The project aims to improve sustainability, the carbon footprint, and yields in smallholder agriculture. It addresses specific challenges in Namibia; namely raising living standards and food security in rural areas and creating jobs. An important part of the project is the promotion of the Bambara peanut (BGN), a protein-rich local legume that has been underutilized so far. The use of regionally adapted biofertilizers (inoculants) is intended to develop sustainable production systems and establish market chains for domestic consumption and export.

With the German-African Innovation Incentive Award (GAIIA), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) honors outstanding project ideas from African-German research cooperations that contribute to sustainable progress on the African continent. The prize helps to further develop research findings into innovative solutions that address social and ecological challenges in Africa and was awarded for the first time in 2018.

The event took place in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and under the umbrella of the Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI). This up2date. article explains how biologist Barbara Reinhold-Hurek is improving the cultivation of legumes together with Namibian researchers: https://up2date.uni-bremen.de/en/article/scrumptious-research

The ICRS is the global society dedicated to coral reef issues. Its members include researchers, reef managers, and students from all continents and more than 65 countries.

Christian Wild has been a professor at the University of Bremen since 2010 and is head of the Department of Marine Ecology in the Faculty of Biology / Chemistry. Together with his colleagues, he researches the responses of coastal marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds to environmental changes. Wild and his team at the University of Bremen organized the 14th and 15th International Coral Reef Symposia in 2021 and 2022. Together, the two events were attended by circa 3,000 participants from around 100 countries.

A detailed report on the political dimension of the research results, the views of the panelists and links to the recording of the briefing and a joint brochure can be found on the homepage of the FACE-IT project.

FACE-IT studies Arctic fjord systems regarding the effects of progressing glacial ice loss. Biodiversity, ecosystem functions but also the social dimensions such as fishing, the livelihoods of the indigenous populations and nature-based tourism in different fjords in Greenland, Spitsbergen and Northern Norway are compared. More than 60 scientists from 14 universities and institutes in 8 countries are involved in FACE-IT. FACE-IT is coordinated by the working group Marine Botany of Prof Kai Bischof.

More about FACE-IT:

Homepage: https://www.face-it-project.eu/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FACEITArctic   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/face_it_arctic  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FACEITArctic  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-face-it-project

More information available at:

Prof Dr Kai Bischof (Project coordinator)

kbischof@uni-bremen.de

+49 421 218 63050

Dr Simon Jungblut (Project manager)

jungblut@uni-bremen.de

+49 176 788 68 519

+49 421 218 63054

The ResBios consortium will act as the core team for this network, and will provide the framework for many of the earlier training materials, events and communications. But as the network grows it is the hope of the INRB that other members will start to contribute more, and from this a community will grow!

Being part of the members will give you access to our database of members, our messaging board, our bi-annual newsletter, and a collection of useful resources that will help facilitate responsible research and innovation within the biosciences fields. We will also be organising online workshops and training events, which will be available to members and non-members alike.

If you would like to learn more, or to join the International Network for Responsible Biosciences, please click here.

Help us build a responsible research community!

In order to answer these questions, Professor Janine Kirstein from the University of Bremen and Dr. Tim Clausen from the Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna want to study the life span – namely, synthesis, folding, activity, and finally the breakdown – of the muscle protein myosin in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Why the Protein Myosin?

In contrast to other pathological proteins, the researchers say little is known about the aging process of the physiological proteins such as myosin: “Protein folding has already been extensively analyzed for aggregation-sensitive prone and toxic proteins that can cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s. However, we know very little about how the life span of proteins that perform physiological tasks in our bodies is regulated,” explains Professor Kirstein. “Nevertheless, over 1,000 mutations in myosin are known to cause defects in functionality and thus diseases.”

Because of its characteristics, the nematode is suitable for the joint project “Pro-Watch: Analysis of Protein Life Span in Aging Nematodes.” “The nematode is transparent and allows the synthesis, folding, activity, and degradation of myosin in living animals to be examined using fluorescence sensors. The worm is short-lived with about 25 days. Its life is a time-lapse process, so to speak, allowing us to see the development, the adult phase, the aging process, and finally the death of the organism within a month.”

Kirstein and Clausen plan to develop a fluorescence-based sensor that, for the first time, enables simultaneous measurement of the most important parameters of the protein life span of myosin. The findings can be transferred to other proteins in order to gain a basic understanding of the interplay between protein aging and the aging of the whole organism.

