Biodiversity, land use and ecosystem services-An organismic and comparative approach to different geographical regions

The approach further focuses on human-wildlife interactions. The emergence of top predators in Europe reveals the value of the experience from Africa, where pastoralists manage to coexist with large predators since millennia. The investigation of African grasslands enables a critical reflection and a thorough understanding of processes, which have occurred a long time ago in Europe. Our approach leads to a revaluation of the significance of Africa in terms of a conservative, relict case scenario that can provide essential insights into the original situation of ecosystems, especially in view of “rewilding” approaches in Europe. Thereby, the approach leads to a careful consideration of the term “wilderness”.