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Breathing Nature

Our mission

For the past two years, scientists at Leipzig University have been working with partner institutes to create an interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence. The aim is to explore the links between biodiversity and climate change, and the resulting social and economic changes.

Biodiversity and climate

Connections between biodiversity, climate and human behaviour

Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. Breathing Nature deals with the complex ways in which these two crises interact. These are symbolised by the metaphor of nature breathing: there is a continuous exchange of energy, water, gases and particles between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Human behaviour can be a driver or mitigator of biodiversity and climate change. An interdisciplinary approach encompassing climate, biodiversity and social sciences is being used to effectively address the links between climate change and biodiversity, putting their complex interactions at the heart of the analysis of human behaviour.

Structures
There are three parts to Breathing Nature: the central research area investigates the links between climate, biodiversity and human activities in an interdisciplinary and cross-scale manner. Field data collection and qualitative and quantitative social science methods are complemented by artificial intelligence, machine learning and a complex modelling and data management system. The second structural element is a platform that provides tools and infrastructure for data collection, data exchange, experimentation, project funding and knowledge synthesis. Thirdly, there are measures relating to teaching, developing talent, diversity, equality, inclusion, and knowledge and technology transfer.

enlarge the image: Aerial view of a landscape — Breathing Nature explores the links between climate change and biodiversity, and their complex interactions with human behaviour. Photo: Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory
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enlarge the image: A crowd at a demonstration. A sign reading Protect our Planet is held aloft. — Biodiversity is an asset worth protecting: the diversity of life and a stable climate are interdependent. Photo: AdobeStock

Partners and projects

Participating organisations

External partners

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)
Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH)
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC)
Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU Jena)

Projects from the proposal

Jena Experiment
ECO-N
BIOSMOKE
CASCADE

Our team

Breathing Nature combines expertise in climate and atmospheric sciences, biodiversity research and the behavioural, social and economic sciences from Leipzig Univerisity, the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and five non-university partners.