TY - JOUR A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Markus T1 - Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands JF - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft N2 - 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. T2 - Extensive Landnutzung fördert die Moosdiversität im Grünland KW - biodiversity exploratories KW - competition KW - dry and mesic grasslands KW - grazing KW - fertilization KW - land use KW - liverwort KW - meadow KW - moss KW - pasture Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.14471/2018.38.014 SN - 0722-494X IS - 38 SP - 311 EP - 328 PB - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Markus T1 - Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands T1 - Extensive Landnutzung fördert die Moosdiversität im Grünland T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - 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 m2 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 mead-ows 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1049 KW - biodiversity exploratories KW - competition KW - dry and mesic grasslands KW - grazing KW - fertilization KW - land use KW - liverwort KW - meadow KW - moss KW - pasture Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-460086 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1049 SP - 311 EP - 328 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Köchy, Martin A1 - Wilson, Scott D. T1 - Variation in nitrogen deposition and available soil nitrogen in a forest–grassland ecotone in Canada N2 - Regional variation in nitrogen (N) deposition increases plant productivity and decreases species diversity, but landscape- or local-scale influences on N deposition are less well-known. Using ion-exchange resin, we measured variation of N deposition and soil N availability within Elk Island National Park in the ecotone between grassland and boreal forest in western Canada. The park receives regionally high amounts of atmospheric N deposition (22 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). N deposition was on average higher ton clayrich luvisols than on brunisols, and areas burned 1 – 15 years previously received more atmospheric N than unburned sites. We suggest that the effects of previous fires and soil type on deposition rate act through differences in canopy structure. The magnitude of these effects varied with the presence of ungulate grazers (bison, moose, elk) and vegetation type (forest, shrubland, grassland). Available soil N (ammonium and nitrate) was higher in burned than unburned sites in the absence of grazing, suggesting an effect of deposition. On grazed sites, differences between fire treatments were small, presumably because the removal of biomass by grazers reduced the effect of fire. Aspen invades native grassland in this region, and our results suggest that fire without grazing might reinforce the expansion of forest into grassland facilitated by N deposition. KW - fire KW - grazing KW - vegetation type KW - soil type KW - shrubland KW - forest invasion KW - subboreal KW - aspen parkland KW - Canada Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5768 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Manning, Pete A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Bossdorf, Oliver A1 - Allan, Eric A1 - Zhang, Yuan-Ye A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Blüthgen, Nico A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Böhm, Stefan A1 - Börschig, Carmen A1 - Hölzel, Norbert A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Klein, Alexandra Maria A1 - Kleinebecker, Till A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Lange, Markus A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Pasalic, Esther A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Tschapka, Marco A1 - Türke, Manfred A1 - Weiner, Christiane A1 - Werner, Michael A1 - Gockel, Sonja A1 - Hemp, Andreas A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Wells, Konstans A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Kalko, Elisabeth K. V. A1 - Linsenmair, Karl Eduard A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Fischer, Markus T1 - Grassland management intensification weakens the associations among the diversities of multiple plant and animal taxa JF - Ecology : a publication of the Ecological Society of America N2 - Land-use intensification is a key driver of biodiversity change. However, little is known about how it alters relationships between the diversities of different