@article{BuschKlausSchaeferetal.2019, author = {Busch, Verena and Klaus, Valentin Helmut and Schaefer, Deborah and Prati, Daniel and Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Chiste, Melanie and Mody, Karsten and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico and Fischer, Markus and H{\"o}lzel, Norbert and Kleinebecker, Till}, title = {Will I stay or will I go? Plant species-specific response and tolerance to high land-use intensity in temperate grassland ecosystems}, series = {Journal of vegetation science}, volume = {30}, journal = {Journal of vegetation science}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1100-9233}, doi = {10.1111/jvs.12749}, pages = {674 -- 686}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @article{BochMuellerPratiletal.2013, author = {Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Pratil, Daniel and Blaser, Stefan and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Up in the tree - the overlooked richness of bryophytes and lichens in Tree Crowns}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {12}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0084913}, pages = {8}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Assessing diversity is among the major tasks in ecology and conservation science. In ecological and conservation studies, epiphytic cryptogams are usually sampled up to accessible heights in forests. Thus, their diversity, especially of canopy specialists, likely is underestimated. If the proportion of those species differs among forest types, plot-based diversity assessments are biased and may result in misleading conservation recommendations. We sampled bryophytes and lichens in 30 forest plots of 20 m x 20 m in three German regions, considering all substrates, and including epiphytic litter fall. First, the sampling of epiphytic species was restricted to the lower 2 m of trees and shrubs. Then, on one representative tree per plot, we additionally recorded epiphytic species in the crown, using tree climbing techniques. Per tree, on average 54\% of lichen and 20\% of bryophyte species were overlooked if the crown was not been included. After sampling all substrates per plot, including the bark of all shrubs and trees, still 38\% of the lichen and 4\% of the bryophyte species were overlooked if the tree crown of the sampled tree was not included. The number of overlooked lichen species varied strongly among regions. Furthermore, the number of overlooked bryophyte and lichen species per plot was higher in European beech than in coniferous stands and increased with increasing diameter at breast height of the sampled tree. Thus, our results indicate a bias of comparative studies which might have led to misleading conservation recommendations of plot-based diversity assessments.}, language = {en} } @article{SorkauBochBoeddinghausetal.2018, author = {Sorkau, Elisabeth and Boch, Steffen and Boeddinghaus, Runa S. and Bonkowski, Michael and Fischer, Markus and Kandeler, Ellen and Klaus, Valentin H. and Kleinebecker, Till and Marhan, Sven and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Prati, Daniel and Schoening, Ingo and Schrumpf, Marion and Weinert, Jan and Oelmann, Yvonne}, title = {The role of soil chemical properties, land use and plant diversity for microbial phosphorus in forest and grassland soils}, series = {Journal of plant nutrition and soil science = Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Pflanzenern{\"a}hrung und Bodenkunde}, volume = {181}, journal = {Journal of plant nutrition and soil science = Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Pflanzenern{\"a}hrung und Bodenkunde}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1436-8730}, doi = {10.1002/jpln.201700082}, pages = {185 -- 197}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Management intensity modifies soil properties, e.g., organic carbon (C-org) concentrations and soil pH with potential feedbacks on plant diversity. These changes might influence microbial P concentrations (P-mic) in soil representing an important component of the Pcycle. Our objectives were to elucidate whether abiotic and biotic variables controlling P-mic concentrations in soil are the same for forests and grasslands, and to assess the effect of region and management on P-mic concentrations in forest and grassland soils as mediated by the controlling variables. In three regions of Germany, Schwabische Alb, Hanich-Dun, and Schorfheide-Chorin, we studied forest and grassland plots (each n=150) differing in plant diversity and land-use intensity. In contrast to controls of microbial biomass carbon (C-mic), P-mic was strongly influenced by soil pH, which in turn affected phosphorus (P) availability and thus microbial Puptake in forest and grassland soils. Furthermore, P-mic concentrations in forest and grassland soils increased with increasing plant diversity. Using structural equation models, we could show that soil C-org is the profound driver of plant diversity effects on P-mic in grasslands. For both forest and grassland, we found regional differences in P-mic attributable to differing environmental conditions (pH, soil moisture). Forest management and tree species showed no effect on P-mic due to a lack of effects on controlling variables (e.g., C-org). We also did not find management effects in grassland soils which might be caused by either compensation of differently directed effects across sites or by legacy effects of former fertilization constraining the relevance of actual practices. We conclude that variables controlling P-mic or C-mic in soil differ in part and that regional differences in controlling variables are more important for P-mic in soil than those induced by management.