Main Content
Projects
EU H2020 FORGENIUS | UAV and phenology
Project within the EU Horizon 2020 project FORGENIUS – Improving access to forest genetic resources Information and services for end-users.
Applicants: Katrin Heer, Thomas Nauss, Lars Opgenoorth
Project staff: n/a (announcement running)
Funding: 2021-2025, EU Horizon 2020
Web: n/aFORGENIUS will develop methods and tools to conserve the characteristics and value of forest genetic resources currently linked in 35 European countries through the EUFGIS information system (http://portal.eufgis.eu). FORGENIUS will create novel services for users inside and outside the conservation communities and will significantly increase and improve the amount and quality of data in the European Forest Genetic Resources Information System. The newly developed services of the project will also enable end-users to characterise potential new genetic conservation units. We will quantify and predict the reproductive phenology of trees (beech, pine, poplar) at sites across Europe. Furthermore, we will characterize competition and drought stress using UAV and satellite data in a machine learning framework. Finally, we will contribute to the project’s overall data and sample acquisition
DFG Research Unit 5064 | Synthesis – Kilimanjaro as an integrated social-ecological system
Project within the DFG research unit 5064 The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System (Kili-SES).
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Peter Manning, Markus Fischer
Participating partner: Neema Robert Kinabo, Berta Martín-López, Fortunata Msoffe
Funding: 2020-2024, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: n/a (announcement running)
Web: https://kili-ses.senckenberg.de/In the synthesis project we will integrate the information gained in other projects of the research unit to address synergies and trade-offs between components of biodiversity, Nature’s contributions to people (NCP) and multiple constituents of well-being of major stakeholders, to address the natural and social drivers of these relations at the landscape-scale, and to identify opportunities for future decision-making. The arena of analysis of the synthesis project is the southern slope of Kilimanjaro. For some questions we will use comparative approaches between the 65 study plots and for other questions between the different stakeholder groups. Moreover, we will up-scale the supply of NCP and their drivers, as well as the demand, elicited values and well-being of stakeholder groups across the mountain. These different components will then be quantitatively combined by extending our approach to quantifying ecosystem-service multifunctionality.
Nature 4.0 | Roost selection and hunting activity of bats
Project within the LOEWE priority programm Natur 4.0 - Sensing Bioderversity.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss
Participating partner: Simon & Widdig GbR
Project staff: Jannis Gottwald
Funding: 2019-2022, LOEWE
Web: https://uni-marburg.de/natur40As a highly mobile species group, forest-dwelling bats depend on a network of functional habitat features. Forest structures create shelter and provide hunting grounds whose prey density depends on hunting frequency and phenology. Weather conditions also lead to changes in roosts. Bats as a group relevant to nature conservation and as a proxy for habitat relationships justify consideration in Nature 4.0.
Nature 4.0 | Remote sensing and spatial prediction
Project within the LOEWE priority programm Natur 4.0 - Sensing Bioderversity.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Jörg Bendix, Hanna Meyer, Chris Reudenbach
Project staff: n/a, Nicolas Fries
Funding: 2019-2022, LOEWE
Web: https://uni-marburg.de/natur40In order to provide consistent, spatio-temporal data sets, the irregularly available sensor data in Nature 4.0 must be linked with area-wide, remotely sensed geodata sets. The derivation of ecosystem information from the heterogeneous remote sensing data requires the use of powerful machine learning methods. The monitoring of flying insects and birds also requires the inclusion of radar and acoustic information. However, radar methods for mobile insect detection in particular are still in their infancy and need to be further developed on the basis of miniaturised sensors.
Nature 4.0 | Nature 4.0 Lab
Core project of the LOEWE priority programm Natur 4.0 - Sensing Bioderversity.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Jörg Bendix, Bernd Freisleben, Nina Farwig, Chris Reudenbach, Lars Opgenoorth
Project staff: Nicolas Fries
Funding: 2019-2022, LOEWE
Web: https://uni-marburg.de/natur40The objective of Nature 4.0 is the development of a prototype of Natur 4.0, a modular environmental monitoring system for the high-resolution observation of conservation-relevant species, habitats and processes. Nature 4.0 is based on the combination of nature conservation expert surveys and networked remote sensing and environmental sensors, which are attached to remote-controlled aircrafts, rover robots and animals and also used within educational science projects. Together with powerful data integration and data analysis methods, Nature 4.0 enables the differentiated and effective observation of landscape. The recorded time series also serve to develop early warning indicators. Nature 4.0 is thus breaking new ground in the field of comprehensive environmental monitoring. It condenses the in-situ investigations of experts and uses non-regular data collection with mobile platforms to model nature conservation information in the form of regular, small-scale differentiated raster maps.
