Many animal and plant species in Germany are in a critical condition, as a new study shows. The populations of many species are developing negatively, but there is also hope.
You can see it in the butterflies, the long-legged bumblebees or the field birds: According to a report, biological diversity in Germany is continuing to decline. The population of many species is declining, as stated in the “Species Diversity Fact Check” analysis, in which more than 150 authors were involved. More than half of the different habitat types in Germany are in an ecologically inadequate or poor condition.
This has far-reaching consequences. “The population of birds in agricultural and open land has declined by more than half in almost 40 years,” says the report. The diversity of insects has also fallen sharply. Although some species developed positively, for example dragonflies, many more showed negative developments, including many butterfly species. Almost a third of all species in the red lists are endangered, i.e. threatened with extinction or critically endangered.
Decline also in plant species
There are also losses in plants, especially in the field flora, said Alexandra-Maria Klein, professor of nature conservation and landscape ecology and one of the lead authors. These are plant species that grow wild next to cultivated plants in fields or vineyards. “There are a lot of things that we hardly see anymore,” said Klein. These included, for example, black cumin or German feltwort.
At the same time, there is an increase in neophytes, i.e. non-native plant species. But it is still uncertain what this means for the future, said the biologist.
Most of the data comes from volunteer work
For the analysis, the authors compiled the state of knowledge on the five main habitats in Germany – agricultural and open land, forest, inland waters and floodplains, coasts and coastal waters, urban areas. Studies were evaluated and time series of biological diversity were compiled. According to the authors, almost all of the data that provides information about the status of biodiversity comes from voluntary work. There are hardly any representative long-term observations at the official level. The report was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The habitats in Germany are divided into a total of 93 habitat types. According to the analysis, the situation is particularly worrying in grassland, on previously species-rich fields, in moors, moorland forests, swamps and springs.
Negative developments, especially through agriculture
In addition, around 9 percent of the habitat types on the seabed of the North Sea are considered to have been completely destroyed, as the fact check states. “These include seagrass meadows on flat sandy bottoms as well as European oyster beds.”
The report identifies agricultural intensification with the use of pesticides as the main cause of biodiversity loss. “Not quite as many pesticides are being used anymore,” said Klein. According to them, the drugs are more toxic. The removal of hedges in agricultural and open landscapes, the sealing of areas in cities and the large-scale drainage of the landscape, especially of moors and floodplains, as well as climate change would also have far-reaching consequences.
No reason to be hopeless yet
But the authors are not hopeless. The restoration of biodiversity, the reintroduction of certain species and the protection of certain species are necessary and, in some cases, feasible. There are measures to promote biological diversity for every habitat type. The gray seal, for example, was almost extinct in Germany, said Helge Bruelheide, professor of geobotany. There are now more than 2,000 animals again. “It shows that consistent species protection can be very helpful.”
The quality of running water has also recovered largely since the 1970s as a result of wastewater treatment, which has a positive effect on the diversity of invertebrates. Invertebrates include dragonflies, beetles and flies. Christian Wirth, plant ecologist and chairman of the report, cited the increased proportion of mixed forests and the increase in dead wood as another positive example. Numerous organisms in the forest are dependent on dead wood.
Politics, business and society must act
According to the report, measures to protect biological diversity could include switching to organic farming, expanding protected areas, gentle fishing methods in coastal waters and insect-friendly mowing.
Politics, business and society are responsible for implementation. “A surprising amount is happening at the political level,” emphasized Wirth. In the European Union and Germany there are numerous guidelines that serve to protect endangered habitat types and species. However, they are often not well coordinated or there is headwind, for example from agriculture or forestry.
Last but not least, every individual can make a difference, even on a small scale, said Marion Mehring from the Institute for Social-Ecological Research in Frankfurt. For example, by garden owners designing their gardens to be close to nature. “The garden area in Germany is roughly equal to the area of nature reserves. That means it can definitely make a big contribution.”