Our environment is rapidly changing. Humans have fundamentally changed landscapes and interfered with global processes over a very short period of time, and have in some cases brought them into a state of imbalance. We have arrived in the so-called “Anthropocene” era – the geological age shaped by humans.

We proudly announce the Awardee of the Publication of the Month September: Elisabeth PEER

How fast dead wood is decomposing in the forest depends on the climate as well as on fungi and insects. An international research team, including evolutionary biologist Jan Christian Habel from the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, has determined the annual contribution of deadwood to the global carbon cycle and, for the first time, also quantified the relevance of insects in wood decomposition. The study was published in Nature on 1 September 2021.