taxonomic groups, which are often correlated due to shared environmental drivers and trophic interactions. Using data from 150 grassland sites, we examined how land-use intensification (increased fertilization, higher livestock densities, and increased mowing frequency) altered correlations between the species richness of 15 plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate taxa. We found that 54% of pairwise correlations between taxonomic groups were significant and positive among all grasslands, while only one was negative. Higher land-use intensity substantially weakened these correlations(35% decrease in rand 43% fewer significant pairwise correlations at high intensity), a pattern which may emerge as a result of biodiversity declines and the breakdown of specialized relationships in these conditions. Nevertheless, some groups (Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera) were consistently correlated with multidiversity, an aggregate measure of total biodiversity comprised of the standardized diversities of multiple taxa, at both high and lowland-use intensity. The form of intensification was also important; increased fertilization and mowing frequency typically weakened plant-plant and plant-primary consumer correlations, whereas grazing intensification did not. This may reflect decreased habitat heterogeneity under mowing and fertilization and increased habitat heterogeneity under grazing. While these results urge caution in using certain taxonomic groups to monitor impacts of agricultural management on biodiversity, they also suggest that the diversities of some groups are reasonably robust indicators of total biodiversity across a range of conditions. KW - Biodiversity indicators KW - correlation KW - fertilization KW - grassland management KW - grazing KW - land-use change KW - land-use intensity KW - mowing KW - multidiversity KW - multitrophic interactions Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1307.1 SN - 0012-9658 SN - 1939-9170 VL - 96 IS - 6 SP - 1492 EP - 1501 PB - Wiley CY - Washington ER - TY - THES A1 - Mathaj, Martin T1 - Modellierung von Vegetationsentwicklung und Erosion entlang eines Klimagradienten von mediterran bis semiarid T1 - Modeling of vegetation growth and erosion along a climate gradient from Mediterranean to semiarid N2 - In dieser Arbeit wurde ein Modell mit einem gitterbasierten Ansatz entwickelt, um im Mediterranen entlang eines Klimagradienten Auswirkungen zu untersuchen, die Klima, Exposition, Hangneigung sowie Störungen durch Feuer und Beweidung auf die Vegetations und Erosionsentwicklung besitzen. Für die Fragestellung wurden Vegetationsalgorithmen benutzt. In dieser Studie verwendet wurden allgemeine Oberflächenprozesse, wie Wasser- und Sedimenttransport, die durch physikalische und empirische Modelle beschrieben worden sind. Des Weiteren wurde ein Sedimentverlust mit Hilfe der USLE kalkuliert, um ein Vergleich zwischen verschiedenen Erosionsansätzen herzustellen. Die Vegetationsentwicklung und Erosion der mediterranen Gebiete konnte mit diesem Modell gut abgebildet werden. Für die Vegetation der verschiedenen Klimagebiete und Habitate erwiesen sich die Wasserverfügbarkeit und die Infiltrationsrate als maßgeblich. Die Erosion wurde vor allem durch einzelne heftige Niederschlagsereignisse beeinflusst. Dabei war vor allem am Hang und an steilen Neigungen ein hohes Erosionspotential gegeben. Störungen durch Beweidung wirkten negativ auf die Vegetation und verstärkten die Erosion. Feuer beeinflusste die Vegetations- und Erosionsentwicklung nur geringfügig und ist somit zu vernachlässigen. Verschiedene Böden mit unterschiedlichen Texturen wiesen ein sehr unterschiedliches Erosionsverhalten auf. Dabei wiesen mittlere Korndurchmesser des Oberbodens von 0,02 bis 0,2 mm die höchste Erosion auf. Die Vegetationsentwicklung wurde hingegen von der Bodentextur nicht beeinflust. Der Vergleich der Erosion berechnet durch die USLE und den Transportratenansatz verdeutlichte, dass die mittlere Erosion sehr ähnlich ausfällt. Die USLE wies weniger Variabilität in der Erosion auf und benötigte zudem recht detaillierte Bodendaten. Der Ansatz gerade für die Erosionsberechnung in Form der Transportrate zeigte ein gutes Vorhersagepotential auf. In sehr variablen Umwelten ist diese Methode gegenüber konservativen Erosionsmodellen zu bevorzugen, da interanuelle Dynamiken miterfasst werden, wie der Vergleich mit der USLE in der Studie gezeigt hatte. Mit Hilfe des Ansatzes der Transportrate