News

After 25 years, the programme to reintroduce the European sturgeon into the Elbe and the Gironde is now bearing fruit – adult specimens have returned to the rivers for the first time this year. In an interview, IGB scientist Jörn Geßner tells of the obstacles encountered along the way, as well as more fortunate occurrences. And he explains why the task of reintroducing sturgeon into the North and Baltic Seas will continue to be difficult despite past successes.

Researchers led by IGB have summarised and evaluated the scientific literature on recreational ecology in a meta-study. Although all recreational activities can have negative impacts on plants, animals and the environment, they conclude that boat traffic and shoreline use have the most consistently negative impacts. 

The populations of all reptile species and almost all amphibian species have declined over the past 120 years. Amphibians are particularly sensitive indicators of the state of our ecosystems. One of the Red List species experts is IGB researcher Matthias Stöck.

In the latest IGB Policy Brief on the occasion of the 2021 federal elections, scientists recommend that politicians take urgent measures to combat the massive decline in freshwater biodiversity and thus safeguard important ecosystem services.

In the Spreewald, researchers from the IGB are investigating the imprint that recreational boats leave on the water landscape - on plants, birds and fish.

Anlässlich des Tesla-Projekts "Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg" veröffentlicht das IGB eine wissenschaftliche Einschätzung zur Ansiedlung von industriellen Großprojekten in wasserarmen Gebieten.

Excessive phosphorus loading lead to the accumulation of this nutrient in water bodies. Lake sediments can retain phosphorus. In laboratory tests, an IGB team has investigated the conditions under which this retention is long-term.

On 3 August 2021, Parliamentary State Secretaries Uwe Feiler (BMEL) and Dr. Michael Meister (BMBF), Brandenburg’s Minister of the Environment Axel Vogel (MLUK), and several municipal representatives gathered at IGB’s Stechlin site. They all wanted to find out first-hand about the state of the lake, which had recently raised concerns on account of sharply increased levels of phosphorus and oxygen depletion in the lake’s deep water.