Species protection through environmental friendly lighting (AuBe)
Short profile
Duration
Sampling at the experimental field sites in Westhavelland (Photo: Sophia Dehn)
The focus of the project was the implementation and establishment of a more insect-friendly street lighting design in order to reduce the loss of insect biomass and the rapidly increasing illumination of night landscapes and habitats. The technical implementation was carried out by shielding light emission, so that radiation and reflection of the light in the area of the flight height of insects as well as on adjacent biotopes such as for example water bodies and floodplains were largely reduced. In this way, the specifications of the guidelines for the “redesign and conversion of lighting systems in public spaces” developed as part of the R&D project “Analysis of the Effects of Artificial Light on Biodiversity” were transferred to practical conditions (bit.ly/bfn-543). The AuBe project offered environmental education and citizen science activities. The environmental education was supported by the Nossentiner / Schwinzer Heide Nature Park, the Stechlinsee Center in Neuglobsow, the Fulda Environmental Center and theABU Westhavd.
Videos
Can society turn down damaging levels of light pollution? | FT Rethink
Artificial light is proving to be an ever-growing threat to biodiversity. It's harmful to pollinating insects, bats and a host of other creatures, including zooplankton, a crucial part of the aquatic food chain. But as the FT’s science editor Clive Cookson explains, scientists at IGB and other institutions are discovering relatively simple ways to light the night in harmony with nature.
The AuBe project is funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) as part of the federal program for biological diversity.