}, language = {en} } @article{SchallGossnerHeinrichsetal.2017, author = {Schall, Peter and Gossner, Martin M. and Heinrichs, Steffi and Fischer, Markus and Boch, Steffen and Prati, Daniel and Jung, Kirsten and Baumgartner, Vanessa and Blaser, Stefan and B{\"o}hm, Stefan and Buscot, Francois and Daniel, Rolf and Goldmann, Kezia and Kaiser, Kristin and Kahl, Tiemo and Lange, Markus and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg Hans and Overmann, J{\"o}rg and Renner, Swen C. and Schulze, Ernst-Detlef and Sikorski, Johannes and Tschapka, Marco and T{\"u}rke, Manfred and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Wemheuer, Bernd and Wubet, Tesfaye and Ammer, Christian}, title = {The impact of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on regional biodiversity of multiple taxa in European beech forests}, series = {Journal of applied ecology : an official journal of the British Ecological Society}, volume = {55}, journal = {Journal of applied ecology : an official journal of the British Ecological Society}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0021-8901}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.12950}, pages = {267 -- 278}, year = {2017}, abstract = {1. For managed temperate forests, conservationists and policymakers favour fine-grained uneven-aged (UEA) management over more traditional coarse-grained even-aged (EA) management, based on the assumption that within-stand habitat heterogeneity enhances biodiversity. There is, however, little empirical evidence to support this assumption. We investigated for the first time how differently grained forest management systems affect the biodiversity of multiple above- and below-ground taxa across spatial scales. 2. We sampled 15 taxa of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria within the largest contiguous beech forest landscape of Germany and classified them into functional groups. Selected forest stands have been managed for more than a century at different spatial grains. The EA (coarse-grained management) and UEA (fine-grained) forests are comparable in spatial arrangement, climate and soil conditions. These were compared to forests of a nearby national park that have been unmanaged for at least 20years. We used diversity accumulation curves to compare -diversity for Hill numbers D-0 (species richness), D-1 (Shannon diversity) and D-2 (Simpson diversity) between the management systems. Beta diversity was quantified as multiple-site dissimilarity. 3. Gamma diversity was higher in EA than in UEA forests for at least one of the three Hill numbers for six taxa (up to 77\%), while eight showed no difference. Only bacteria showed the opposite pattern. Higher -diversity in EA forests was also found for forest specialists and saproxylic beetles. 4. Between-stand -diversity was higher in EA than in UEA forests for one-third (all species) and half (forest specialists) of all taxa, driven by environmental heterogeneity between age-classes, while -diversity showed no directional response across taxa or for forest specialists. 5. Synthesis and applications. Comparing EA and uneven-aged forest management in Central European beech forests, our results show that a mosaic of different age-classes is more important for regional biodiversity than high within-stand heterogeneity. We suggest reconsidering the current trend of replacing even-aged management in temperate forests. Instead, the variability of stages and stand structures should be increased to promote landscape-scale biodiversity.}, language = {en} } @article{PenoneAllanSoliveresetal.2019, author = {Penone, Caterina and Allan, Eric and Soliveres, Santiago and Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. and Gossner, Martin M. and Seibold, Sebastian and Simons, Nadja K. and Schall, Peter and van der Plas, Fons and Manning, Peter and Manzanedo, Ruben D. and Boch, Steffen and Prati, Daniel and Ammer, Christian and Bauhus, Juergen and Buscot, Francois and Ehbrecht, Martin and Goldmann, Kezia and Jung, Kirsten and Mueller, Joerg and Mueller, Joerg C. and Pena, Rodica and Polle, Andrea and Renner, Swen C. and Ruess, Liliane and Schoenig, Ingo and Schrumpf, Marion and Solly, Emily F. and Tschapka, Marco and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Wubet, Tesfaye and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Specialisation and diversity of multiple trophic groups are promoted by different forest features}, series = {Ecology letters}, volume = {22}, journal = {Ecology letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1461-023X}, doi = {10.1111/ele.13182}, pages = {170 -- 180}, year = {2019}, abstract = {While forest management strongly influences biodiversity, it remains unclear how the structural and compositional changes caused by management affect different community dimensions (e.g. richness, specialisation, abundance or completeness) and how this differs between taxa. We assessed the effects of nine forest features (representing stand structure, heterogeneity and tree composition) on thirteen above- and belowground trophic groups of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria in 150 temperate forest plots differing in their management type. Canopy cover decreased light resources, which increased community specialisation but reduced overall diversity and abundance. Features increasing resource types and diversifying microhabitats (admixing of oaks and conifers) were important and mostly affected richness. Belowground groups responded differently to those aboveground and had weaker responses to most forest features. Our results show that we need to consider forest features rather than broad management types and highlight the importance of considering several groups and community dimensions to better inform conservation.