Restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban landscapes to improve climatic resilience and invasion resistance

 

Subproject within the framing project: Effect of climate change in the biodiversity and ecosystem services in near-natural, agricultural and urban landscapes, and strategies for the management of climate change (LandKlif)

Urban green infrastructure is relevant for the mitigation of climate change in cities because vegetation reduces temperatures and increases humidity. Further ecosystem services include stormwater retention, reduction of erosion, carbon sequestration, maintenance of nutrient cycles and furtherance of urban biodiversity. Moreover, urban vegetation is crucial for human recreation. Notwithstanding, green infrastructure is challenged by extreme weather, invasive alien species and economic constraints of management.

Given that ecological aspects are insufficiently considered in the planning of green infrastructure at present, this project aims at studying the effects of natural and designed plant communities on ecosystem functions under different climatic scenarios and in interaction with invasive alien plants.

The experimental plant communities are recruited from the native species pool of the region. The variables of interest are investigated in the field along a climatic gradient in 20 urban landscapes in Bavaria, and also through greenhouse, garden and climate chamber experiments under different temperature and soil moisture regimes, with and without invasive alien species typically found in the region.

The results of the project contribute to an improved knowledge and more effective application of ecological theory on grassland resilience and invasion resistance in urban green infrastructure. Additionally, the project will shed light on the necessary planning and measures to reduce costs for maintenance of urban vegetation and will promote an improved adaptation of Bavarian cities to climate change.

The framing project is part of the Bavarian Research Network for Climate Research (BayKlif) funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Arts.

 

 

Contakt

Prof. Dr. Johannes Kollmann

Chair for Restoration Ecology

Technical University of Munich

jkollmann[at]wzw.tum.de

 

M.Sc. Sandra Liliana Rojas Botero

Chair for Restoration Ecology

Technical University of Munich

sandra.rojas-botero[at]tum.de

 

Project duration

2018 - 2023