News and Events for Researchers

How much wood can we expect from European forests?

The energy crisis has shown Europe the need to become more self-sufficient in resources. Wood is one of those resources, used in the construction sector, for example, and is already largely produced in the EU itself. The demand for wood is still...

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Orange Tip Butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) According to the analysis of the scientists, the orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) is the only butterfly species in Europe for which a significant increase can be recorded. Photo: Ulrike Schäfer

Butterflies on the decline

Research shows that the numbers of butterflies in meadows and pastures of Europe are in a continuous decline. A new EU regulation aims to stop this trend.

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Around 258 million people across 58 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2022 © Food Security Information Network

Food crises worsen in the wake of conflicts, economic shocks and weather extremes

Conflicts, economic shocks driven by COVID-19 and Russia’s war against Ukraine, and weather extremes are pushing up the number of people who suffer acute hunger and malnutrition, according to the latest edition of the Global Report on Food Crises.

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Wild boar in forest. The liver of wild boar is suitable as a bioindicator for PFAS contamination of the environment. Photo: André Künzelmann / UFZ

Bioindicator for the occurrence of PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are considered to be forever chemicals. Many are toxic; others are highly mobile or accumulate in the food chain. However, all are extremely persistent and are spread throughout the environment. The...

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Drone - Pixabay CC01

Using drones to map habitats - an interactive online course

This interactive course will give you the skills to take images collected from a UAV platform, process them into a scene for image processing and generate classified images.

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Water requirements of freshwater ecosystems - an interactive online training course

This one-day course online will equip you with knowledge, tools and experience to assess the water requirements of freshwater ecosystems and understand the implications for water resources and flood management.

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Forest fires are one of the main causes of the decline of tree diversity. © drotik - stock.adobe.com 2023

Scientists estimate that by 2095 forest services will decrease on average by 52% in Europe’s Mediterranean area

A new study models how changing climate conditions will impact forest services such as wood for construction and paper, edible fruits, leaves, roots and other services.

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2013 flood on the Elbe near Dessau-Rosslau. 2013 flood on the Elbe near Dessau-Rosslau. Photo: André Künzelmann/UFZ

Natural flood prevention: higher trust through better communication

A UFZ study shows: If the population feels well informed, it has a more positive view towards nature-based flood prevention. In many places today, dikes are being moved back, and floodplains are being revitalised in order to give the river more...

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Study: past extreme climate warming triggered by tipping points

Can a rapid warming of Earth trigger tipping points in our climate? For decades scientists have debated if today’s warming can strongly amplify itself by triggering a catastrophic release of greenhouse gases. New research, published in Science...

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Transforming Environmental Data in R - 2-day online training course, May 2023

This 2-day interactive online course will help you understand the benefits of data transformation tools (such as R). The course also includes an optional "Introduction to R" session for those not familiar with the software on 15 May.

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