}, language = {en} } @article{HeroldSchoeningGutknechtetal.2014, author = {Herold, Nadine and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Gutknecht, Jessica and Alt, Fabian and Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Oelmann, Yvonne and Socher, Stephanie A. and Wilcke, Wolfgang and Wubet, Tesfaye and Schrumpf, Marion}, title = {Soil property and management effects on grassland microbial communities across a latitudinal gradient in Germany}, series = {Applied soil ecology : a section of agriculture, ecosystems \& environment}, volume = {73}, journal = {Applied soil ecology : a section of agriculture, ecosystems \& environment}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0929-1393}, doi = {10.1016/j.apsoil.2013.07.009}, pages = {41 -- 50}, year = {2014}, abstract = {There is much interest in the identification of the main drivers controlling changes in the microbial community that may be related to sustainable land use. We examined the influence of soil properties and land-use intensity (N fertilization, mowing, grazing) on total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomass, microbial community composition (PLFA profiles) and activities of enzymes involved in the C, N, and P cycle. These relationships were examined in the topsoil of grasslands from three German regions (Schorfheide-Chorin (SCH), Hainich-Dun (HAI), Schwabische Alb (ALB)) with different parent material. Differences in soil properties explained 60\% of variation in PLFA data and 81\% of variation in enzyme activities across regions and land-use intensities. Degraded peat soils in the lowland areas of the SCH with high organic carbon (OC) concentrations and sand content contained lower PLFA biomass, lower concentrations of bacterial, fungal, and arbuscular mycorrhizal PLFAs, but greater enzyme activities, and specific enzyme activities (per unit microbial biomass) than mineral soils in the upland areas of the HAI and ALB, which are finer textured, drier, and have smaller OC concentrations. After extraction of variation that originated from large-scale differences among regions and differences in land-use intensities between plots, soil properties still explained a significant amount of variation in PLFA data (34\%) and enzyme activities (60\%). Total PLFA biomass and all enzyme activities were mainly related to OC concentration, while relative abundance of fungi and fungal to bacterial ratio were mainly related to soil moisture. Land-use intensity (LUI) significantly decreased the soil C:N ratio. There was no direct effect of LUI on total PLFA biomass, microbial community composition, N and P cycling enzyme activities independent of study region and soil properties. In contrast, the activities and specific activities of enzymes involved in the C cycle increased significantly with LUI independent of study region and soil properties, which can have impact on soil organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Our findings demonstrate that microbial biomass and community composition as well as enzyme activities are more controlled by soil properties than by grassland management at the regional scale.}, language = {en} } @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{SimonsGossnerLewinsohnetal.2014, author = {Simons, Nadja K. and Gossner, Martin M. and Lewinsohn, Thomas M. and Boch, Steffen and Lange, Markus and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Pasalic, Esther and Socher, Stephanie A. and T{\"u}rke, Manfred and Fischer, Markus and Weisser, Wolfgang W.}, title = {Resource-mediated indirect effects of grassland management on arthropod diversity}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {9}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {9}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0107033}, pages = {12}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Intensive land use is a driving force for biodiversity decline in many ecosystems. In semi-natural grasslands, land-use activities such as mowing, grazing and fertilization affect the diversity of plants and arthropods, but the combined effects of different drivers and the chain of effects are largely unknown. In this study we used structural equation modelling to analyse how the arthropod communities in managed grasslands respond to land use and whether these responses are mediated through changes in resource diversity or resource quantity (biomass). Plants were considered resources for herbivores which themselves were considered resources for predators. Plant and arthropod (herbivores and predators) communities were sampled on 141 meadows, pastures and mown pastures within three regions in Germany in 2008 and 2009. Increasing land-use intensity generally increased plant biomass and decreased plant diversity, mainly through increasing fertilization. Herbivore diversity decreased together with plant diversity but showed no response to changes in plant biomass. Hence, land-use effects on herbivore diversity were mediated through resource diversity rather than quantity. Land-use effects on predator diversity were mediated by both herbivore diversity (resource diversity) and herbivore quantity (herbivore biomass), but indirect effects through resource quantity were stronger. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing both direct and indirect effects of land-use intensity and mode on different trophic levels. In addition to the overall effects, there were subtle differences between the different regions, pointing to the importance of regional land-use specificities. Our study underlines the commonly observed strong effect of grassland land use on biodiversity. It also highlights that mechanistic approaches help us to understand how different land-use modes affect biodiversity.