Urban Biodiversity and Design

Norbert Müller: is Professor in Landscape Management and Restoration Ecology at the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Germany. He received a Diploma in Landscape Architecture from the Technical University Munich, a Ph.D. and a post doctoral lecture qualification in Vegetation Ecology from theTechnicalUniversityBerlin (Prof. Dr. Herbert Sukopp). He worked for 20 years in nature conservation research at the City Government Augsburg, Germany, with special emphasis in urban ecology, plant diversity, restoration ecology and ecological design. As an Associated Professor at the Yokohama National University, Japan he started between 1996 and 1997 the first urban biotope mapping in Tokyo. Current urban biodiversity studies he did in cities of South Africa (together with Sarel Cilliers),Italy, the United States and Germany. Since 2004 he compiles research projects on implementing the CBD in urban areas. Besides urban ecosystems natural disturbed ecosystems are another field of his interests, where he did numerous studies in the ecology of floodplain vegetation and the biology of key and invasive species. He serves in several advisory boards for nature conservation and is foundation member of the Competence Network Urban Ecology (CONTUREC).

David Knight is the Team Leader for Biodiversity, Plants and Fungi with Natural England. David has worked for more than twenty years in biodiversity and nature conservation in England, particularly in urban areas. His experience ranges from the reclamation of colliery tips and derelict land to influencing policy for the conservation or urban biodiversity. David gained 'hands-on' experience from work in protecting and managing urban habitats with local government. He also worked on a major urban forestry project in West Yorkshire, the White Rose Forest, before going on to join English Nature as their Urban Adviser. This included acting as Executive Editor for the magazine 'Urbio'. More recently David has been involved in commissioning research into the biodiversity of urban domestic gardens, developing a performance indicator on biodiversity for local government in England and getting recognition for the value of open mosaic habitats on previously developed land in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

Peter Werner is senior researcher at the Institute for Housing and Environment in Darmstadt, Germany. He started his scientific career with a research project about the ecological importance of industrial wastelands in the city ofBerlin in the years 1981 to 1983. Also, at this time Professor Herbert Sukopp and Peter Werner wrote the review "Nature in Cities" published by the European Council. Since 1983 he works at the Institute for Housing and Environment and his main research area is urban ecology in the widest sense including urban sustainable development. He was editor of several bibliographies and planning guides concerning urban ecology and published numerous papers in the area of urban nature and ecological development. In 2005 he founded together with other German scientists the competence network urban ecology CONTUREC, since then he is the executive secretary of CONTUREC.