About the Allen Distinguished Investigator Program

The Allen Distinguished Investigator program was established in 2010 by the late Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen to support creative, early-stage research projects in biology and medical research. A total of 130 Allen Distinguished Investigators have been appointed over the past 12 years. Each award covers three years of research funding.

Further Information:

Pro-Watch: An Approach to Monitor Protein Life Span in Aging Worms / Pro-Watch: Analysis of Protein Life Span in Aging Nematodes:

https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/frontiers-group/distinguished-investigators/investigators/

https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/zellbiologie

https://www.uni-bremen.de

Contact:

Professor Janine Kirstein
University of Bremen
Biology/Chemistry
Tel.: +49 421 218-62880
Email: kirstein@uni-bremen.de

Location : Rue Montoyer, 24 - 1000 Brussels (hybrid event)

At the inception of ResBios in January of 2022, the project coordinators talked about how the fields of biosciences are a major crossroads, where science and society meet. But then who was to know how true this statement would become? Over the past three years, the world has had to face a multitude of challenges, and at the centre of many of them were the biosciences, and with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued impact of other “wicked problems”, such as climate change, food security and health, the way society interacts with research has been brought front and centre. 

It has therefore become increasingly apparent that we need to rewrite the societal contract, changing how bioscience research is conducted and putting the needs of society at the forefront. During the lifetime of the ResBios project, all of our partners have strived to promote positive changes within our implementing partner research institutes, using the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework, focusing on 5 RRI keys (Gender, Open Access, Public Engagement, Education and Ethics), guided by the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

Although it has not been smooth sailing throughout, the ResBios project has reached the end of its journey and would like to share what they have learnt with the wider bioscience community. So on December 7th, ResBios will be hosting its final conference: “Responsibility in research & innovation. Challenges for the biosciences and future policies”, organised in partnership with EURADA (European Association of Development Agencies), and the Horizon 2020 project TetRRIS - Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation and Smart Specialisation.

At this conference, ResBios will share their key outcomes from the project, as well as inviting key speakers from related initiatives to share their thoughts on responsible bioscience research and innovation.

This will also be an opportunity for the ResBios consortium to share their experience in implementing the RRI framework within their institutes, and to talk about how they hope to sustain these changes beyond the lifetime of the ResBios project. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our stakeholders and advisors who have assisted in making the ResBios project the success that it has been, and we hope to see you all on the 7th of December, either in person or online. 

Although the ResBios project is soon to come to its conclusion, we hope to see that the impact of this project will have long-term positive change, and moving forward we can help create a more responsible bioscience environment, where the needs of society are always considered as a top priority. 

For more information about the ResBios conference, please click here! 

Contact:

Prof.Dr.Doris Elster
Universität Bremen
Didaktik der Biologie
Leobenerstraße NW2 A1300
D-28334 Bremen

doris.elster@uni-bremen.de
phone +49-(0)421-218-63260/63271
fax +49-(0)0421 218-63274

The marine botany team at the University of Bremen is involved in FACE-IT with diverse research activities in the Kongsfjord in Svalbard, in the Porsangerfjord in northern Norway and in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord in Greenland. For example, in 2021, the effects of increasing glacier and snow melt and the associated sediment input on the underwater light regime in Kongsfjord and, thus, on the light availability for seaweeds were investigated. In experimental approaches, the team continues to investigate the combined effects of changing light climate and increasing temperature on the photosynthesis of arctic macroalgae. Samples will be taken for comparative analyzes of biochemical and genomic profiles of seaweeds from the different fjord systems studied in the FACE-IT project. In addition, the team participates in surveys of the algae-associated fauna and conducts studies on the feeding ecology of sea urchins, which can have a significant impact on the macroalgal population.

From 28 November to 02 December, all scientists involved in FACE-IT will meet in person for the first time in the House of Science in Bremen to discuss the research results up to now and to discuss the future of the project.

As part of this meeting, a public lecture series will take place, during which everybody will also have the opportunity to talk to the scientists of the FACE-IT project: On November 30th from 4 to 8 pm in the Olbers Hall of the House of Science.