besteht die Möglichkeit, Vorhersagen über Erosion ökonomisch und effizient zu gestalten. N2 - This study investigates by a grid based model in the Mediterranean sites along a climate gradient from arid to mesic Mediterranean the effects of climate, exposition, gradient as well as disturbances by fire and grazing/browsing to the vegetation and erosion development. The vegetation algorithms are basing on Köchy (2006) and Malkinson and Jeltsch (2007). The surface processes like runoff and soil transport will be determined by physical and empirical models from Manning, Shields, Strickler and van Rijn. Furthermore the universal soil loss equation - USLE - (Wischmeier and Smith, 1978) was used to compare the different approaches with each other. The model was able to indicate the Vegetation and erosion development in the Mediterranean well. Thereby the infiltration rate and the water availability were the most important parameter for the vegetation development. However the erosion was mainly influenced by heavy precipitation events. Disturbances by grazing/browsing were negative for the vegetation cover and increase the erosion. The comparison of the erosion calculated by the USLE clarify at mean similar erosion rates, but the USLE was not able to demonstrate the intra annual variability. The approach to calculate the erosion by physical and empirical models display a good prediction especially in variable environments. KW - Beweidung KW - Hangneigung KW - Korngröße KW - Erosion KW - erosion KW - grazing KW - slope KW - grain size Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-27863 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Munjonji, Lawrence A1 - Ayisi, Kingsley Kwabena A1 - Mudongo, Edwin I. A1 - Mafeo, Tieho Paulus A1 - Behn, Kai A1 - Mokoka, Malesela Vincent A1 - Linstädter, Anja T1 - Disentangling drought and grazing effects on soil carbon stocks and CO2 fluxes in a semi-arid African Savanna JF - Frontiers in Environmental Science N2 - Grasslands cover ca. 30% of the global land surface and provide critical ecosystem services. Among them, carbon storage is one of the most important. However, grasslands are increasingly threatened by drought and overgrazing which might negatively affect soil carbon stocks. Despite this threat, there is a dearth of information on how drought and grazing jointly impact soil carbon stocks and CO2 fluxes in dryland grasslands. With the aid of a large field experiment, we studied the combined effects of a 5-year extreme drought and moderate grazing on soil carbon stocks, CO2 fluxes and soil chemical properties. Extreme drought was induced by reducing ambient rainfall by 66% using large rainout shelters. We found CO2 fluxes to strongly respond to the 5-year experimental drought. Extreme drought reduced CO2 emission rates by 32% compared to ambient conditions. CO2 fluxes averaged 5.7 mg m(-2)min(-1) under drought compared to 8.3 mg m(-2) min(-1) under ambient conditions. CO2 fluxes were, however, not influenced by grazing. At the end of the growth period, grazed plots under ambient rainfall had released 16.3 tons of CO2 ha(-1) which was 58% higher than observed on grazed plots subjected to severe drought. Soil carbon stocks were higher under drought conditions due to slower decomposition rates. Drought resulted in increased concentrations of primary macronutrients (N, P, and K), micronutrients (Zn and Mn) and pH in the top 30 cm of the soil relative to ambient conditions. The results also showed that grazing reduced the concentration of N and P in the topsoil compared to the ungrazed plots. This study provided insights on the soil carbon storage, CO2 emission rates and nutrient dynamics in a semi-arid dryland grassland as influenced by both drought and grazing. Our study also revealed that long-term extreme drought may be favorable in terms of preserving the existing soil carbon stocks through reduced CO2 release. This finding is critical for understanding future soil carbon dynamics in dryland grasslands in the face of climate change. KW - C stocks KW - CO2 flux KW - drought KW - dryland grasslands KW - grazing Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.590665 SN - 2296-665X VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rocha, Marcia R. A1 - Gaedke, Ursula A1 - Vasseur, David A. T1 - Functionally similar species have similar dynamics JF - The journal of ecology N2 - 1. Improving the mechanistic basis of biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships requires a better understanding of how functional traits drive the dynamics of populations. For example, environmental disturbances or grazing may increase synchronization of functionally similar species, whereas functionally different species may show independent dynamics, because of different responses to the environment. Competition for resources, on the other hand, may yield a wide range of dynamic patterns among competitors and lead functionally similar and different species to display synchronized to compensatory dynamics. The mixed effect of these forces will influence the temporal fluctuations of populations and, thus, the variability of aggregate community properties. 