Projekt

The Caucasus region is among the 25 global "biodiversity hotspots", with a particularly diverse flora and vegetation with 25 % of endemic species. This diversity is severely threatened by rapid transformation processes following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Three important habitat types have been selected as models (Arcto-Tertiary forests, xerophytic woodlands, high mountain ecosystems) to be studied. Three of the five subprojects centre on a PhD study, each led by a particular country (Georgia: Developing tools for monitoring the quality of mesophytic broad-leaved forests of the Caucasus; Azerbaijan: Conservation genetics of selected trees of Arcto-Tertiary forests in the Transcaucasus; Armenia: Species characterisation and evolution of the fruit-tree genus Pyrus as a characteristic element of xerophytic woodlands). Satellite projects, carried out by staff of the collaborating institutions or by MSc students, deal with specialised topics. For the sustainable management of the natural resources of the selected habitat types, effective and easy-to-apply tools for assessing and monitoring the plant diversity at the molecular, species and ecosystem levels will be developed.

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Borsch

  Freie Universität Berlin
  Botanischer Garten und Botanisches
  Museum Berlin-Dahlem
  Berlin
  

• Dr. Mariam Agababian

  National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
  Institute of Botany
  Eriwan
  Armenien
  

• Dr. Esmira Alirzayeva

  Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
  Institute of Botany
  Baku
  Aserbaidschan
  

• Dr. Ketevan Batsatsashvili

  Ilia State University
  Niko Ketskhoveli Institute of Botany
  Tbilisi
  Georgien