Welcome to the Research Group Applied Landscape Ecology and Ecological Planning

The Applied Landscape Ecology/Ecological Planning working group (AG Buttschardt) researches the effects of human ways of life and land use on the natural and landscape environments and how these can be designed to achieve a regenerative development of landscapes.  We assume that landscapes are the spatial representation of socio-ecological systems that can only be fully understood in an interdisciplinary approach. In order to take into account the applied aspect of ecological planning, our research is increasingly transdisciplinary and explicitly includes the noosphere. We therefore cooperate with interdisciplinary centres (e.g. the ZIN or the Brazil Centre), other Universities (e.g. Münster University of Applied Sciences) and practitioners (see links). Our work focuses on Integrated Natural Resources Management, Limnology/River restauration and Agroecology.

GfÖ Conference 2023: Session Agroecology

The Research Group Applied Landscape Ecology and Ecological Planning hosts at GfÖ-Conference together with the Thünen Institue a session with focus on Agroekology
The Title is: Agroecology - towards a transformation of farming and food systems in Europe and takes place on Wed. 13.09.2023 at Audimax at Leipzig University.

There will be talks as follows in the session:

Nicolas Tinois
AGROECOLOGY - European Partnership on accelerating farming systems transition: Agroecology living labs and research infrastructures

Heather McKhann
Thinking the future European network of Living Labs and Research Infrastructures for accelerating agroecology transition

Natalia Rastorgueva
Living labs as entry points for agroecological transition: testing of the theoretical framework in local, regional and national living labs
 
Sandrine Petit
Agroecology in action: engaging with stakeholders to move towards pesticide-free landscapes

Emily Poppenborg Martin
The KoMBi network: Exploring collective models for enhancement of biodiversity in farmed landscapes

Viviana Alarcon-Segura
BEATLE project: Inter and transdisciplinary assessment of agricultural policy transformation pathways towards a biodiversity-friendly food system

© Kulturlanschaft.NRW

Production-integrated nature conservation measures Implementation manual for practice - 3rd edition published

Nature conservation measures are implemented on agricultural land, can be integrated into agricultural production or the farm and achieve added value for nature. In the handbook, 24 PIN measures for 35 species are presented on 120 pages.  Questions about function, implementation and legal framework conditions are clarified. In addition, there are practical examples and cooperative projects between nature conservation and agriculture in which PIN has already been successfully implemented. The handbook is the result of cooperation between AG Ökoplan and the Westphalian Cultural Landscape Foundation.
The handbook was funded by Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank. You can order it here for a nominal fee of 6.50 EUR.

© UTB

Book contribution "Ökologische Planung"

In a book contribution on applied geography, an overview of the field of activity or subject of "ecological planning" has been published. Especially in a time of rapid and erratic developments, sound environmental precautionary planning is more important than ever. Well-founded risk analyses form the backbone of planning, land use and investment decisions, which must be carefully balanced with other concerns in order not to leave a heavy mortgage for future generations. The article is published in the context of a book that sheds light on fields of work, activities and methods in professional geographic practice and is also worth reading for landscape ecologists.

  • Buttschardt T.K. (2023): Ecological Planning. in: Dziomba, M., Krajewski, C., Wiegandt, C. (Eds.): Angewandte Geographie Arbeitsfelder, Tätigkeiten und Methoden in der geographischen Berufspraxis. UTB volume no.: 5915. ISBN 978-3-8252-5915-0, pp. 259-272.

An overview of the contents in German language can be found here.

© AFO -Andreas Wessendorf

ILÖK Researchers win Citizen Science Award 2022

Urban gardening in the village and health promotion in the city district - these are the winning projects of the WWU Foundation's Citizen Science Competition 2022. They were now presented at the event "Mitdenken - Mitmachen - Mitforschen. An evening for civic engagement in science and research". The winners can look forward to a grant of 7,500 euros each.
After the successful student project "Monitoring of modern agroforestry ecosystems" in 2020, the CS Prize once again goes to researchers from the Institute of Landscape Ecology.
The artists' village Schöppingen is the focus of the winning project "Transformations in Münsterland". The community garden, kitchen, workshop, library, gallery and exhibition hall are understood as places of learning and knowledge for the citizens. What contribution can the village make as a socio-ecologically oriented actor for sustainable regional development? To this end, artists exchange ideas with students of landscape ecology and sociology on the significance of urban gardens for community building. Prof. Dr. Matthias Grundmann from the Institute of Sociology, Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser from the Institute of Landscape Ecology and Julia Haarmann from the Foundation Künstlerdorf Schöppingen are leading the project.

WWU Fellowship for Prof. Dr. Damián Vega - Welcome!

We are pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Damián Vega as a guest researcher in our Working Group. He has been granted an on-site scholarship by the University of Münster as a WWU Fellow from 01.05.2023 to 31.07.2023 from the Rectorate's Internationalisation Fund.
Prof. Vega comes from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentinia) and was invited by Dr. Cornelia Steinhäuser. Together they want to answer the question of how farmers can promote health in real world agro-ecosystems without the use of pesticides, with a focus on plant diseases. Wheat was chosen as a model crop because of its importance for global food security. Since crop health is related to the design and management of agro-ecosystems, the development of local knowledge and social cooperation networks, information of a quantitative and qualitative nature is needed. For this purpose, model farms in Münsterland and in Argentina will be studied and compared.
The guest visit also serves to strengthen the internationalisation of AG Ökoplan and ILÖK and to establish a cooperation with UBA. Similar connections exist already with universities in Brazil (UfMG, UfV) and Tanzania (NM-AIST).

Cornelia Steinhäuser
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New publication

The report on the scientific perspective on the project "Ecosystem Künstlerdorf - Learning from Nature" has been published. It describes the challenges, opportunities and potentials of a socio-ecological transformation process of an art institution. And it explores for this case study, how permaculture, gardening and 'learning from nature' were used as inspiration with the aim to build a just and sustainable community.

Steinhäuser, Cornelia (2022). Begegnungen mit Mensch und Natur im Künstlerdorf Schöppingen: Socializing with people and nature at the Künstlerdorf. In Julia Haarman (Ed.), Ecosystem Künstlerdorf (pp. 21–41). Stiftung Künstlerdorf Schöppingen.