Das Projekt "ERMAS II: Europaeische Flussufer: Die Rolle der natuerlichen Vielfalt fuer die Funktion von Flussufersystemen" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Institut d'Amenagement des Terres et des Eaux (IATE) DGR - PEDOL durchgeführt. The aim of this project is to evaluate the role of biodiversity (i.e. autogenic processes) in determining the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to changes in environmental conditions (i.e. temperature and hydrology). The programme combines three primary research tasks: 1. To understand the role of biodiversity in maintaining the structure, function and stability of ecosystems, 2. to analyse ecosystem processes with reference to the organic matter cycle (C and N), 3.to determine and compare interactions and links between ecosystem processes and physical processes in contrasting situations, defined at two scales: climatic region and patch. ERMAS II network includes a latitudinal gradient from 64 Grad N (Sweden) to 43 Grad N (South of France). The swiss teams add sites with an alpine climate. Locally, a gradient of sites is chosen to characterize a representive range of hydro-geomorphological settings (frequency of floods).