Program flyer

Media channels of the FACE-IT project:

Homepage: https://www.face-it-project.eu/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FACEITArctic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/face_it_arctic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FACEITArctic

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-face-it-project

Further Information:

Prof Dr Kai Bischof (Project Coordinator)

kbischof@uni-bremen.de

+49 421 218 63050

Dr Simon Jungblut (Project Manager)

jungblut@uni-bremen.de

+49 421 218 63054

Christina Roggatz's research focuses on the effects of climate change on the interactions of marine organisms and their function in ecosystems. She is particularly interested in the interplay between chemistry, biology, and the environment.

The Funding

“Freigeist” Fellowships are for researchers from all disciplines in the first four years after earning their doctorate. To become a "Freigeist” Fellow, researchers must not only have outstanding technical expertise, but also be able to look beyond the boundaries of their own discipline and combine critical analytical skills with new perspectives and approaches. A total of 13 scientists were awarded a “Freigeist” Fellowship in 2022.

Further Information:

https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/funding/our-funding-portfolio-at-a-glance/freigeist-fellowships

https://www.hull.ac.uk/staff-directory/christina-roggatz

www.uni-bremen.de/en/

Contact:

Christina Roggatz, Ph.D.
Email: roggatz@outlook.com
Phone: +49 01637 180253

Prof. Dr. Tilmann Harder
Marine Chemistry
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-50250
Email: t.harder@uni-bremen.de

Frogs Suing Their Country - How Does That Work?

"Hybrid Legal Subjectivity: The Rights of 'Nature or Pacha Mama' in the Ecuadorian Constitution of 2008" (“Hybride Rechtssubjektivität: Die Rechte der ,Natur oder Pacha Mama‘ in der ecuadorianischen Verfassung von 2008”) - this is the title of the law dissertation by Dr. Andreas Gutmann. Behind it, for example, is the story of the frog species Atelopus Longirostris, which successfully sued against a mining project in Ecuador. Why were the frogs able to sue? "Because the rights of nature have been anchored in the Ecuadorian constitution since 2008," explains Andreas Gutmann.

In his work, the legal scholar has intensively studied the history of the development of the Ecuadorian constitution and found that it is shaped by various and sometimes contradictory influences. These contradictions are not eliminated, however, but rather elevated to a constitutional principle, as it were. Indigenous philosophy plays a prominent role, as it encounters a European-influenced legal system. Thus, indigenous ideas are adopted and transferred to the present time.

"Important contribution to the greening of law"

"Mr. Gutmann's work makes a groundbreaking contribution to the understanding of Ecuadorian rights of nature," said his supervisor, Professor Andreas Fischer-Lescano of the University of Bremen. He stated that it is the first law-based monograph on the subject outside of the Latin American nation. "With his work, Andreas Gutmann not only presented an outstanding analysis for Ecuador, but also points out ways for our understanding of the law here to give more legal space to the rights of nature and to advance environmental protection from nature itself as its own legal entity," his reviewer said. He made an important contribution to the ecologization of law.

In his laudation, Professor Raimund Bleischwitz, scientific director of the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and member of the jury, stated: "The recent ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the Climate Protection Act already shows a change in thinking in the German legal system. Ecuador, however, is going further. With his experience from Ecuador, Mr. Gutmann can contribute to a change in thinking here as well, and to greater consideration of the rights of nature. Environmental and climate protection in our country are strongly influenced by legislation and can only succeed if the framework conditions are right."

"Receiving the CAMPUS AWARD is a great honor for me," said the recipient. "I am very pleased about the attention that my work on Ecuadorian rights of nature is receiving in this way. I think it is extremely important that legal developments from the global South are increasingly taken note of in Germany and Europe. Important legal innovations can be found there that may help us to counteract the environmental crises of our time - to the emergence of which law itself has contributed in no small measure."

Pupils Immerse Themselves in the Life of a Farming Family in Northern Germany

When Iris Dücker prepared her teaching project for her master's thesis in biology didactics during the pandemic, she had to respond to the special circumstances and think digitally. In terms of content, an agricultural topic was close to her heart, as she herself grew up on a farm in the district of Cuxhaven. How could she combine the two? The answer was a so-called "reflectory" that she developed herself. This is a digital learning environment in the form of a story in which students immerse themselves. In the process, they have to repeatedly make decisions on their own and thus determine the course of the story. Specifically, Iris Dücker's digital teaching concept focused on the daily challenges of a farming family in northern Germany and how to think about sustainable agriculture. She conducted the reflectory in an 11th grade class at Lloyd Gymnasium Bremerhaven. The data for the award-winning master's thesis was also collected there.