DFG Research Unit 2358 | Central scientific services
Core project of the DFG research unit 2358 The Mountain Exile Hypothesis: How humans benefited from and re-shaped African high altitude ecosystems during Quaternary climate changes.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Georg Miehe, Lars Opgenoorth
Participating partner: Binyam Tesfaw Hailu
Funding: 2016-2023, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Luise Wraase, Mohammed Ahmed Muhammed
Web: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb19/dfg2358The major tasks of this core project cover (i) the management of the overall data storage and exchange which will also ensure a sustainable usability of the collected data sets after the project phase and the (ii) promotion of both advanced within project analysis and across-project synthesis through the compilation of higher-level comprehensive data sets and the development and implementation of analysis workflows. In addition, the project will coordinate the coring field activities and related laboratory analysis. Guided by scientific rationality, the labor and financial resources will be used to efficiently combine existing and new, offline and online solutions in order to get things done and to ensure a sustainable contribution to the present landscape of DFG-funded data service projects.
DFG Research Unit 2358 | Coordination
Core project of the DFG research unit 2358 The Mountain Exile Hypothesis: How humans benefited from and re-shaped African high altitude ecosystems during Quaternary climate changes.
Applicants: Georg Miehe, Thomas Nauss, Lars Opgenoorth
Participating partner: Sebsebe Demissew, Zerihun Woldu
Funding: 2016-2023, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Katinka Thielsen, Awol Asefa
Web: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb19/dfg2358Within our Research Unit - The Mountain Exile Hypothesis – we are working on a new perception of the Alpine Anthropocene. With our interdisciplinary approach for the reconstruction of Quaternary abiotic, biotic and cultural changes in the African model highland environments of southern Ethiopia we tackle three overarching questions of environmental research.
DFG Priority Programm 1374 | Instrumentation and remote sensing
Core project of the DFG Priority Programm 1374 Exploratories for large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Christoph Kleinn
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2014-2023, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Falk Hänsel, Stephan Wöllauer
Web: https://www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/The core project "Instrumentation and remote sensing" is responsible for both (i) the provision of systematic and large-scale measurements and recordings of meteorological and pedological parameters in all exploratories and (ii) the provision of remote sensing based, area wide information on the land cover and land use. Similar to the existing instrumentation infrastructure, a central archive of remote sensing products will be set up.
Completed projects
BMBF ProPraxis | Teacher student education from a Geographical science perspective
Project within the BMBF programm ProPraxis Teacher education at Marburg - professional, practical, right.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Carina Peter and many others from different subjects
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2015-2018, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Project staff: Kerstin Anthes
Web: ProPraxis@Uni-Marburg
Geography lessons must be connected with scientific knowledge and the justified professional perspective on subjects of instruction and not with common knowledge. We postulate that the knowledge of subject-specific development modes can assist student teachers in the analysis of scientific contents which in turn form the basis for the modelling of teaching subjects which reflect the root of the scientific problem. As part of the BMBF- funded project "Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung" the aim is to obtain empirical data and information about how development modes can help to structure and analyse subject contents and how formal modelling approaches can translate these subject contents into subjects of instruction. The results shall contribute to the teacher professionalization at universities.BMBF IDESSA | Satellite-based quasi-continuous monitoring of ecosystem dynamics in South African savannas
Project within the BMBF SPACES project Integrative decision support system for sustainable rangeland management in southern African savannas (IDESSA).
Applicants: Thomas Nauss
Participating partner: Kerstin Wiegand, Katrin M. Meyer (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen), Bernhard Seeger (Philipps-Universität Marburg), David Ward (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Klaus Kellner (North-West University)
Funding: 2014-2017, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Project staff: Hanna Meyer, Felix Stäps
Web: idessa.orgThe project establishes a high-resolution, satellite-based monitoring system for past and present atmospheric (precipitation and temperature) and land-cover parameters (woody density), which are relevant for assessing the status of savanna rangelands in the context of IDESSA. The monitoring system will be based on an eco-climatological approach that links operational, multi-source remote-sensing data with in-situ observations using machine learning approaches. The developed models operationally generate time series of climate and woody densities across the study area, which will be implemented into the integrative database and will serve the rangeland model as a baseline for short-term scenario computations.
