Institute of Biology Bucharest
The Institute of Biology Bucharest (IBB) belongs to the Romanian Academy. It includes the Department of Ecology, Taxonomy and Nature Protection, the Department of Microbiology and the Department of Developmental Biology.
The Department of Ecology, Taxonomy and Nature Protection is a broad-scope, comprehensive academic unit encompassing diverse biology areas from ecology, invertebrate and vertebrate zoology, mycology and botany to bioinformatics. The core principles of evolution serve as the foundation for integrating the broad disciplines within the biological sciences.
The mission of the Department of Ecology, Taxonomy and Nature Protection is to produce and transfer knowledge to society through advanced scientific research, development, innovation and technology in the broad field of biological sciences, to contribute to the field through research of young scientists under PhD programme, to train the next generation of biological scientists and to provide professional service. Specifically, components of the departmental mission are to:
- To train the next generation of biological researchers, educators and the scientific workforce through PhD programmes that integrate research and the scientific process.
- Share our academic and research expertise in professional and service activities.
The core activities of IBB are (1) to train professionals and researchers in various activity domains, including biology; (2) to produce and disseminate knowledge related to sustainable development; (3) to develop and transfer know-how, technology and products; (4) to support the management of national & international research & development projects. IBB has a long tradition in biology research. It is involved in most of the national projects dealing with biology science. Also, IBB partners in EU projects like HORIZON (HealthFerm), COST grants (EUdaphobase, BOTTOMS-UP) or EEA grants.
Role within SOB4ES
In SOB4ES, IBB will be responsible for implementing some activities linked to WP2 and WP3, especially in 4 tasks:
- Task 2.1. Soil biodiversity data collection: existing data and field sampling to fill knowledge gaps;
- Task 2.3. Identifying drivers and pressures of soil biodiversity under LU changes;
- Task 3.1. Assessment of the interrelationships between SOB and ES for representative soil types, land use types and intensity and pedoclimatic regions;
- Task 3.4. Developing management practices to enhance SOB linked to ES.
Soil samples will be collected from Romania from different land use and management types. IBB will be able to cover the analyses of soil enzyme activities and SOB community composition and structure comprehensively, i.e., from soil nematodes, enchytraeids, micro-arthropods (mites and springtails) up to macro-arthropods and earthworms.