}, language = {en} } @article{BuschKlausPenoneetal.2017, author = {Busch, Verena and Klaus, Valentin H. and Penone, Caterina and Sch{\"a}fer, Deborah and Boch, Steffen and Prati, Daniel and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Socher, Stephanie A. and Niinemets, {\"U}lo and Penuelas, Josep and H{\"o}lzel, Norbert and Fischer, Markus and Kleinebecker, Till}, title = {Nutrient stoichiometry and land use rather than species richness determine plant functional diversity}, series = {Ecology and evolution}, volume = {8}, journal = {Ecology and evolution}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.3609}, pages = {601 -- 616}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Plant functional traits reflect individual and community ecological strategies. They allow the detection of directional changes in community dynamics and ecosystemic processes, being an additional tool to assess biodiversity than species richness. Analysis of functional patterns in plant communities provides mechanistic insight into biodiversity alterations due to anthropogenic activity. Although studies have consi-dered of either anthropogenic management or nutrient availability on functional traits in temperate grasslands, studies combining effects of both drivers are scarce. Here, we assessed the impacts of management intensity (fertilization, mowing, grazing), nutrient stoichiometry (C, N, P, K), and vegetation composition on community-weighted means (CWMs) and functional diversity (Rao's Q) from seven plant traits in 150 grasslands in three regions in Germany, using data of 6 years. Land use and nutrient stoichiometry accounted for larger proportions of model variance of CWM and Rao's Q than species richness and productivity. Grazing affected all analyzed trait groups; fertilization and mowing only impacted generative traits. Grazing was clearly associated with nutrient retention strategies, that is, investing in durable structures and production of fewer, less variable seed. Phenological variability was increased. Fertilization and mowing decreased seed number/mass variability, indicating competition-related effects. Impacts of nutrient stoichiometry on trait syndromes varied. Nutrient limitation (large N:P, C:N ratios) promoted species with conservative strategies, that is, investment in durable plant structures rather than fast growth, fewer seed, and delayed flowering onset. In contrast to seed mass, leaf-economics variability was reduced under P shortage. Species diversity was positively associated with the variability of generative traits. Synthesis. Here, land use, nutrient availability, species richness, and plant functional strategies have been shown to interact complexly, driving community composition, and vegetation responses to management intensity. We suggest that deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms shaping community assembly and biodiversity will require analyzing all these parameters.}, language = {en} } @article{KlausKleinebeckerHoelzeletal.2011, author = {Klaus, Valentin H. and Kleinebecker, Till and Hoelzel, Norbert and Bluethgen, Nico and Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Socher, Stephanie A. and Prati, Daniel and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Nutrient concentrations and fibre contents of plant community biomass reflect species richness patterns along a broad range of land-use intensities among agricultural grasslands}, series = {Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics}, volume = {13}, journal = {Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics}, number = {4}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {1433-8319}, doi = {10.1016/j.ppees.2011.07.001}, pages = {287 -- 295}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Understanding changes in biodiversity in agricultural landscapes in relation to land-use type and intensity is a major issue in current ecological research. In this context nutrient enrichment has been identified as a key mechanism inducing species loss in Central European grassland ecosystems. At the same time, insights into the linkage between agricultural land use and plant nutrient status are largely missing. So far, studies on the relationship between chemical composition of plant community biomass and biodiversity have mainly been restricted to wetlands and all these studies neglected the effects of land use. Therefore, we analyzed aboveground biomass of 145 grassland plots covering a gradient of land-use intensities in three regions across Germany. In particular, we explored relationships between vascular plant species richness and nutrient concentrations as well as fibre contents (neutral and acid detergent fibre and lignin) in the aboveground community biomass. We found the concentrations of several nutrients in the biomass to be closely linked to plant species richness and land use. Whereas phosphorus concentrations increased with land-use intensity and decreased with plant species richness, nitrogen and potassium concentrations showed less clear patterns. Fibre fractions were negatively related to nutrient concentrations in biomass, but hardly to land-use measures and species richness. Only high lignin contents were positively associated with species richness of grasslands. The N:P ratio was strongly positively related to species richness and even more so to the number of endangered plant species, indicating a higher persistence of endangered species under P (co-)limited conditions. Therefore, we stress the importance of low P supply for species-rich grasslands and suggest the N:P ratio in community biomass to be a useful proxy of the conservation value of agriculturally used grasslands.}, language = {en} } @article{KlausKleinebeckerBochetal.2012, author = {Klaus, Valentin H. and Kleinebecker, Till and Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Socher, Stephanie A. and Prati, Daniel and Fischer, Markus and Hoelzel, Norbert}, title = {NIRS meets Ellenberg's indicator values prediction of moisture and nitrogen values of agricultural grassland vegetation by means of near-infrared spectral characteristics}, series = {Ecological indicators : integrating monitoring, assessment and management}, volume = {14}, journal = {Ecological indicators : integrating monitoring, assessment and management}, number = {1}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1470-160X}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.07.016}, pages = {82 -- 86}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Ellenberg indicator values are widely used ecological tools to elucidate relationships between vegetation and environment in ecological research and environmental planning. However, they are mainly deduced from expert knowledge on plant species and are thus subject of ongoing discussion. We researched if Ellenberg indicator values can be directly extracted