"Ms. Dücker shows how mediation works in modern teaching"

"The award winner has succeeded in bringing an often controversial topic into the classroom with an independently developed, innovative tool," said her supervisor, Professor Doris Elster from the University of Bremen. "In this way, the students not only acquire technical knowledge, but also strengthen their decision-making skills." With her work, the award winner shows how teaching can be carried out in modern classrooms. She is making an important contribution to the next generation and to the acceptance of farming activities.

Jury member and award presenter Professor Jutta Günther, Vice President Research and elected future president of the University of Bremen, said: "Modern agriculture is central to the achievement of the sustainability goals. Ms. Dücker created comprehensible transparency for students between the challenges of sustainability and the associated courses of action as well as constraints of modern agriculture." She implemented "think globally, act locally" in an exemplary manner with her reflectory.

"Education is the root for developing a sustainable way of life"

"It is important to me to start a movement with my work to gradually bring education for sustainable development - especially on life-related topics - into focus and establish it in schools," says award winner Iris Dücker. "After all, education is the root for developing a sustainable way of life and thus preserving the environment."

The CAMPUS AWARD

The "CAMPUS AWARD: Research for a Sustainable Future" is jointly awarded by the KELLNER & STOLL FOUNDATION FOR THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT, the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), the University of Bremen Alumni Network, and the University of Bremen. The award is endowed with 3,000 Euros in total. It is intended to highlight sustainability research on campus and honors researchers and graduates of the University of Bremen in the categories "Dissertation" and "Master's Thesis."

Further Information:

• www.campuspreis.de
• www.stiftung-klima-umwelt.org
• www.leibniz-zmt.de
• www.uni-bremen.de/alumni

Contact:

Dr. Rita Kellner-Stoll und Reiner Stoll
KELLNER & STOLL FOUNDATION FOR THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
Email: info@campuspreis.de

Meike Mossig
Deputy Head – the Administrative for University Communication and Marketing
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-60168
Email:  mmossig@uni-bremen.de

The lecture series begins on May 16, 2022 and ends on July 11, 2022:

16.05.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Cognium, Hochschulring 18, Raum 2030 Co-constructing understanding - learning how to learn from infants as a new approach for teaching robots? Prof. Dr. Britta Wrede

30.05.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Cognium, Hochschulring 18, Raum 2030 Primary visual cortex and beyond PD Dr. Dirk Jancke

20.06.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Haus der Wissenschaft, Sandstraße 4/5, Olbers-Saal Auf dem Weg zur Erfassung physiologischer Vorgänge bei neurodegenerativen Erkrankungen Prof. Dr. Matthias Günther

27.06.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Cognium, Hochschulring 18, Raum 2030 Machine Listening Prof. Dr. Haizhou Li

04.07.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Haus der Wissenschaft, Sandstraße 4/5, Olbers-Saal Fake News und Gehirn: Gefahren und wie wir uns schützen können! Prof. Dr. Markus Knauff

11.07.2022 / 16:00 - 17:30 Uhr Cognium, Hochschulring 18, Raum 2030 Exploring the brain with functional digital twins Prof. Dr. Fabian Sinz

For up-to-date information, please contact: www.mindtalks.uni-bremen.de

For further questions please contact: Agnes Janßen ajanssen@neuro.uni-bremen.de
________
After each lecture, there will be the opportunity to discuss further questions. The presentations will be held preferably in English.

Basic Research in the Field of Marine Carbon Storage

Professor Jan-Hendrik Hehemann and his team at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen, within the Faculty of Biology/Chemistry, and at the Bremen Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology are also pleased that their jointly developed ideas in the field of marine carbon storage will be funded by the European Research Council for the next five years.

The climate crisis has created a demand for new ways to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The ERC project "Discover molecular pathways for glyco-carbon sequestration" (C-Quest) investigates the molecular mechanism of carbon (dioxide) storage by algae in the ocean. C-Quest postulates that particular polysaccharides from algae form a carbon sink in the ocean. "Algae synthesize extracellular polysaccharides from carbon dioxide and position them on their surface. They form a kind of skin or protective wall. This wall is what the bacteria have to penetrate when they try to get at the easily digestible nutrients, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids inside the algal cell," Hehemann explains. "So it's essential for the alga's survival that these polysaccharides are difficult for the bacteria to digest. Otherwise, the bacteria could break through the protective wall with the help of enzymes and subsequently digest the alga from the inside until it dies."

