The University of Zurich is one of the top ranking universities in Europe and worldwide, notably in the fields of bioscience and finance. The Institute of Environmental Sciences (IESZ) is one of the world leading centres of biodiversity research. The Institute’s mission is the interdisciplinary study of biodiversity and its role in the functioning of natural ecosystems and human societies. It aims to: link natural science with socio-economic approaches to conduct interdisciplinary research on the environment; to provide a solid scientific basis for the perception, conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity; to play a key role as a centre for world class research in ecological, evolutionary and environmental research. The institute is a member of Zurich Life Sciences and the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Centre. Ongoing projects centre on the responses of plant populations and communities to global environmental change (habitat fragmentation, invasive species, loss of genetic and species diversity, land-use change) and on the functional role of biodiversity to provide ecosystem services. The IESZ was and is involved in a number of integrated biodiversity projects such as BIODEPTH, The Jena Experiment, the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment – the largest forest biodiversity experiment in Malaysian Borneo, and a new forest biodiversity experiment in China (BEF-China).
More information: www.ieu.uzh.ch
Video of the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment:
