Most Biodiverse Campus in Europe  [05.07.23]

Hohenheim made it! In recent weeks, species experts and committed citizen scientists have identified and digitally recorded 2087 wild animal and plant species on campus - more than twice as many as originally targeted. Among them are rare spider species, wild orchids and shy badgers. Not counted were over 8,000 different plant species cultivated by humans in the Hohenheim gardens. This means that the University of Hohenheim can officially call itself the most biodiverse campus in Europe. A total of 17 universities from 13 European countries took part in the ICA Biodiversity Challenge. The competition remained exciting until the very end.

The University of Hohenheim campus is teeming with life: 63 different birds from cuckoos to kingfishers, 15 dragonfly species and 416 different beetles were identified by diligent species counters in the last few weeks. Light traps lured 345 different moths into the net and particularly shy campus residents such as badgers and foxes were documented thanks to photo traps.

"Our species inventory also revealed rare species such as the triangle spider, the red-backed shrike, rhinoceros beetle, creeping celery and the bee orchid, a native wild orchid," says biologist Prof. Dr. Johannes Steidle from the Department of Chemical Ecology.

Interested parties can find out exactly where the observations were made on campus on the observation.org platform. Many discoveries are also linked there with photos.

Award for biodiversity - and expertise

"Our successful performance in the Europe-wide Challenge documents two things," emphasizes president Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert proudly. "Our campus is exceptionally rich in species, which is due not least to dedicated conservation measures, some of which we have been implementing for over two decades. On the other hand, we have exceptional biological expertise, which is necessary to specifically track down and professionally identify different species groups."

Sometimes, innovative methods of taxonomic research had to be used. "Many of the 119 species of flies and mosquitoes recorded, for example, can hardly be distinguished from each other even under a microscope," explains Prof. Dr. Lars Krogmann, director of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, who also heads the Department of Biological Systematics at the University of Hohenheim. "Nevertheless, we were able to identify them: on the basis of their so-called DNA barcode. These are sequences in the genome that act like a genetic fingerprint and help us identify them."

Citizen Scientists help out

But not only biology students and experts from the University of Hohenheim and the State Museum of Natural History have been working tirelessly for the Biodiversity Challenge in recent weeks. With the help of the free app ObsIdentify, anyone who was interested could act as a Citizen Scientist and support the university in identifying species.

An introduction to this was given at the Hohenheim Biodiversity Day on 17 June, where guided bat tours, microscopy stands and numerous other program items made discovering the local flora and fauna an experience. The event was organized by the Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy (KomBioTa).

Rare animal and plant species return

"The high density of different species on our campus is no coincidence," emphasizes Dr. Hartmut Dalitz, scientific director of the Hohenheim Gardens." For more than 20 years, meadows in the area of the vegetation history and the landscape garden have only been mown 2 times a year. Unlike conventional mowing, the cuttings do not remain on the green spaces, but are processed into hay and collected by a local farmer."

Without the abundant fertilization from the clippings left behind, the former greasy meadows are in the process of gradually transforming back into natural rough pastures over the years, providing a habitat that is essential for the survival of many native plants and animals. The infrequent mowing also allows more wild plants to reach seed maturity and fewer insects fall victim to the mowing process.

In addition, the Hohenheim gardens take numerous other measures to ensure that new biodiversity hotspots develop. In 2021, for example, a lizard habitat with breeding and hunting grounds was created. In 2022, a gypsum mound was added that offers conditions similar to a natural steppe landscape and should attract more rare species to the campus over the years.

Suspense until the end

The Biodiversity Challenge took place for the first time from 22 May to 1 July 2023. The declared goal of the so-called "Bioblitz" was to identify at least 1000 different species per location and to determine the most biodiverse campus in Europe. A total of 17 universities from 13 European countries took part. With this campaign, the participating universities want to raise awareness for the dramatic species extinction worldwide and the importance of biodiversity.

With 2087 species, the University of Hohenheim even identified more than twice as many species as originally targeted. But the competition remained exciting until the last day. Close on Hohenheim's heels was the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) with 1873 recorded species. However, six different locations in different vegetation zones all over Sweden contributed to their result. Belgium's KU Leuven came in third with 1453 recorded species.

The Association for European Life Science Universities is a network of more than 50 universities from the EU and neighboring countries working on a circular bioeconomy, sustainable use of natural resources, biodiversity, environmental protection and rural development.

Text: Leonhardmair / Translation: Office of International Affairs