use change and telecoupled relationships, we investigate the effects of land management on ecosystem services and their contribution to human well-being. We use different approaches to assess potential supply, use and demand, including people’s preferences and values. In turn, we look at how management is related to aspects of equity and the distribution of ecosystem services across different social groups, as well as the governance regimes that may contribute to a more equal access to ecosystem services.

• ESuDis - Effects of land management on the Supply and Distribution of ecosystem services
• ECOPOTENTIAL - Improving future ecosystem benefits through earth observations
• Use and demand of cultural ecosystem services in the Bavarian Forest National Park
• Inequalities in ecosystem services supply and demand: a Chile case study
• Advancing interdisciplinary research on social-ecological networks to understand ecosystem services across scales - SESYNC Working group
• DFG Biodiversity Exploratories
• Fitness Check of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy
• GrazeLIFE
• ValuGaps - Comprehensive valorization of natural capital in Germany
• TeleHealth (coming soon)

There is significant evidence that exposure or contact with natural environments has human health and wellbeing benefits. In this working group, we aim to understand the impact of biodiversity on human health and well-being. We also investigate how people perceive, value and act on the environment in order to inform conservation. Collaboration across disciplines is of central importance for our research and we draw from environmental psychology, ecology, and geography for public health research designs.

• Dr. FOREST
• Biodiversity and Health in Urban Areas – LIFE Adult cohort analysis
• Exploring the pathways linking biodiversity to human health and well-being - Volkswagenstiftung Symposium
• Impact of urban and peri-urban blue and greenspaces on human mental health and mental well-being - EKLIPSE Expert Working Group 
• People, biodiversity and behaviour change
• Impact of soundscapes in urban parks on human well-being - external PhD Konrad Uebel
• How and where does nature matter for human well-being, and for whom? - external iDiv Flexpool PhD Joel Methorst

The Citizen Science Working Group embraces a transdisciplinary approach we link biodiversity with people through citizen science. WIthin the citizen science working group we conduct biodiversity research projects using citizen science approaches. We are also interested in the effects of citizen science and assess how learning and science communication can be enhanced through 'learning-by-doing' in citizen science projects. Further, we investigate the citizen science impact on pro-environmental behaviour and well-being. We also assess policy development through citizen science and developed the Greenpaper for the Citizen science strategy 2020 for Germany through the ‘BürGEr Schaffen WISSen’ GEWISS study.

Biodiversity change is one of the biggest challenges facing mankind. To understand the complex patterns of this change, ecologists are dependent on the availability of monitoring data and the development of statistical tools to analyse these data. For most organisms, the available data that can inform on past trends are a heterogeneous mix of data types of varying accessibility. In the Biodiversity Change working group, we compile community datasets from heterogeneous data sources on various organisms and develop and apply statistical methods to analyze them.

• VielFalterGarten
• sMon - Trend analyses of biodiversity data in Germany
• InsektenMobil - Mobile citizen science observatory for insects
• FLOW: Freshwater Monitoring Citizen Science project
• Coolspots! Leipzig schools project
• Israeli Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS-IL)
• PhenObs
• PolDiv