from the vegetation biomass itself. Mean Ellenberg "moisture" (mF) and "nitrogen" (mN) values of 141 grassland plots were related to nutrient concentrations, fibre fractions and spectral information of the aboveground biomass. We developed calibration models for the prediction of mF and mN using spectral characteristics of biomass samples with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). Prediction goodness was evaluated with internal cross-validations and with an external validation data set. NIRS could accurately predict Ellenberg mN, and with less accuracy Ellenberg mF. Predictions were not more precise for cover-weighted Ellenberg values compared with un-weighted values. Both Ellenberg mN and mF showed significant and strong correlations with some of the nutrient and fibre concentrations in the biomass. Against expectations, Ellenberg mN was more closely related to phosphorus than to nitrogen concentrations, suggesting that this value rather indicates productivity than solely nitrogen. To our knowledge we showed for the first time that mean Ellenberg indicator values could be directly predicted from the aboveground biomass, which underlines the usefulness of the NIRS technology for ecological studies, especially in grasslands ecosystems.}, language = {en} } @article{SollySchoeningBochetal.2013, author = {Solly, Emily and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Boch, Steffen and Mueller, J. and Socher, S. A. and Trumbore, S. E. and Schrumpf, M.}, title = {Mean age of carbon in fine roots from temperate forests and grasslands with different management}, series = {Biogeosciences}, volume = {10}, journal = {Biogeosciences}, number = {7}, publisher = {Copernicus}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1726-4170}, doi = {10.5194/bg-10-4833-2013}, pages = {4833 -- 4843}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Fine roots are the most dynamic portion of a plant's root system and a major source of soil organic matter. By altering plant species diversity and composition, soil conditions and nutrient availability, and consequently belowground allocation and dynamics of root carbon (C) inputs, land-use and management changes may influence organic C storage in terrestrial ecosystems. In three German regions, we measured fine root radiocarbon (C-14) content to estimate the mean time since C in root tissues was fixed from the atmosphere in 54 grassland and forest plots with different management and soil conditions. Although root biomass was on average greater in grasslands 5.1 +/- 0.8 g (mean +/- SE, n = 27) than in forests 3.1 +/- 0.5 g (n = 27) (p < 0.05), the mean age of C in fine roots in forests averaged 11.3 +/- 1.8 yr and was older and more variable compared to grasslands 1.7 +/- 0.4 yr (p < 0.001). We further found that management affects the mean age of fine root C in temperate grasslands mediated by changes in plant species diversity and composition. Fine root mean C age is positively correlated with plant diversity (r = 0.65) and with the number of perennial species (r = 0.77). Fine root mean C age in grasslands was also affected by study region with averages of 0.7 +/- 0.1 yr (n= 9) on mostly organic soils in northern Germany and of 1.8 +/- 0.3 yr (n = 9) and 2.6 +/- 0.3 (n = 9) in central and southern Germany (p < 0.05). This was probably due to differences in soil nutrient contents and soil moisture conditions between study regions, which affected plant species diversity and the presence of perennial species. Our results indicate more long-lived roots or internal redistribution of C in perennial species and suggest linkages between fine root C age and management in grasslands. These findings improve our ability to predict and model belowground C fluxes across broader spatial scales.}, language = {en} } @article{BochMuellerPratietal.2018, author = {Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Prati, Daniel and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands}, series = {Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft}, journal = {Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft}, number = {38}, publisher = {Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {0722-494X}, doi = {10.14471/2018.38.014}, pages = {311 -- 328}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Bryophytes constitute an important and permanent component of the grassland flora and diversity in Europe. As most bryophyte species are sensitive to habitat change, their diversity is likely to decline following land-use intensification. Most previous studies on bryophyte diversity focused on specific habitats of high bryophyte diversity, such as bogs, montane grasslands, or calcareous dry grasslands. In contrast, mesic grasslands are rarely studied, although they are the most common grassland habitat in Europe. They are secondary vegetation, maintained by agricultural use and thus, are influenced by different forms of land use. We studied bryophyte species richness in three regions in Germany, in 707 plots of 16 m(2) representing different land-use types and environmental conditions. Our study is one of the few to inspect the relationships between bryophyte richness and land use across contrasting regions and using a high number of replicates. Among the managed grasslands, pastures harboured 2.5 times more bryophyte species than meadows and mown pastures. Similarly, bryophyte cover was about twice as high in fallows and pastures than in meadows and mown pastures. Among the pastures, bryophyte species richness was about three times higher in sheep grazed plots than in the ones grazed by cattle or horses. In general, bryophyte species richness and cover was more than 50\% lower in fertilized than in unfertilized plots. Moreover, the amount of suitable substrates was linked to bryophyte diversity. Species richness of bryophytes growing on stones increased with stone cover, and the one of bryophytes growing on bark and deadwood increased with larger values of woody plant species and deadwood cover. Our findings highlight the importance of low-intensity land use and high structural heterogeneity for bryophyte conservation. They also caution against an intensification of traditionally managed pastures. In the light of our results, we recommend to maintain low-intensity sheep grazing on sites with low productivity, such as slopes on shallow soils.