2. To search for a relationship between functional and dynamics similarity, we studied the relationship between functional trait similarity and temporal dynamics similarity for 36 morphotypes of phytoplankton using long-term high-frequency measurements. 3. Our results show that functionally similar morphotypes exhibit dynamics that are more synchronized than those of functionally dissimilar ones. Functionally dissimilar morphotypes predominantly display independent temporal dynamics. This pattern is especially strong when short time-scales are considered. 4. Negative correlations are present among both functionally similar and dissimilar phytoplankton morphotypes, but are rarer and weaker than positive ones over all temporal scales. 5. Synthesis. We demonstrate that diversity in functional traits decreases community variability and ecosystem-level properties by decoupling the dynamics of individual morphotypes. KW - compensatory dynamics KW - competition KW - environmental forcing KW - functional diversity KW - functional traits KW - grazing KW - phytoplankton KW - plant population and community dynamics KW - synchrony KW - temporal dynamics Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01893.x SN - 0022-0477 VL - 99 IS - 6 SP - 1453 EP - 1459 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sommer, Ulrich A1 - Adrian, Rita A1 - Domis, Lisette Nicole de Senerpont A1 - Elser, James J. A1 - Gaedke, Ursula A1 - Ibelings, Bas A1 - Jeppesen, Erik A1 - Lurling, Miquel A1 - Molinero, Juan Carlos A1 - Mooij, Wolf M. A1 - van Donk, Ellen A1 - Winder, Monika ED - Futuyma, DJ T1 - Beyond the Plankton Ecology Group (PEG) Model mechanisms driving plankton succession JF - Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics JF - Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics N2 - The seasonal succession of plankton is an annually repeated process of community assembly during which all major external factors and internal interactions shaping communities can be studied. A quarter of a century ago, the state of this understanding was described by the verbal plankton ecology group (PEG) model. It emphasized the role of physical factors, grazing and nutrient limitation for phytoplankton, and the role of food limitation and fish predation for zooplankton. Although originally targeted at lake ecosystems, it was also adopted by marine plankton ecologists. Since then, a suite of ecological interactions previously underestimated in importance have become research foci: overwintering of key organisms, the microbial food web, parasitism, and food quality as a limiting factor and an extended role of higher order predators. A review of the impact of these novel interactions on plankton seasonal succession reveals limited effects on gross seasonal biomass patterns, but strong effects on species replacements. KW - lakes KW - oceans KW - seasonal patterns KW - pelagic zone KW - light KW - overwintering KW - grazing KW - parasitism KW - food quality Y1 - 2012 SN - 978-0-8243-1443-9 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110411-160251 SN - 1543-592X VL - 43 IS - 2-4 SP - 429 EP - 448 PB - Annual Reviews CY - Palo Alto ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stanton, Richard A. A1 - Boone, Wesley W. A1 - Soto-Shoender, Jose A1 - Fletcher, Robert J. A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - McCleery, Robert A. T1 - Shrub encroachment and vertebrate diversity BT - a global meta-analysis JF - Global ecology and biogeography : a journal of macroecology N2 - Aim: Across the planet, grass-dominated biomes are experiencing shrub encroachment driven by atmospheric CO2 enrichment and land-use change. By altering resource structure and availability, shrub encroachment may have important impacts on vertebrate communities. We sought to determine the magnitude and