Ecosystems and Global Change Research groups

BC3’s Ecosystems and Global Change research line aims to generate actionable knowledge for the conservation of natural ecosystems, sustainable land use, and the management of ecosystem resilience and services across terrestrial and aquatic systems. By advancing the scientific understanding of how global change affects multiple facets of ecosystems, including biodiversity, species interactions, and ecological stability, this research supports decision-making for effective adaptation and mitigation, ensuring the socially efficient allocation of land resources.

Background

Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems play an essential role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supporting human societies through the provision of basic ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems are increasingly exposed to combined, often non-additive pressures from global change drivers, such as climate variability, land-use change, pollution (e.g., microplastics), and biological invasions (e.g., honeybee addition). Sustainable ecosystem management is critical to reconcile these challenges, conserving habitats and biodiversity while simultaneously acting as a mechanism to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Integrative approaches that combine observations, experiments, and modelling are essential to disentangle these complex interactions and improve predictions.

Research Interests

BC3’s Ecosystems and Global Change research focuses on understanding how biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and stability respond to global environmental change. The research combines mathematical modelling, large-scale data analysis, field observations and field and laboratory experimentation to address complex ecological challenges. Key areas include analysing structure–function–stability relationships, assessing the impacts of multiple interacting natural and human-driven stressors, and investigating ecosystem recovery dynamics following disturbances to strengthen restoration ecology. A central pillar of this research line is LurLab, BC3’s terrestrial ecology laboratory, which supports environmental sample processing, molecular and genetic analyses, and long-term ecosystem manipulation. LurLab also serves as a hub for major flagship European projects, including the ERC Consolidator grants RECODYN and GorBEEa.