These protective polysaccharides are formed in the ocean by algae through photosynthesis from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. As algae form these polysaccharides faster than bacteria can break them down with enzymes – which would release carbon dioxide again – the polysaccharides form a global sink for the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Thus, they help store unknown amounts of carbon dioxide in the ocean and regulate the climate to an unknown extent.

These hypotheses are now being investigated in the C-Quest project. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann and his Emmy Noether Research Group, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), developed the hypotheses and investigation methods in recent years at MARUM at the University of Bremen and at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology. They are novel bioanalytical and biocatalytical methods. For the first time, they allow for polysaccharides to be measured with sufficient molecular resolution in the ocean. In this way, their contribution to carbon storage can be recorded and their degradability by bacteria can be determined in the laboratory.

Professor Jan-Hendrik Hehemann: Bremen via France, Canada, and the USA

Professor Hehemann studied biochemistry in Hamburg and completed his PhD in France at the Roscoff Marine Station and Pierre & Marie Curie University Paris (now Sorbonne) as a Marie Curie Fellow (2010). He then held two fellowship-funded postdoctoral positions at the University of Victoria (Canada) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA. From 2015, he conducted five years of research in an Emmy Noether project as a group leader networking at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and MARUM at the University of Bremen. Since 2021, he has been a Heisenberg Professor heading the Bridge Group Marine Glycobiology at Faculty 02, MARUM, and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology.

The ERC Grant: a Coveted Award

The ERC Consolidator Grant is one of the European Union's most highly endowed funding measures for individual researchers. With this grant, the European Research Council supports excellent researchers in their innovative basic research.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Hehemann
Faculty of Biology / Chemistry, University of Bremen
MARUM – MPI Bridge Group for Marine Glycobiology
Phone: +49 421 218-65775
E-Mail: jhhehemannmarum.de

To advance FEBID, new and specifically designed molecules or novel deposition processes must be developed. The latter aim at producing deposits with high metal content and thus precisely controlled physical properties from molecules that are by itself not optimal for FEBID but readily available. The PhD thesis of Dr. Markus Rohdenburg (now at the University of Leipzig) is focused in particular on such novel FEBID processes and their underlying chemistry. The thesis derives from work performed at the IAPC (University of Bremen) and during collaborative visits at the Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (FELMI-ZFE) at the Technical University of Graz and at the University of Technology in Sydney (Australia) and has been supported by further international partners. It will be awarded a special prize from Bruker Daltonics GmbH & Co. KG in the field of natural and engineering sciences during the Bremen Thesis Award ceremony on March 1, 2022.

Universität Bremen
Fachbereich Biologie / Chemie

Institut für Angewandte und Physikalische Chemie

Prof. Dr. Petra Swiderek
Tel. 0421 218 63200
E-Mail: swiderek@uni-bremen.de

Webseite: https://www.iapc.uni-bremen.de/swiderek/

Specifically, it involves funding granted by the EU’s European Innovation Council (EIC). It is aimed at basic researchers from universities and research institutions as well as companies. With the EIC, the European Commission is pursuing the goal of developing visionary, radically new, high-risk ideas of all types with potential for sustainable change and bringing them to market. “With our partners, Aardevo and KWS, we would like to implement the three-parent hybridization technology in order to cross agricultural plants with more climate-resilient wild plants,” explains Professor Rita Groß-Hardt. The focus is being placed on potatoes and sugarbeet. “Here in Bremen, we will additionally work on technologies within the project that can increase the efficiency in creating and detecting three-parent plants,” states the biologist.

“The EU funding from the EIC Transition initiative underscores the competence that our researchers have in bringing basic research into innovations,” says the University of Bremen President, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter. “I am very pleased that this has been achieved with this outstanding project and congratulate Ms. Groß-Hardt and her project partners on this significant step.” The consortium has been granted a total of 2.5 million euros, of which roughly 1.6 million euros will go to the University of Bremen as the project coordinator.

What Is It All About Exactly?

In 2017, Rita Groß-Hardt and her team succeeded for the first time in generating plants with three parents - a mother and two fathers - using a novel method. These groundbreaking research findings may now lead to a new breeding strategy. “With the help of three-parent hybridization, the positive traits of three plants can be combined at once in a single step. Additionally, this novel breeding strategy can bypass hybridization barriers, which in turn opens the door to distantly related species being combined,” states Rita Groß-Hardt. Conventional plant breeding can be further supported by new technologies in order to respond even faster to the changes caused by climate change.

