Blue-Green Biodiversity Research Initiative

Animated graphic: Stefan Scherrer, Eawag

Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are closely interconnected and enrich each other. However, these hotspots of biodiversity are threatened by human-induced changes, such as climate change, urbanisation and intensive agriculture. The graphic illustrates how the habitats of water and land intertwine and influence each other, as well as the questions the BGB research initiative is investigating.

How is biodiversity changing?

Biodiversity is declining dramatically worldwide. BGB is investigating how species diversity is changing in space and time - both locally, for example, in the Thur catchment area in Switzerland, and also globally with the help of data archives and satellite data. The time periods studied range from a few decades to millions of years.

What influences species diversity?

Land use changes, such as intensified agriculture and urbanisation, climate change, the overexploitation of natural resources and invasive species alter habitats and threaten biodiversity. BGB investigates how these factors influence biodiversity.

How are terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems interconnected?

Ecosystems in water and on land are closely linked. For example, leaves that fall from trees into  water serve as food for microorganisms. These are eaten by predatory insect larvae that leave the water after their final larval stage. On land, these insects serve as particularly nutritious food for birds. BGB aims to study this networked biodiversity holistically.

How can we promote and protect biodiversity?

BGB aims to develop practical recommendations for praxis and policy to stop or at least reduce species loss as quickly as possible. How can habitats in residential areas be networked through blue-green infrastructure? Or, what does successful biodiversity policy look like?

Biodiversity is essential to human life and welfare. The loss of biodiversity is, next to climate change, one of the biggest challenges humanity is facing. Research and action to reverse and mitigate the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions and services are thus crucially needed. In order to tackle this scientifically and societally urgent topic, the ETH Board has funded a research initiative on Blue-Green Biodiversity (BGB), i.e. the biological diversity at the interface of water and on land. Its goal is to strengthen interdisciplinary biodiversity research within WSL and Eawag, but also within the whole ETH domain and beyond, to understand and respond to challenges associated to species loss and biodiversity change as quickly as possible.

In 2021, longer-term research projects have started, including new experiments, field studies and data collection. Five research- and three implementation-projects aim to further develop themes from BGB 2020, as well as to expand into new cutting-edge research and applied questions, for which data do not already exist. Target research questions will be scientifically challenging and directly relevant for application and/or outreach.

Main objectives 2021-2025

• Train a cohort of early career researchers in BGB topics
• Develop and test models of biodiversity change
• Build capacities to design, implement, and manage measures to conserve and restore biodiversity
• Outreach and translation to communicate findings to practitioners and the broader public

BGB 2020 identified a core set of questions and comprised 13 funded research projects to support post-doctoral fellows for one year. These projects provided rapid results by focusing on the analysis of existing data to answer topical questions in basic and applied biodiversity science at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.

Main objectives

• Community building, horizon scanning and priority setting to establish new collaborations and address timely questions
• Analysis of existing data and modelling to obtain greater insight into similarities and inter-connections between aquatic and terrestrial systems
• Outreach and translation to communicate findings to practitioners and the broader public

Reber, U., Fischer, M., Ingold, K., Kienast, F., Hersperger, A., & Grütter, R. (2021). Die vielen Gesichter der Biodiversitätspolitik. Hotspot, 44, 9.

• Wie Biber Fauna und Flora verändern Wissenschaftsmagazin Radio SRF (from 18:27)
• The Research Initiative Blue-Green Biodiversity on YouTube