variability of these effects across climatic gradients, continents, and taxa, and to learn whether shrub thinning restores the structure of vertebrate communities. Location: Worldwide. Time period: Contemporary. Major taxa studied: Terrestrial vertebrates. Methods: We estimated relationships between percentage shrub cover and the structure of terrestrial vertebrate communities (species richness, Shannon diversity and community abundance) in experimentally thinned and unmanipulated shrub-encroached grass-dominated biomes using systematic review and meta-analyses of 43 studies published from 1978 to 2016. We modelled the effects of continent, biome, mean annual precipitation, net primary productivity and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on the relationship between shrub cover and vertebrate community structure. Results: Species richness, Shannon diversity and total abundance had no consistent relationship with shrub encroachment and experimental thinning did not reverse encroachment effects on vertebrate communities. However, some effects of shrub encroachment on vertebrate communities differed with net primary productivity, amongst vertebrate groups, and across continents. Encroachment had negative effects on vertebrate diversity at low net primary productivity. Mammalian and herpetofaunal diversity decreased with shrub encroachment. Shrub encroachment also had negative effects on species richness and total abundance in Africa but positive effects in North America. Main conclusions: Biodiversity conservation and mitigation efforts responding to shrub encroachment should focus on low-productivity locations, on mammals and herpetofauna, and in Africa. However, targeted research in neglected regions such as central Asia and India will be needed to fill important gaps in our knowledge of shrub encroachment effects on vertebrates. Additionally, our findings provide an impetus for determining the mechanisms associated with changes in vertebrate diversity and abundance in shrub-encroached grass-dominated biomes. KW - biodiversity KW - global change KW - grasslands KW - grazing KW - pastoral abandonment KW - savannas KW - shrub encroachment KW - shrub thinning KW - species richness KW - woody encroachment Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12675 SN - 1466-822X SN - 1466-8238 VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 368 EP - 379 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - THES A1 - Windirsch-Woiwode, Torben T1 - Permafrost carbon stabilisation by recreating a herbivore-driven ecosystem T1 - Stabilisierung von Permafrostkohlenstoff durch die Wiedereinführung eines Herbivor-geprägten Ökosystems N2 - With Arctic ground as a huge and temperature-sensitive carbon reservoir, maintaining low ground temperatures and frozen conditions to prevent further carbon emissions that contrib-ute to global climate warming is a key element in humankind’s fight to maintain habitable con-ditions on earth. Former studies showed that during the late Pleistocene, Arctic ground condi-tions were generally colder and more stable as the result of an ecosystem dominated by large herbivorous mammals and vast extents of graminoid vegetation – the mammoth steppe. Characterised by high plant productivity (grassland) and low ground insulation due to animal-caused compression and removal of snow, this ecosystem enabled deep permafrost aggrad-ation. Now, with tundra and shrub vegetation common in the terrestrial Arctic, these effects are not in place anymore. However, it appears to be possible to recreate this ecosystem local-ly by artificially increasing animal numbers, and hence keep Arctic ground cold to reduce or-ganic matter decomposition and carbon release into the atmosphere. By measuring thaw depth, total organic carbon and total nitrogen content, stable carbon iso-tope ratio, radiocarbon age, n-alkane and alcohol characteristics and assessing dominant vegetation types along grazing intensity transects in two contrasting Arctic areas, it was found that recreating conditions locally, similar to the mammoth steppe, seems to be possible. For permafrost-affected soil, it was shown that intensive grazing in direct comparison to non-grazed areas reduces active layer depth and leads to higher TOC contents in the active layer soil. For soil only frozen on top in winter, an increase of TOC with grazing intensity could not be found, most likely because of confounding factors such as vertical water and carbon movement, which is