}, language = {en} } @article{SoliveresManningPratietal.2016, author = {Soliveres, Santiago and Manning, Peter and Prati, Daniel and Gossner, Martin M. and Alt, Fabian and Arndt, Hartmut and Baumgartner, Vanessa and Binkenstein, Julia and Birkhofer, Klaus and Blaser, Stefan and Bluethgen, Nico and Boch, Steffen and Boehm, Stefan and Boerschig, Carmen and Buscot, Francois and Diekoetter, Tim and Heinze, Johannes and Hoelzel, Norbert and Jung, Kirsten and Klaus, Valentin H. and Klein, Alexandra-Maria and Kleinebecker, Till and Klemmer, Sandra and Krauss, Jochen and Lange, Markus and Morris, E. Kathryn and Mueller, Joerg and Oelmann, Yvonne and Overmann, J{\"o}rg and Pasalic, Esther and Renner, Swen C. and Rillig, Matthias C. and Schaefer, H. Martin and Schloter, Michael and Schmitt, Barbara and Schoening, Ingo and Schrumpf, Marion and Sikorski, Johannes and Socher, Stephanie A. and Solly, Emily F. and Sonnemann, Ilja and Sorkau, Elisabeth and Steckel, Juliane and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Stempfhuber, Barbara and Tschapka, Marco and Tuerke, Manfred and Venter, Paul and Weiner, Christiane N. and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Werner, Michael and Westphal, Catrin and Wilcke, Wolfgang and Wolters, Volkmar and Wubet, Tesfaye and Wurst, Susanne and Fischer, Markus and Allan, Eric}, title = {Locally rare species influence grassland ecosystem multifunctionality}, series = {Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London : B, Biological sciences}, volume = {371}, journal = {Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London : B, Biological sciences}, publisher = {Royal Society}, address = {London}, issn = {0962-8436}, doi = {10.1098/rstb.2015.0269}, pages = {3175 -- 3185}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Species diversity promotes the delivery of multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). However, the relative functional importance of rare and common species in driving the biodiversity multifunctionality relationship remains unknown. We studied the relationship between the diversity of rare and common species (according to their local abundances and across nine different trophic groups), and multifunctionality indices derived from 14 ecosystem functions on 150 grasslands across a land use intensity (LUI) gradient. The diversity of above- and below-ground rare species had opposite effects, with rare above-ground species being associated with high levels of multifunctionality, probably because their effects on different functions did not trade off against each other. Conversely, common species were only related to average, not high, levels of multifunctionality, and their functional effects declined with LUI. Apart from the community level effects of diversity, we found significant positive associations between the abundance of individual species and multifunctionality in 6\% of the species tested. Species specific functional effects were best predicted by their response to LUI: species that declined in abundance with land use intensification were those associated with higher levels of multifunctionality. Our results highlight the importance of rare species for ecosystem multifunctionality and help guiding future conservation priorities.}, language = {en} } @article{MarcusBochDurkaetal.2015, author = {Marcus, Tamar and Boch, Steffen and Durka, Walter and Fischer, Markus and Gossner, Martin M. and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Drees, Claudia and Assmann, Thorsten}, title = {Living in Heterogeneous Woodlands - Are Habitat Continuity or Quality Drivers of Genetic Variability in a Flightless Ground Beetle?}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {10}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {12}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0144217}, pages = {18}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Although genetic diversity is one of the key components of biodiversity, its drivers are still not fully understood. While it is known that genetic diversity is affected both by environmental parameters as well as habitat history, these factors are not often tested together. Therefore, we analyzed 14 microsatellite loci in Abax parallelepipedus, a flightless, forest dwelling ground beetle, from 88 plots in two study regions in Germany. We modeled the effects of historical and environmental variables on allelic richness, and found for one of the regions, the Schorfheide-Chorin, a significant effect of the depth of the litter layer, which is a main component of habitat quality, and of the sampling effort, which serves as an inverse proxy for local population size. For the other region, the Schwabische Alb, none of the potential drivers showed a significant effect on allelic richness. We conclude that the genetic diversity in our study species is being driven by current local population sizes via environmental variables and not by historical processes in the studied regions. This is also supported by lack of genetic differentiation between local populations sampled from ancient and from recent woodlands. We suggest that the potential effects of former fragmentation and recolonization processes have been mitigated by the large and stable local populations of Abax parallelepipedus in combination with the proximity of the ancient and recent woodlands in the studied landscapes.