Research Centre of Excellence
ECOSPHERE is a key member of the Global Change Ecology Excellence Center (GCE). The goal of GCE is to perform state-of-the-art ecological research, by creating synergies between the research groups Plants and Ecosystems, Evolutionary Ecology and ECOSPHERE. Through the synergies in our consortium, GCE aims to:
-Conduct fundamental ecological research, that is subsequently applied to develop nature-based solutions for global change mitigation and adaptation.
-Assess interactive global change effects, by investing strongly in advanced infrastructure for experimentation and observation.
-Step out with our science, investing strongly in science communication and citizen science.
All the consortium members have a strong scientific reputation in ecology. In their research, they are looking at the influence of global changes on natural ecosystems, from different points of view: climate change and extreme climates, invasive plants and animals, changes in crucial element cycles (like nitrogen and phosphorus), habitat fragmentation,... The GCE couples this knowledge, to allow a big step forward in the understanding of human impact on the environment. Interactions between different pressures are crucial to understand the consequences of human intervention, but these interactions also form a strong scientific challenge. Addressing this challenge is possible through the unique scientific synergy. We particularly put focus on strengthening our research communication, e.g. through the website, through social networks, through citizen science and by joining public science events.
