Chicken Creek - Germany

Since 2005, the " Chicken Creek " research platform has provided opportunities to study ecosystem development from a defined "point zero” as the mining restoration of the area resulted in the application of a sandy substrate without any other biological components. The primary succession has not been influenced by anthropogenic measures, allowing for the observation of natural ecosystem development self-organization. The site enables the development of a local groundwater body and the investigation of feedbacks between hydrological, geomorphological, and botanical structural elements. The initial character of the system is no longer dominant. Despite these changes, the comprehensive monitoring data offer diverse opportunities for further research. In addition to continuing the data series, moderate use of invasive methods is now possible, allowing for deeper analyses and new connections to previously collected data. Future research will focus on transformative landscape development and climate change. The research topics here concentrate on nutrient and carbon cycles of ecosystems and in particular on the tree species robinia, as well as on soil stability and hydrology.