}, language = {en} } @article{HeinrichsAmmerMundetal.2019, author = {Heinrichs, Steffi and Ammer, Christian and Mund, Martina and Boch, Steffen and Budde, Sabine and Fischer, Markus and Mueller, Joerg and Schoening, Ingo and Schulze, Ernst-Detlef and Schmidt, Wolfgang and Weckesser, Martin and Schall, Peter}, title = {Landscape-Scale Mixtures of Tree Species are More Effective than Stand-Scale Mixtures for Biodiversity of Vascular Plants, Bryophytes and Lichens}, series = {Forests}, volume = {10}, journal = {Forests}, number = {1}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1999-4907}, doi = {10.3390/f10010073}, pages = {34}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Tree species diversity can positively affect the multifunctionality of forests. This is why conifer monocultures of Scots pine and Norway spruce, widely promoted in Central Europe since the 18th and 19th century, are currently converted into mixed stands with naturally dominant European beech. Biodiversity is expected to benefit from these mixtures compared to pure conifer stands due to increased abiotic and biotic resource heterogeneity. Evidence for this assumption is, however, largely lacking. Here, we investigated the diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens at the plot (alpha diversity) and at the landscape (gamma diversity) level in pure and mixed stands of European beech and conifer species (Scots pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir) in four regions in Germany. We aimed to identify compositions of pure and mixed stands in a hypothetical forest landscape that can optimize gamma diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens within regions. Results show that gamma diversity of the investigated groups is highest when a landscape comprises different pure stands rather than tree species mixtures at the stand scale. Species mainly associated with conifers rely on light regimes that are only provided in pure conifer forests, whereas mixtures of beech and conifers are more similar to beech stands. Combining pure beech and pure conifer stands at the landscape scale can increase landscape level biodiversity and conserve species assemblages of both stand types, while landscapes solely composed of stand scale tree species mixtures could lead to a biodiversity reduction of a combination of investigated groups of 7 up to 20\%.}, language = {en} } @article{GossnerLewinsohnKahletal.2016, author = {Gossner, Martin M. and Lewinsohn, Thomas M. and Kahl, Tiemo and Grassein, Fabrice and Boch, Steffen and Prati, Daniel and Birkhofer, Klaus and Renner, Swen C. and Sikorski, Johannes and Wubet, Tesfaye and Arndt, Hartmut and Baumgartner, Vanessa and Blaser, Stefan and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico and B{\"o}rschig, Carmen and Buscot, Francois and Diek{\"o}tter, Tim and Jorge, Leonardo Re and Jung, Kirsten and Keyel, Alexander C. and Klein, Alexandra-Maria and Klemmer, Sandra and Krauss, Jochen and Lange, Markus and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Overmann, J{\"o}rg and Pasalic, Esther and Penone, Caterina and Perovic, David J. and Purschke, Oliver and Schall, Peter and Socher, Stephanie A. and Sonnemann, Ilja and Tschapka, Marco and Tscharntke, Teja and T{\"u}rke, Manfred and Venter, Paul Christiaan and Weiner, Christiane N. and Werner, Michael and Wolters, Volkmar and Wurst, Susanne and Westphal, Catrin and Fischer, Markus and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Allan, Eric}, title = {Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities}, series = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, volume = {540}, journal = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {0028-0836}, doi = {10.1038/nature20575}, pages = {266 -- +}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss(1,2). Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in beta-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (alpha)-diversity(1,3) and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing beta-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above-and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in alpha-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on beta-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in beta-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local alpha-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the alpha-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the alpha-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity loss could prove to be the most substantial consequence of land-use intensification.}, language = {en} } @article{SoliveresMaestreUlrichetal.2015, author = {Soliveres, Santiago and Maestre, Fernando T. and Ulrich, Werner and Manning, Peter and Boch, Steffen and Bowker, Matthew A. and Prati, Daniel and Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel and Quero, Jose L. and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Gallardo, Antonio and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Socher, Stephanie A. and Garcia-Gomez, Miguel and Ochoa, Victoria and Schulze, Ernst-Detlef and Fischer, Markus and Allan, Eric}, title = {Intransitive competition is widespread in plant communities and maintains their species richness}, series = {Ecology letters}, volume = {18}, journal = {Ecology letters}, number = {8}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1461-023X}, doi = {10.1111/ele.12456}, pages = {790 -- 798}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Intransitive competition networks, those in which there is no single best competitor, may ensure species coexistence. However, their frequency and importance in maintaining diversity in real-world ecosystems remain unclear. We used two large data sets from drylands and agricultural grasslands to assess: (1) the generality of intransitive competition, (2) intransitivity-richness relationships and (3) effects of two major drivers of biodiversity loss (aridity and land-use intensification) on intransitivity and species richness. Intransitive competition occurred in >65\% of sites and was associated with higher species richness. Intransitivity increased with aridity, partly buffering its negative effects on diversity, but was decreased by intensive land use, enhancing its negative effects on diversity. These contrasting responses likely arise because intransitivity is promoted by temporal heterogeneity, which is enhanced by aridity but may decline with land-use intensity. We show that intransitivity is widespread in nature and increases diversity, but it can be lost with environmental homogenisation.