The research area Functional biodiversity deals with the connection between biological diversity and ecosystem processes. The main focus lies on energy fluxes within aquatic and terrestrial systems as well as their transition zones. The central question is to what extent different aspects of global change, such as land use changes and invasive species, can influence the interaction between biological diversity (such as species diversity and trait diversity) and ecological processes. To answer this overarching question, a range of different experimental approaches are used, from experiments in the laboratory to field studies, to identify underlying cause-and-effect mechanisms.