Climate research at LMU for biodiversity and healthier urban planning

How can cities become more resistant to heat? How can we monitor the health of Bavarian lakes as the climate changes? And what role can artificial intelligence, environmental modeling, and biodiversity research play in Bavaria’s future? These are the questions being investigated in the new Bavarian Climate Research Network bayklif2, which is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.

As a key member of the network, LMU has several research groups involved in various projects. LMU’s contribution is especially visible in the two collaborative projects MEDICUS and ecoBay, which address key challenges posed by climate change in Bavaria: the health consequences of increasing heat stress and air pollution in cities and the ecological stability of Bavarian waterbodies.

Climate change and health in cities

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The project MEDICUS investigates the effects of climate-related stressors such as heat, air pollution, and pollen count on the health of the population in urban spaces.

The main participants at LMU are the research groups of Dr. Magdalena Mittermeier and Professor Ralf Ludwig at the Department of Geography. Using high-resolution climate models, AI-supported analyses, and participatory real-world laboratories in Munich and Augsburg, the project will identify stress hotspots and develop specific adaptation measures.

As well as the focus on scientific analyses, there will also be a major emphasis on societal transfer. Digital tools such as resilience apps and new educational formats will help firmly embed climate adaptation into urban planning and preventative health care. In MEDICUS, the LMU researchers are collaborating with partners from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and University Hospital Augsburg.

Biodiversity as early warning system

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LMU is contributing its expertise in biodiversity and environmental research to the network through the project ecoBay.

Under the co-leadership of Professor Gert Wörheide from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chair of Paleontology & Geobiology, the project is developing an autonomous, AI-supported monitoring system for Bavarian lakes. Using genetic analyses of environmental DNA and environmental RNA, the project is aiming to render changes in biodiversity visible at an early stage.

A floating robot will continuously record water quality data and automatically collect samples. The obtained data will be evaluated with AI-supported models for the early identification of ecological changes in lakes such as Lake Ammer and Great Ostersee.

The project combines environmental genomics, robotics, and artificial intelligence to create new foundations for modern waterbody monitoring in Bavaria.

Interdisciplinary climate research at LMU

bayklif2 unites six interdisciplinary research projects from the fields of health, biodiversity, agriculture, water research, and AI-supported environmental monitoring. The goal of the network is to translate scientific findings into specific recommendations for action for politics, business, and society.

LMU is not only contributing its research expertise to the network, but also assuming organizational responsibility: The office for bayklif2 is located at LMU’s Gene Center Munich and is headed by Dr. Ulrike Kaltenhauser and Dr. Julius Reich. It will coordinate the cooperation between projects and support exchange between science, politics, and the public. “With bayklif2, LMU is strengthening its role as a key player in climate and environmental research in Bavaria – research that is interdisciplinary and data-based and has a clear focus on social relevance and sustainable solutions for the future,” says Ulrike Kaltenhauser.