}, language = {en} } @article{AllanBossdorfDormannetal.2014, author = {Allan, Eric and Bossdorf, Oliver and Dormann, Carsten F. and Prati, Daniel and Gossner, Martin M. and Tscharntke, Teja and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico and Bellach, Michaela and Birkhofer, Klaus and Boch, Steffen and B{\"o}hm, Stefan and B{\"o}rschig, Carmen and Chatzinotas, Antonis and Christ, Sabina and Daniel, Rolf and Diek{\"o}tter, Tim and Fischer, Christiane and Friedl, Thomas and Glaser, Karin and Hallmann, Christine and Hodac, Ladislav and H{\"o}lzel, Norbert and Jung, Kirsten and Klein, Alexandra-Maria and Klaus, Valentin H. and Kleinebecker, Till and Krauss, Jochen and Lange, Markus and Morris, E. Kathryn and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Nacke, Heiko and Pasalic, Esther and Rillig, Matthias C. and Rothenwoehrer, Christoph and Schally, Peter and Scherber, Christoph and Schulze, Waltraud X. and Socher, Stephanie A. and Steckel, Juliane and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and T{\"u}rke, Manfred and Weiner, Christiane N. and Werner, Michael and Westphal, Catrin and Wolters, Volkmar and Wubet, Tesfaye and Gockel, Sonja and Gorke, Martin and Hemp, Andreas and Renner, Swen C. and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Pfeiffer, Simone and K{\"o}nig-Ries, Birgitta and Buscot, Francois and Linsenmair, Karl Eduard and Schulze, Ernst-Detlef and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Interannual variation in land-use intensity enhances grassland multidiversity}, series = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}, volume = {111}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}, number = {1}, publisher = {National Acad. of Sciences}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0027-8424}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1312213111}, pages = {308 -- 313}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Although temporal heterogeneity is a well-accepted driver of biodiversity, effects of interannual variation in land-use intensity (LUI) have not been addressed yet. Additionally, responses to land use can differ greatly among different organisms; therefore, overall effects of land-use on total local biodiversity are hardly known. To test for effects of LUI (quantified as the combined intensity of fertilization, grazing, and mowing) and interannual variation in LUI (SD in LUI across time), we introduce a unique measure of whole-ecosystem biodiversity, multidiversity. This synthesizes individual diversity measures across up to 49 taxonomic groups of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria from 150 grasslands. Multidiversity declined with increasing LUI among grasslands, particularly for rarer species and aboveground organisms, whereas common species and belowground groups were less sensitive. However, a high level of interannual variation in LUI increased overall multidiversity at low LUI and was even more beneficial for rarer species because it slowed the rate at which the multidiversity of rare species declined with increasing LUI. In more intensively managed grasslands, the diversity of rarer species was, on average, 18\% of the maximum diversity across all grasslands when LUI was static over time but increased to 31\% of the maximum when LUI changed maximally over time. In addition to decreasing overall LUI, we suggest varying LUI across years as a complementary strategy to promote biodiversity conservation.}, language = {en} } @article{SocherPratiBochetal.2013, author = {Socher, Stephanie A. and Prati, Daniel and Boch, Steffen and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Baumbach, Henryk and Gockel, Sonja and Hemp, Andreas and Sch{\"o}ning, Ingo and Wells, Konstans and Buscot, Francois and Kalko, Elisabeth K. V. and Linsenmair, Karl Eduard and Schulze, Ernst-Detlef and Weisser, Wolfgang W. and Fischer, Markus}, title = {Interacting effects of fertilization, mowing and grazing on plant species diversity of 1500 grasslands in Germany differ between regions}, series = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, volume = {14}, journal = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, number = {2}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {1439-1791}, doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2012.12.003}, pages = {126 -- 136}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The relationship of different types of grassland use with plant species richness and composition ( functional groups of herbs, legumes, and grasses) has so far been studied at small regional scales or comprising only few components of land use. We comprehensively studied the relationship between abandonment, fertilization, mowing intensity, and grazing by different livestock types on plant diversity and composition of 1514 grassland sites in three regions in North-East, Central and South-West Germany. We further considered environmental site conditions including soil type and topographical situation. Fertilized grasslands showed clearly reduced plant species diversity (-15\% plant species richness, -0.1 Shannon diversity on fertilized grasslands plots of 16m(2)) and changed composition (-3\% proportion of herb species), grazing had the second largest effects and mowing the smallest ones. Among the grazed sites, the ones grazed by sheep had higher than average species richness (+27\%), and the cattle grazed ones lower (-42\%). Further, these general results were strongly modulated by interactions between the different components of land use and by regional context: land-use effects differed largely in size and sometimes even in direction between regions. This highlights the importance of comparing different regions and to involve a large number of plots}, language = {en} }