3 universities, 2 federal states, 1 research centre. WasserCluster Lunz is a non-profit research centre that is affiliated in equal parts with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU Vienna), the University for Continuing Education Krems, and the University of Vienna. The Provincial Government of Lower Austria and the Municipality of Vienna financially support the research centre.
Freshwater expertise in the right place. Lakes, streams, rivers, floodplains are key elements of our landscape providing habitats, essential functions and key services to human society, such as drinking water, biomass production, water retention and purification as well as highly attractive landscapes. Global change and other drivers of change lead to severe changes of aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide, requesting innovative research approaches. WasserCluster Lunz is positioned directly on Lake Lunz. The lake and surrounding catchments provide ideal locations to conduct basic and applied aquatic ecosystem research. Primary research topics of our scientists are effects of global change, aquatic biogeochemistry, biodiversity, food web research, aquatic-terrestrial linkages, water resource management and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Since its founding in 2005, the staff at WasserCluster Lunz has more than tripled. Third party funding has also allowed the number of postdoctoral researchers, PhD and MSc students to greatly increase. WasserCluster Lunz is currently home to over 60 researchers, staff, and students.
Internationally connected. Our international team collaborates extensively with universities and research institutions in Europe and worldwide. Furthermore, scientists from around the world travel to Lunz to participate in the WasserCluster Lunz Seminar Series, as well in scientific workshops and meetings.
Facilitating education. Teaching closely linked to our research activities is a central tenant of our philosophy. We pursue university and postgraduate training at an international level and facilitate the research activities of PhD, MSc, and BSc students. We also provide practical experiences to school-age students. WasserCluster Lunz is an active participant in several educational collaborations within the local community and conducts various scientific outreach projects.