not possible with an impermeable layer in permafrost. In both areas, high animal activity led to a vegetation transformation towards species-poor graminoid-dominated landscapes with less shrubs. Lipid biomarker analysis revealed that, even though the available organic material is different between the study areas, in both permafrost-affected and sea-sonally frozen soils the organic material in sites affected by high animal activity was less de-composed than under less intensive grazing pressure. In conclusion, high animal activity af-fects decomposition processes in Arctic soils and the ground thermal regime, visible from reduced active layer depth in permafrost areas. Therefore, grazing management might be utilised to locally stabilise permafrost and reduce Arctic carbon emissions in the future, but is likely not scalable to the entire permafrost region. N2 - Mit dem arktischen Boden als riesigem und temperatursensiblen Kohlenstoffspeicher ist die Aufrechterhaltung niedriger Bodentemperaturen und gefrorener Bedingungen zur Verhinde-rung weiterer Kohlenstoffemissionen, die zum globalen Klimawandel beitragen, ein Schlüs-selelement im Kampf der Menschheit, die Erde weiterhin bewohnbar zu halten. Vorangehen-de Studien ergaben, dass die Bodenbedingungen in der Arktis während des späten Pleisto-zäns im Allgemeinen kälter und dadurch stabiler waren, als Ergebnis eines Ökosystems, das von großen pflanzenfressenden Säugetieren und weiten Flächen grasartiger Vegetation do-miniert wurde - der Mammutsteppe. Gekennzeichnet durch hohe Pflanzenproduktivität (Gras-land) und geringe Bodenisolierung aufgrund von Kompression und Schneeräumung durch Tiere, ermöglichte dieses Ökosystem eine tiefreichende Entwicklung des Permafrosts. Heut-zutage, mit der vorherrschenden Tundra- und Strauchvegetation in der Arktis, sind diese Ef-fekte nicht mehr präsent. Es scheint aber möglich, dieses Ökosystem lokal durch künstliche Erhöhung der Tierbestände nachzubilden und somit den arktischen Boden kühl zu halten, um den Abbau von organischem Material und die Freisetzung von Kohlenstoff in die Atmosphäre zu verringern. Durch Messungen der Auftautiefe, des Gesamtgehalts des organischen Kohlenstoffs und Stickstoffs, des stabilen Kohlenstoff-Isotopenverhältnisses, des Radiocarbonalters, der n-Alkan- und Alkoholcharakteristika sowie durch Bestimmung der vorherrschenden Vegetati-onstypen entlang von Beweidungsgradienten in zwei unterschiedlichen arktischen Gebieten habe ich festgestellt, dass die Schaffung ähnlicher Bedingungen wie in der Mammutsteppe möglich sein könnte. Für durch Permafrost beeinflusste Böden konnte ich zeigen, dass eine intensive Beweidung im direkten Vergleich mit unbeweideten Gebieten die Tiefe der Auftau-schicht verringert und zu höheren Gehalten an organischem Kohlenstoff im oberen Bodenbe-reich führt. Für im Winter nur oberflächlich gefrorene Böden konnte kein Anstieg des organi-schen Kohlenstoffgehalts mit zunehmender Beweidungsintensität festgestellt werden, höchstwahrscheinlich aufgrund von Störfaktoren wie vertikalen Wasser- und Kohlenstoffbe-wegungen, die nicht durch eine undurchlässige Schicht wie beim Permafrost begrenzt sind. In beiden Gebieten führte eine hohe Tieraktivität zu einer Umwandlung der Vegetation hin zu artenarmen, von Gräsern dominierten Landschaften mit weniger Sträuchern. Die Analyse von Lipid-Biomarkern ergab, dass das verfügbare organische Material zwar zwischen den Unter-suchungsgebieten unterschiedlich war, aber sowohl in Permafrostgebieten als auch in saiso-nal gefrorenen Böden in Bereichen mit hoher Tieraktivität weniger stark zersetzt war als unter geringerer Beweidungsintensität. Zusammenfassend beeinflusst eine hohe Tieraktivität die Zersetzungsvorgänge in arktischen Böden und das thermische Regime des Bodens, was sich in einer reduzierten Tiefe der Auftauschicht in Permafrostgebieten widerspiegelt. Daher könn-te das Beweidungsmanagement in Zukunft aktiv eingesetzt werden, um den Permafrost lokal zu stabilisieren und gefroren zu halten sowie die Kohlenstoffemissionen in der Arktis zu ver-ringern. Aufgrund der Größe der Fläche, die in der terrestrischen Arktis von Permafrost be-einflusst ist, wird ein solches Beweidungsmanagement aber nicht als Maßnahme auf die ge-samte Permafrostregion ausgedehnt werden können. KW - permafrost KW - carbon KW - climate change KW - grazing KW - Arctic KW - Arktis KW - Kohlenstoff KW - Klimawandel KW - Beweidung KW - Permafrost Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-624240 ER -