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Wywołana przez człowieka katastrofa ekologiczna, skutkująca masową śmiercią ryb, małży i ślimaków, spowodowała poważne szkody w ekosystemie Odry. Co można teraz zrobić, aby pomóc rzece - i jak można zmniejszyć ryzyko tak poważnych szkód ekologicznych i gospodarczych w przyszłości? 

Lena Heinrich has received the Schwoerbel-Benndorf Young Scientist Award of the German Society for Limnology. The former IGB doctoral student completed her thesis in the research group of Michael Hupfer as part of the international DFG Graduate School "Urban Water Interfaces". 

Researchers from IGB, FUB and HUB developed a pack of cards for ecology and related disciplines. The "Ecologist's Career Compass" helps students and professionals to discover the diversity of career paths in the ecological job market.

The man-made environmental disaster, resulting in masses of dead fish, mussels and snails, has caused severe damage to the Oder ecosystem. What can now be done to help the river – and how can the risk of such major ecological and economic damage be reduced in the future? IGB has published its recommendations in an IGB Policy Brief. 

Intact peatlands are habitats for many rare animal and plant species and important sinks for greenhouse gases. Many peatlands that have been converted to agricultural land should therefore be restored. A current study with IGB participation discusses different strategies for this. The authors make clear that the most commonly used method of flooding former peatlands is problematic.

Many rivers are polluted by nitrogen inputs. An international research project involving the IGB has now investigated for the first time the extent of these inputs, the extent to which they are reduced and the contribution made by floodplain areas to this in the Danube catchment area. The results show how useful the large-scale renaturation of river floodplains is for improving water quality.

“Those calling for more dams in response to drought and dry riverbeds have nothing understood – they promote habitats with potential for catastrophy,” wrote Christian Wolter in Terra X – Die Wissens-Kolumne.

IGB has provided feedback on the EU action plan for better nutrient management.