DAAD Cape Verde | Biodiversity information system FOGO (Cape Verde)
Project within the DAAD bundle on establishing a biodiversity information system and corresponding school curricular for FOGO
Applicants: Detlef Kanwischer, Thomas Naus
Participating partner: Corrine Almeida, Maria Estrela
Funding: 2014-2017, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: David Burger
Web: bisfogo.environmentalinformatics-marburg.de
BIS-Fogo encompasses two major domains: (i) an integrative biodiversity data and analysis system for which biodiversity data is collected in the field and by remote sensing and the data sets are included in an integrative and collaborative data base and analysis system as a one stop information recourse for the general public and decision makers and (ii) a learning resource system for which the information system component is complemented by educational resources providing self-learning modules from elementary to university level for selected topics on biodiversity, digital geomedia and citizenship.DFG Research Unit 1246 | Ecological climatology and remote sensing at Mt. Kilimanjaro
Project within the DFG research unit 1246 Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Tim Appelhans
Participating partner: Jörg Bendix, Leendert A. (Sampurno) Bruijnzeel, Andreas Hemp, Mark Mulligan, Bernhard Seeger
Funding: 2013-2016, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Florian Detsch, Insa Otte, Ephraim Mwangomo
Web: kilimanjaro.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de
With respect to the importance of the atmospheric water budget for the Kilimanjaro ecosystem and the mutual potential feedbacks between climate and ecosystem change, this project focuses on the remote sensing supported analysis of the state and change of ecoclimatological dynamics as a function of ecosystem disturbances along the elevation gradient from the savannah to the Helichrysum zone. The main objectives encompass (i) the measurement and analysis of baseline meteorological information for the characterization of the research plots and the local climate dynamics, (ii) the quantification and analysis of the atmospheric water budget with a special focus on rainfall, fog and evapotranspiration dynamics along the elevation and disturbance gradients and (iii) the remote sensing based prediction of ecosystem properties and biodiversity patterns using high resolution optical satellite data and aerial LIDAR information.DFG Research Unit 1246 | Central database and data synthesis of the Kilimanjaro Research Unit
Project within the DFG research unit 1246 Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change.
Applicants: Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Thomas Naus
Participating partner: Andreas Hemp, Markus Fischer, Thomas Nauss, Katrin Böhning-Gaese
Funding: 2013-2016, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Jie Zhang, Marcell Peters
Web: kilimanjaro.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de
Data documentation, storage in a central database, continuous information exchange, scientific coordination and interdisciplinary data synthesis are essential components for the success and synergistic value of collaborative projects. The central project Z2 aims at implementing a central database, at establishing a web-based communication platform, at coordinating the scientific implementation of the general study design and at actively fostering the integrative analysis and publication of data to reach the overall goals of the Research Unit. In accordance with current DFG regulations, data and metadata stored in the Ecological Metadata Language (EML) will ensure long-term public accessibility of results. Advantages of existing database systems and communication platforms will be combined and tailored to fit the requirements of the proposed research unit.DFG | Biodiversity transect studies of Mt. Victoria (Natma Taung national park, Myanmar)
Project within the DFG bundle Island biogeography of apline biota in the southeast Himalayan biodiversity hotspot.
Applicants: Jürgen Kluge, Georg Miehe, Thomas Naus
Participating partner: U Aye Myint Maung (Director General, Forest Department, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry), Win Naing Thaw (Director, Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry)
Funding: 2012-2016, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Phyo Kay Kine
Web: n/a
Mt. Victoria is presumably an Ice Age refuge and one of the southermost isolated Holarctic mountain islands ranging from 400 to 3,050 m asl. The study area is located within the Natma Taung national park, Chin state, Myanmar. Presenting a little known nieche for Himalayan plants, the hotspot is one of the most promising research sites for Quaternary Biogeography to unveil the evolution of the archipelago of Holarctic alpine biota in the Palaeotropic southeast Asian lowland forest. The project is a kick-off initiative for a long-term research program in the mountain archipelago of alpine biota in the southeast Himalayan periphery of Myanmar. The project intends to provide the foundations for future mountain ecology and functional biodiversity research in the only biodiversity hotspot of the Holarctic floristic domain.DFG Priority Programm 1374 | Instrumentation
Core project of the DFG priority programm 1374 Exploratories for large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research.
