The Beutenberg Campus places a strong emphasis on biodiversity

Nature is flourishing on the Beutenberg Campus in Jena! Since 2024, the research institutes have focused on mowing less frequently, rotating mowing areas, and preserving untouched refuges. These changes have created a diverse habitat that benefits people, plants, and animals alike.

The institutes at the Beutenberg Campus in Jena are dedicated to preserving and promoting natural biodiversity. Under the leadership of Danny Kessler, the head of the research greenhouse at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, the institutes developed a biodiversity plan that they all support. The plan calls for a fundamental change in how the meadows are managed. Instead of regular, comprehensive mowing, mowing will now occur less frequently and in rotating areas. The clear goal is to create a better habitat for a variety of plants and wildlife, especially insects.

A mowing plan has been in place since spring 2024 that calls for reduced mowing intervals and rotational mowing. To protect insects and plants, the meadows on campus are mowed in stages from April through September. It is important to leave a portion of the vegetation unmowed and not to remove the clippings until two to three days after mowing. This allows insects to safely relocate to the unmowed sections. During mowing, care is taken to leave plants at a sufficient height so they—and the insects living there—can survive. A portion of the area is left unmowed throughout the year to preserve important winter habitats for insects. Meadow edges are also left untouched for this reason. Maintaining unmowed areas allows insects, such as bees, butterflies, and beetles, to find food and shelter throughout the growing season. The results are now clearly visible in the colorful, species-rich meadows.

As part of an annual monitoring program at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, animal and plant species are recorded to track changes in biodiversity. In June, specimens of the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) could be admired in the campus meadows. Rare and endangered insect species were also spotted, including the narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth (Hemaris tityus), one of the few diurnal hawk-moth species classified as “critically endangered” in Germany, as well as the European oil beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus), which is also considered endangered. Campus staff repeatedly report sightings of the smooth snake (Coronella austriaca). Unlike the common European adder, with which it is often confused, this snake species is completely non-venomous and harmless. Like all European snakes, it is strictly protected.

“We found 47 different plant species in the areas we mapped. During our annual insect monitoring, we were able to identify 120 different species in a single morning,” says Martin Kaltenpoth, Managing Director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. “Our biodiversity strategy shows that science and nature conservation can go hand in hand.”

Mowing less often benefits rare species, employees at the Beutenberg Campus, and nature. It creates a vibrant, diverse habitat for numerous species and the people who work there.