A research team of the Institute of Physics of the Humboldt University of Berlin together with cooperation partners Max Born Instituts (Berlin) and DLR.
Changes threaten biodiversity and drinking water quality
Lake Stechlin is an example of how oxygen is increasingly depleting in lakes. | Photo: Solvin Zankl
Oxygen levels in freshwater lakes are declining rapidly – faster than in the oceans. Over the past forty years, for example, oxygen levels in the deep waters of temperate lakes have dropped by nearly 19 percent. This is shown by a study with IGB published today in the journal Nature. This trend is mainly due to climate change and threatens freshwater biodiversity and drinking water quality.
The international research team, led by the U.S. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, analyzed a total of more than 45,000 oxygen and temperature profiles collected from nearly 400 lakes around the globe since 1941. Most of the long-term data came from the temperate zone, which ranges from 23 to 66 degrees north and south latitude. The analyses show that since 1980, oxygen levels in the lakes studied have declined by 5.5 percent at the surfa
The white-tailed sea eagle is known for reacting sensitively to human disturbances. Forestry and agricultural activities are therefore restricted in the.
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Small hydropower plants do more harm than good
The example of Romania shows conflicting goals and misguided developments in European environmental and energy policy
The construction of the Dumitra HPP in the Jiu River Gorge National Park on one of the last unobstructed rivers in the Southern Carpathians. | Photo: Calin Dejeu
Hydropower is renewable, but mostly not environmentally friendly. A study led by IGB shows for Romania how the expansion of hydropower runs counter to the goals of EU environmental policy. Hydropower conflicts with the requirements of the Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive (Natura 2000) and the European Water Framework Directive (WFD): around half of the hydropower plants in Romania are located in nature conservation areas. These are mostly small plants that contribute only 3 percent of Romania’s electricity generation, but threaten biodiversity. Therefore, European energy policy urgently needs to be aligned with the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strate
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Similar patterns in spread of pandemics and biological invasions
Pandemics such as COVID-19 and biological invasions have much in common: they are triggered by similar human interventions, and their spread follows similar patterns.
The Asian tiger mosquito is an invasive species that can transmit numerous diseases. | Foto: shutterstock 1264880095.jpg
An international research team including Professor Jonathan Jeschke from IGB has studied the close relationships between infectious diseases and biological invasions. The “One Health” approach is based on the recognition that natural and near-natural ecosystems are essential for human health. It considers the health of humans as well as animals, plants and other elements of the environment to prevent pandemics and the spread of invasive alien species.