PIs: Thomas Nauss, Markus Fischer
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2011-2014, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Falk Hänsel, Insa Otte
Web: biodiversity-exploratories.de
The project maintains 300 climate stations distributed across the three biodiversity exploratories (biosphere reserve Schorfheide-Chorin, national park Hainich, biosphere reserve Schwäbische Alb, all Germany) and provides analyzed climate information for the project.DFG Research Unit 816 | Impacts of environmental change on climate and ecosystem in southern Ecuador
Project within DFG research unit 816 Biodiversity and sustainable management of a megadiverse mountain ecosystem in south Ecuador.
PIs: Jörg Bendix, Thomas Nauss
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2010-2014, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Rütger Rollenbeck, Jens Stohl
Web: tropicalmountainforest.org
The main aim of the proposal at hand is (i) to unveil the impacts of climate and land use change on the regional climate of the ecosystem platform, (ii) to examine effects of climate change on biodiversity for selected organismic groups by testing two different approaches, (iii) to investigate atmospheric nutrient deposition from remote sources in the framework of the NUMEX experiment as well as its future development under environmental change, and (iv) to support the research unit by providing data on vegetation activity based on remotely sensed data.DFG Research Unit 816 | Data warehouse
Core project of the DFG research unit 816 Biodiversity and sustainable management of a megadiverse mountain ecosystem in south Ecuador.
PIs: Jörg Bendix, Thomas Nauss
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2010-2014, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Thomas Lotz
Web: tropicalmountainforest.org
The overall objective of the proposal is the continuous provision of central data services to the DFG research unit 816. Based on our conceptual design and technical implementation of the data warehouse of the research unit (FOR816dw), which is already operational since the very beginning of phase one, further enhancements especially related to the powerful web-interfaces for data upload, query, download and visualization have been incorporated during the second phase. The FOR816dw system ensures that administrative and scientific datasets and corresponding meta-information are safely stored and long-term accessible at a single location. It also forms the centre of the overall integration concept of the research unit. Beside this computer-science services, the subproject acts as main help desk for all other subprojects.DFG Research Unit 1246 | Climate dynamics of the Kilimanjaro region
Project of the DFG research unit 1246 Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change.
Applicants: Thomas Nauss, Jörg Bendix
Participating partner: Andreas Hemp
Funding: 2010-2013, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Tim Appelhans, Ephraim Mwangomo
Web: kilimanjaro.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de
With respect to the importance of the atmospheric water budget for the Kilimanjaro ecosystem and the mutual potential feedbacks between climate and ecosystem change, this project focuses on the remote sensing supported analysis of the state and change of ecoclimatological dynamics as a function of ecosystem disturbances along the elevation gradient from the savannah to the Helichrysum zone.DFG Priority Programm 1374 | Satellite-supported generation of area wide climate and vegetation datasets
Project within the DFG priority programm 1374 Exploratories for large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research.
PIs: Thomas Nauss, Jörg Bendix
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2009-2011, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Meike Kühnlein
Web: biodiversity-exploratories.de
Satellite supported generation of area wide climate and vegetation datasets for an integrative analysis of ecosystem biodiversity relationships on grassland areas.DFG Research Unit 816 | Central data services and SVAT modelling
Core project of the DFG research unit 816 Biodiversity and sustainable management of a megadiverse mountain ecosystem in south Ecuador.
PIs: Thomas Nauss, Jörg Bendix
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: 2007-2011, German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project staff: Dietrich Göttlicher
Web: tropicalmountainforest.org
The overall objective of the proposal is the continuous provision of central data services to the DFG research unit 816. Based on our conceptual design and technical implementation of the research unit"s data warehouse (FOR816dw) which is already operational since the very beginning of phase one, further enhancements especially related to the powerful web-interfaces for data upload, query, download and visualization have been incorporated during the second phase. The FOR816dw system ensures that administrative and scientific datasets and corresponding meta-information are safely stored and long-term accessible at a single location. It also forms the centre of the overall integration concept of the research unit. Beside this computer-science services, the subproject acts as main help desk for all other subprojects.
Bonus tracks
Integrated R-based analysis of the natural environment
Start-up project with no external funding
PIs: Tim Appelhans, Florian Detsch, Peyman Zawar-Reza
Participating partner: n/a
Funding: n/a
Project staff: n/a
Web: n/a
Free open-source data is ubiquitous (it is everywhere). In addition, recent availability of free and open analytic software such as R and numPy – and many others – means that everyone can do state-of-the-art science by just knowing the basics and letting imagination and curiosity guide the rest. This site is dedicated to all those interested in studying the climate of Iran – and with a little tweaking of the source code – the surrounding countries, using R and freely available climate and remote sensing datasets.
