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To address the growing challenges posed by extreme droughts, researchers are focusing on ecohydrological processes in landscapes. They show that a better understanding of water storage dynamics at medium scales, i.e. areas between 10 and 100 square kilometres, could help to better predict and secure the availability of water resources, even in times of climate change. We spoke to Professor Dörthe Tetzlaff about drought resilience, the hidden water treasures of our landscapes, and more sustainable land and water management.

Die Hydrologin Dörthe Tetzlaff, Leiterin der Abteilung Ökohydrologie und Biogeochemie am Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei (IGB) und Professorin an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin), ist heute mit dem Polubarinova-Kochina Hydrologic Sciences Mid-Career Award ausgezeichnet worden.

Researchers from all over Europe, with the participation of IGB, have created high-standard reference genomes for 98 species as part of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) pilot project. This collaboration of scientists from 33 countries is an important milestone on the way to a reference genome database for European animals, plants and fungi. The results were presented in an article in the scientific journal npj Biodiversity.

By choosing the right food, you can do a lot for your own health – and also contribute to more or less environmentally friendly consumption. This also applies to fish and their food. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) are working on feed for aquaculture and aquaponics. Their aim is to optimise the nutrition of fish and at the same time protect the environment.  

It is a milestone in European species conservation: Today, one hundred young European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) were released into the Elbe River near Magdeburg as part of a long-term reintroduction programme and in the presence of the German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. It is the first sturgeon offspring for the river since 2015. This action is an important step towards re-establishing a self-sustaining sturgeon population in one of Germany's largest river systems.

The evaluation of different management approaches for macrophytes showed that the "do nothing" option can also be considered when dealing with aquatic plants. According to the study, mass developments of aquatic plants primarily impair the recreational value of a water body, while they are often beneficial for other ecosystem services

A team of scientists collected and analysed water samples at the time. The result, published in Nature Water today, showed that high concentrations of organic micropollutants exacerbated the lethal effects of prymnesin. 

Conservation efforts have led to the recovery of pinnipeds populations worldwide after decades of intensive hunting and culls. However, this positive development has led to conflicts with fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries, researchers have found.