“It would not have been possible to develop our technology without the support of the European Research Council, a great team, the University of Bremen, and, most importantly, strong partners like KWS and Aardevo, who, together with the EIC, are now making it possible for us to elevate the technology to a new level.”

Filed for Patent

The “Three-Parent-Hybridization” procedure, which was developed at the University of Bremen, has been filed for a patent in Europe, USA, and China. The InnoWi patent management agency was involved in the patent protection and commercialization of the scientific results.

Project Partners

KWS Saat SE & Co. KGaA is one of the leading plant breeding companies worldwide. They specialize in plant breeding, as well as the production and sales of corn, sugarbeet, cereal, rapeseed, sunflower, and vegetable seeds. Aardevo B.V. is a joint venture of KWS and J.R. Simplot Company (Boise / USA) and is located in the Netherlands. The company aims to create high-performing potato varieties by means of hybrid breeding.

Renowned EU Funding Since 2015

For many years, the European Union has funded Rita Groß-Hardt’s research on the highest level. In 2015, the European Research Council (ERC) awarded the scientist the renowned “ERC Consolidator Grant,” which is endowed with approximately two million euros. This was a prerequisite for the ERC Proof of Concept Grant, which she received from the European Research Council in 2020.

Further Information:

Read the European Innovation Council’s press release here: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-selects-first-eic-transition-projects-take-breakthrough-technologies-lab-real-world-2022-01-17_en

www.uni-bremen.de/en/molgen/group-members

www.kws.de

www.aardevo.com

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Rita Groß-Hardt
Faculty of Biology / Chemistry
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-50203
Email: gross-hardt@uni-bremen.de

However, hedges are in danger. Climate change and unsuitable care have serious effects on the biodiversity in hedges. That is the result of a study in which researchers from four European countries put together a unique dataset. The data contains the vegetation data from more than 1,000 hedge maps along a route from Southern Sweden to Northern France. Additionally, information concerning the regional climate, the surrounding landscape, and the hedgerow care routine was collected, in order to connect the number and frequency of forest plant occurrences to this.

Hedges - An Important Alternative Habitat for Many Species

“We have shown that a great selection of forest plant species are able to live in European hedges. Thus, hedges, especially in areas lacking in forest, offer an important alternative habitat for many species,” says the ecologist Kathrin Litza from the University of Bremen. She carries out research on the distribution pattern of herbaceous plants, especially in forests and related habitats, at the Institute of Ecology. In her doctoral dissertation, she is concentrating on herbaceous species in hedgerows in Schleswig-Holstein and the change in species composition over time. “In our comprehensive project, we have proven that the species composition varies according to the region. However, superordinate patterns were still found.”

Frequently occurring forest species are particularly good at spreading out over large areas, for example by means of animals or wind. They can also better tolerate extreme disturbances (for example stemming from care measures) as well as high temperatures in comparison to rarer species. Additionally, the use of the adjacent areas has been shown to be relevant for the biodiversity. When there is intense agricultural usage - for example as farmland - less species were found than when the adjacent areas are paths or even forests.

The regional climate has been proven to play a significant role in biodiversity. Less forest species were found in the hedges in warmer regions. The great influence of extreme weather occurrences was particularly revealing. Hedges that have been exposed to extreme drought or heat over years, have been shown to contain less species. “As such weather occurrences will increase due to climate change, we fear that even more hedges could lose species in the future,” explains Kathrin Litza.

Wider Hedges as a Reaction to Climate Change

As hedges are small in comparison to forests, there are stronger fluctuations in temperature and humidity within. Yet it is possible to influence this effect with the width of the hedge: “The inner climate of wider hedges has been proven to be more stable than that of small ones,” states the Bremen ecologist. The positive influence of wide hedges has already been shown in regional studies. Now, the Europe-wide study has also confirmed that wide hedges can house far more forest species. As extreme weather occurrences will increase in the future, the researchers demand that care measures and management strategies are amended on a European level. Kathrin Litza: “It is essential that the width of the hedges is considered a key element for biodiversity.”

