@article{BirkhoferDiekoetterBochetal.2011,
  author    = {Birkhofer, Klaus and Diekoetter, Tim and Boch, Steffen and Fischer, Markus and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Socher, Stephanie and Wolters, Volkmar},
  title     = {Soil fauna feeding activity in temperate grassland soils increases with legume and grass species richness},
  series = {Soil biology \& biochemistry},
  volume    = {43},
  journal   = {Soil biology \& biochemistry},
  number    = {10},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0038-0717},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.07.008},
  pages     = {2200 -- 2207},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Edaphic fauna contributes to important ecosystem functions in grassland soils such as decomposition and nutrient mineralization. Since this functional role is likely to be altered by global change and associated shifts in plant communities, a thorough understanding of large scale drivers on below-ground processes independent of regional differences in soil type or climate is essential. We investigated the relationship between abiotic (soil properties, management practices) and biotic (plant functional group composition, vegetation characteristics, soil fauna abundance) predictors and feeding activity of soil fauna after accounting for sample year and study region. Our study was carried out over a period of two consecutive years in 92 agricultural grasslands in three regions of Germany, spanning a latitudinal gradient of more than 500 km. A structural equation model suggests that feeding activity of soil fauna as measured by the bait-lamina test was positively related to legume and grass species richness in both years. Most probably, a diverse vegetation promotes feeding activity of soil fauna via alterations of both microclimate and resource availability. Feeding activity of soil fauna also increased with earthworm biomass via a pathway over Collembola abundance. The effect of earthworms on the feeding activity in soil may be attributed to their important role as ecosystem engineers. As no additional effects of agricultural management such as fertilization, livestock density or number of cuts on bait consumption were observed, our results suggest that the positive effect of legume and grass species richness on the feeding activity in soil fauna is a general one that will not be overruled by regional differences in management or environmental conditions. We thus suggest that agri-environment schemes aiming at the protection of belowground activity and associated ecosystem functions in temperate grasslands may generally focus on maintaining plant diversity, especially with regard to the potential effects of climate change on future vegetation structure.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BiltonMetzTielboerger2016,
  author    = {Bilton, Mark C. and Metz, Johannes and Tielboerger, Katja},
  title     = {Climatic niche groups: A novel application of a common assumption predicting plant community response to climate change},
  series = {Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics},
  volume    = {19},
  journal   = {Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Jena},
  issn      = {1433-8319},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.ppees.2016.02.006},
  pages     = {61 -- 69},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Defining species by their climatic niche is the simple and intuitive principle underlying Bioclimatic Envelope Model (BEM) predictions for climate change effects. However, these correlative models are often criticised for neglecting many ecological processes. Here, we apply the same niche principle to entire communities within a medium/long-term climate manipulation study, where ecological processes are inherently included. In a nine generation study in Israel, we manipulated rainfall (Drought -30\%; Irrigation +30\%; Control natural rainfall) at two sites which differ chiefly in rainfall quantity and variability. We analysed community responses to the manipulations by grouping species based on their climatic rainfall niche. These responses were compared to analyses based on single species, total densities, and commonly used taxonomic groupings. Climate Niche Groups yielded clear and consistent results: within communities, those species distributed in drier regions performed relatively better in the drought treatment, and those from wetter climates performed better when irrigated. In contrast, analyses based on other principles revealed little insight into community dynamics. Notably, most relationships were weaker at the drier, more variable site, suggesting that enhanced adaptation to variability may buffer climate change impacts. We provide robust experimental evidence that using climatic niches commonly applied in BEMs is a valid approach for eliciting community changes in response to climate change. However, we also argue that additional empirical information needs to be gathered using experiments in situ to correctly assess community vulnerability. Climatic Niche Groups used in this way, may therefore provide a powerful tool and directional testing framework to generalise and compare climate change impacts across habitats. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.},
  language  = {en}
}