In Oldenburg, citizens can vote on 22 February on whether the city's tree protection statutes should be retained. In this interview, geographer Thorsten Balke talks about the special importance of trees for the urban climate.

More rain in the winter, droughts in the summer: the climate is changing in the north-west of Lower Saxony. In the WAKOS project, environmental and social science researchers from Oldenburg are investigating ways to adapt to these changes.

A forum for discussions on the complex relationships between humans and the environment - this is what the "Perceptual Geography Studies" series has been offering for 40 years. A look back at a piece of university history.

At the turn of the year, Oldenburg and other parts of Lower Saxony were affected by flooding. Geographer Ingo Mose on the need to act quickly now.

Unspoiled nature, vast lakes, reindeer everywhere – on a field trip to northern Sweden, students from various degree programmes were able to experience all this first hand at some of Europe’s oldest national parks.

How does unusual heat affect the flora and fauna of the Wadden Sea? Researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment and the Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences have recently investigated this in a large-scale experiment.

Peatlands, meadows, forests: About 80 percent of habitats in Europe are in poor condition. Rainer Buchwald explains in this interview why this trend should be reversed and what role the EU plays in nature conservation.

The local loss of species may often be underestimated. A new biodiversity study by Lucie Kuczynski and Helmut Hillebrand shows that species richness is not a reliable metric for monitoring ecosystems.

Living plant roofs, green oases of well-being, underground water reservoirs and biotopes in the neighbourhood: the "Oldenburg Climate Tour" shows how climate change is also changing the city, including in the university's Botanical Garden.

Increased rainfall and rising sea levels increase the risk of inland flooding in coastal areas: The KLEVER-Risk project shows how western East Frisia can adapt to climate change.

Urban forests are particularly affected by the consequences of global warming. Researchers and students at the university are investigating how such green spaces can be made more resilient to heat and drought using the example of Eversten Holz.

More intense drought in summer, more precipitation in winter, more frequent heavy rainfall - how can the water balance in grassland regions still be balanced? This is one of the questions being investigated by Oldenburg researchers in a new joint project.

How do networks with a high degree of cooperation form? A study by team led by Oldenburg network researcher Thilo Gross in the journal PNAS gives a surprising answer. The power to quit turns out to be an important piece of the puzzle.

A study of 29 European lakes has found that some naturally-occurring lake bacteria grow faster and more efficiently on the remains of plastic bags than on natural matter. A special instrument from Oldenburg was involved in the analysis.

Creating new habitats for rare plants and thus making meadows more species-rich again, for example - this is what vegetation scientist and nature conservation expert Rainer Buchwald and his students are working towards.

Flies, dust and even microplastics - spider webs capture whatever travels through the air. Researchers have now for the first time tested if they can get an overview of plastic particles in urban air by examining cobwebs.

Biodiversity – the diversity of ecosystems, organisms and their interactions – is threatened as never before, despite all efforts. In this interview, Helmut Hillebrand talks about 30 years of the Rio Convention and the central role biodiversity plays on our planet.

The North Sea island of Spiekeroog is a huge natural laboratory: A team of researchers led by Gudrun Massmann and Luise Giani has studied how its wild eastern part has been transformed from a small sand flat into new land.

The German Research Foundation is funding a new research group at the university. The DynaDeep project, led by hydrogeologist Gudrun Massmann, is exploring a largely unknown habitat with a subterranean monitoring network on the island of Spiekeroog.

Are tipping points suitable concepts for developing environmental policies? Probably not, as even small environmental changes can have major consequences, a research team led by Helmut Hillebrand reports in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.