The flora and fauna of Frankfurt and the surrounding area has been scientifically studied and documented in the collections of the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN) for over 200 years. The connection of the working group for biodiversity mapping to the Senckenberg Research Institute is obvious, as it provides the best conditions for recording, analysing and evaluating changes in flora, fauna and biotopes.
History of the working group
The commissioning of the Senckenberg Research Institute with an area-wide biodiversity mapping by the Frankfurt City Council in 1985 marked the beginning of many years of co-operation. In the meantime, an important long-term monitoring programme has emerged. From the very beginning, the intention was to deepen and complete knowledge about nature and its changes in the urban area in order to provide a solid basis for targeted and more effective urban planning and nature conservation work.
The first round of biodiversity mapping of the city area was completed in 1990. Since then, revision mapping has been carried out in a frequency of approximately 6 years in order to constantly update the data basis. From the year 2000, the biodiversity mapping was also extended to Frankfurt’s municipal forest, which had previously been excluded from the surveys. Since the working group was founded, additional in-depth floristic-faunistic surveys have been carried out in selected areas and habitats. In addition, topics such as landscape structure and biotope networks, species inventories, nature conservation and maintenance and development of biotopes have been analysed as part of special projects (e. g. Frankfurt 21, Airport Project, Frankfurter Kreuz, Cities Dare Wilderness).
The results of the working group for biodiversity mapping provide scientific information on the condition, endangerment and need for protection as well as the development potential of nature in the city. In addition, we create knowledge about the distribution of habitats, plant and animal species, which can be used to plan maintenance and protection measures. This is an important basis for the city’s urban planning, for example with regard to intervention regulations, and were a central basis for Frankfurt’s species and biotope protection concept published in 2021.
Thematic focus of the research project
For four decades, the working group has focussed on mapping the biotope types in the urban area, digitising the results and evaluating the changes. The seventh round of urban biodiversity mapping has started in 2024 and has taken place in the following periods since 1985:
- Mapping 1985-1990
- Mapping 1993-1997
- Mapping 1998-2003
- Mapping 2005-2012
- Mapping 2013-2017
- Mapping 2018-2023
- Mapping since 2024
The latest status of the mapping is available to the general public on the City of Frankfurt’s geoportal.
Another research focus is on the monitoring of selected biotopes, animal and plant species: in 24 study areas, which represent typical habitats within the city area, the entire flora and avifauna and – if present – the occurrence of the Great Capricorn Beetle are documented every three years. In addition, individual species groups for which these areas are of particular relevance are recorded in 16 additional study areas. A special focus in all survey areas is on the occurrence of target and responsible species of Frankfurt’s species and biotope protection concept and on newly immigrating species (neobiota), which are localised with pinpoint accuracy.
In addition, changes in vegetation are analysed by monitoring over 100 permanent observation plots in woodland, grassland, water bodies, gravel areas, nutrient-poor grassland and heathland. This allows us to draw conclusions about the effects of land use intensification and climate change.
The working group is also intensively researching the long-term changes in Frankfurt’s flora. Based on herbarium specimens and archive material, it has been possible to determine the changes in Frankfurt’s flora over a period of 300 years. The data also made it possible to deduce the causes for the disappearance of many species from the city area and to reconstruct the colonisation and spread of newly immigrating plant species (neophytes). Since 2009, the most important information on Frankfurt’s flora has been published on the website ‘Flora von Frankfurt’ in the form of fact sheets.
The results of the biodiversity mapping have been reflected in several hundred unpublished reports, protection and maintenance concepts, as well as generally accessible publications such as brochures and books about urban nature. Thanks to the close co-operation between the Senckenberg Research Institute and Goethe University Frankfurt in the field of biology, a number of theses have already been written as part of the investigations.
