News

Urban green spaces are increasingly suffering from persistently warm and dry periods. Even in temperate latitudes, precipitation amounts are decreasing while evaporation rates remain high, increasing irrigation needs. An IGB team has analysed the water consumption of vegetation in Berlin.

In the last 10 years, the ecological status of Lake Stechlin has deteriorated seriously. IGB-researchers have prepared a new IGB Dossier that summarises the state of knowledge and identifies possible options for action. 

A team with Robert Arlinghaus has developed a high-resolution telemetry system for use in coastal areas. With this system, the positions and movements of hundreds of tagged fish can be determined with a sub-meter positioning. 

Conflicts of goals between transport and environmental policy: IGB gives feedback on the EU Action Programme on Inland Waterway Transport.

Will freshwater environments and fish populations benefit from the global COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on the economy and society? Yes, in the short term, but probably not in the longer term – this is the conclusion of an international team of experts, including IGB scientist Robert Arlinghaus.

A Nature study with the IGB shows: Europe has some of the most fragmented rivers in the world.  Small transverse structures with an impoundment height of less than two metres account for the lion's share. 

Researchers led by IGB developed the European Fish Hazard Index (EFHI) – an instrument for screening the ecological risks of hydropower plants. It takes into account plant-specific effects, but also the sensitivity of the affected fish communities and overarching conservation and environmental development targets.

As a measure against the COVID-19 pandemic, public life was severely restricted for the first time in March 2020. But, did this also alter light pollution – the brightening of the night sky caused by too much artificial light?