Further Information:

Litza, K. et al. (2022). Hedgerows as a habitat for forest plant species in the agricultural landscape of Europe. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 326: 107809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107809

The publication can be read and downloaded for free until January 27, 2022, at:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1eD8ZcA-IgJnC 

A German summary is available here:
https://kathrin.litza.de/forschungsprojekte/europaeische-hecken-im-vergleich 

Contact:

Kathrin Litza
Institute of Ecology
Vegetation Ecology & Conservation Biology Working Group 
University of Bremen
Phone: Tel. +49 421 218-62915
Email: kathrin.litza@uni-bremen.de

Plants Are “Fertilized Biologically”

A team from the University of Bremen found out whilst carrying out investigations in Namibia and Angola in 2020 that there are bacteria that can help to make the cultivation of these trees in nurseries successful. The tree belongs to the legume family, of which many can enter into symbioses with bacteria: Nodule bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form in special root nodules and then deliver it to the plant. Which plant species cooperates with which bacteria can sometimes be highly specific. The researchers spent several years screening nodule bacteria and were able to for the first time ever find bacteria that enter into such a symbiosis with this tree species. Based on these findings “organic fertilizer” can be developed. Bacteria that have been multiplied in a laboratory can be added to the seeds so that the symbiosis can hopefully occur quickly in nurseries and thus simplify the cultivation of seedlings.
Professor Barbara Reinhold-Hurek, microbiologist at the University of Bremen: “The plants are biologically fertilized by the bacteria. This means that they can also grow in soil that has little of the nutrients that are needed by seedlings. With our research, we wish to contribute to the possibility of sustainably cultivating the popular plant. A sustainable handling of resources is imperative.” The working group has also spent several years working on the topics of sustainability and yield increase in smallholder agriculture through the implementation of microbial fertilizer for legumes. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project.

Further Information:

www.uni-bremen.de/en/microbe-plant
Article: doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.611704  
www.uni-bremen.de/en/

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek
Laboratory for General Microbiology
Faculty of Biology / Chemistry
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 218-62860
Email:reinhol@uni-bremen.de

The RESBIOS project will be implemented by the consortium coordinated by Tor Vergata University in Rome which includes 12 partners from 11 countries. It will start at the 01^st of January 2020 and will last three years. The budget of the Project amounts to EUR 1.5 million.

The Project Manager on the side of the University of Bremen is Prof. Dr. Doris Elster - Head of the Department Biology Didactics at the Institute of Science Education from the Faculty Biology and Chemistry at the University of Bremen.

After short introductions into the 7 international study programs on master level by the program coordinators, some important and interesting facts about the faculty's structure, administration and culture were given to the freshers.

The official program was followed by offers to get into contact with each other: speed meeting, campus tours, jigsaw puzzle competition. Snacks and drinks were provided.

At the end of an inspiring informal get-together: a big world map shows the cultural diversity of our freshers who are part of a big international community in this faculty!

The first edition in Bremen starts off with an Icebreaker event at the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences MARUM. The schedule features scientific sessions, initiated by the young participants themselves, almost 130 oral and 58 poster presentations, 11 workshops and excursions, and more networking events. Online registration is open until 17 September 2019 but you can also just drop by and register on-site.

Next year’s ICYMARE conference will take place at the University of Applied Science in Bremerhaven from 25 to 28 August 2020.

For more information please visit www.icymare.com or contact hello@icymare.com.

Dr. Simon Jungblut
Marine Zoology, BreMarE - Bremen Marine Ecology, University of Bremen, Germany
Functional Ecology, Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
Association of Marine Sciences, Bremen Society for Natural Sciences, Bremen, Germany
mail: jungblut@uni-bremen.de; hello@icymare.com
Phone (office): 0049 (0) 421 218 63303
Mobile (private): 0049 (0) 176 788 68 519

Prof. Dr. Christian Wild
Marine Ecology, BreMarE - Bremen Marine Ecology, University of Bremen, Germany
mail: christian.wild@uni-bremen.de
phone: 0049 (0) 421 218 63367

Activities such as lectures, guides tours and hand-on experiments were offered

By having some cake and coffee in a comfortable atmosphere innovative ideas for a childresn's activity room or a mother-child-centre are welcome!

When: 08.03.2019

Where: NW2 A1297

Organization: Starbios team

Further information:

Julia Birkholz, Dr. Tanja Barendziak, Prof. Doris Elster
Universität Bremen, Didaktik der Biologie
jbirkholz@uni-bremen; tanja.barendziak@uni-bremen.de; doris.elster@uni-bremen.de