TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weißhuhn, Karoline
A1  - Prati, Daniel
T1  - Activated carbon may have undesired side effects for testing allelopathy in invasive plants
N2  - Activated carbon has become a widely used tool to investigate root-mediated allelopathy of plants, especially in plant invasion biology, because it adsorbs and thereby neutralizes root exudates. Allelopathy has been a controversially debated phenomenon for years, which revived in plant invasion biology as one possible reason for the success of invasive plants. Noxious plant exudates may harm other plants and provide an advantage to the allelopathic plant. However, root exudates are not always toxic, but may stimulate the microbial community and change nutrient availability in the rhizosphere. In a greenhouse experiment, we investigated the interacting effects of activated carbon, arbuscular mycorrhiza and plant competition between the invasive Senecio inaequidens and the native Artemisia vulgaris. Furthermore, we tested whether activated carbon showed any undesired effects by directly affecting mycorrhiza or soil chemistry. Contrary to the expectation, S. inaequidens was a weak competitor and we could not support the idea that allelopathy was involved in the competition. Activated carbon led to a considerable increase in the aboveground biomass production and reduced the infection with arbuscular mycorrhiza of both plant species. We expected that arbuscular mycorrhiza promotes plant growth by increasing nutrient availability, but we found the contrary when activated carbon was added. Chemical analyses of the substrate showed, that adding activated carbon resulted in a strong increase in plant available phosphate and in a decrease of the C-organic/N-total ration both of which suggest stimulated microbial activity. Thus, activated carbon not only reduced potential allelopathic effects, but substantially changed the chemistry of the substrate. These results show that activated carbon should be handled with great care in ecological experiments on allelopathy because of possible confounding effects on the soil community.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/14391791
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2008.10.009
SN  - 1439-1791
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weiss, Lina
A1  - Pfestorf, Hans
A1  - May, Felix
A1  - Körner, Katrin
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
T1  - Grazing response patterns indicate isolation of semi-natural European grasslands
JF  - Oikos
N2  - Identifying drivers of species diversity is a major challenge in understanding and predicting the dynamics of species-rich semi-natural grasslands. In particular in temperate grasslands changes in land use and its consequences, i.e. increasing fragmentation, the on-going loss of habitat and the declining importance of regional processes such as seed dispersal by livestock, are considered key drivers of the diversity loss witnessed within the last decades.
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00957.x
SN  - 0030-1299
SN  - 1600-0706
VL  - 123
IS  - 5
SP  - 599
EP  - 612
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Türke, Manfred
A1  - Andreas, Kerstin
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Kowalski, Esther
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Meyhöfer, Rainer
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
T1  - Are gastropods, rather than ants, important dispersers of seeds of myrmecochorous forest herbs?
JF  - The American naturalist : a bi-monthly journal devoted to the advancement and correlation of the biological sciences
N2  - Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is widespread, and seed adaptations to myrmecochory are common, especially in the form of fatty appendices (elaiosomes). In a recent study, slugs were identified as seed dispersers of myrmecochores in a central European beech forest. Here we used 105 beech forest sites to test whether myrmecochore presence and abundance is related to ant or gastropod abundance and whether experimentally exposed seeds are removed by gastropods. Myrmecochorous plant cover was positively related to gastropod abundance but was negatively related to ant abundance. Gastropods were responsible for most seed removal and elaiosome damage, whereas insects (and rodents) played minor roles. These gastropod effects on seeds were independent of region or forest management. We suggest that terrestrial gastropods can generally act as seed dispersers of myrmecochorous plants and even substitute myrmecochory, especially where ants are absent or uncommon.
KW  - myrmecochory
KW  - gastropodochory
KW  - Arion
KW  - slug
KW  - seed dispersal
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1086/663195
SN  - 0003-0147
VL  - 179
IS  - 1
SP  - 124
EP  - 131
PB  - Univ. of Chicago Press
CY  - Chicago
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stein, Claudia
A1  - Unsicker, Sybille B.
A1  - Kahmen, Ansgar
A1  - Wagner, Markus
A1  - Audorff, Volker
A1  - Auge, Harald
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
T1  - Impact of invertebrate herbivory in grasslands depends on plant species diversity
N2  - Invertebrate herbivores are ubiquitous in most terrestrial ecosystems, and theory predicts that their impact on plant community biomass should depend on diversity and productivity of the associated plant communities. To elucidate general patterns in the relationship between invertebrate herbivory, plant diversity, and productivity, we carried out a long-term herbivore exclusion experiment at multiple grassland sites in a mountainous landscape of central Germany. Over a period of five years, we used above-and belowground insecticides as well as a molluscicide to manipulate invertebrate herbivory at 14 grassland sites, covering a wide range of plant species diversity (13-38 species/m(2)) and aboveground plant productivity (272-1125 g.m(-2).yr(-1)), where plant species richness and productivity of the sites were not significantly correlated. Herbivore exclusion had significant effects on the plant communities: it decreased plant species richness and evenness, and it altered plant community composition. In particular, exclusion of belowground herbivores promoted grasses at the expense of herbs. In contrast to our expectation, herbivore effects on plant community biomass were not influenced by productivity. However, effect size of invertebrate herbivores was negatively correlated with plant diversity of the grasslands: the effect of herbivory on biomass tended to be negative at sites of high diversity and positive at sites of low diversity. In general, the effects of aboveground herbivores were relatively small as compared to belowground herbivores, which were important drivers of plant community composition. Our study is the first to show that variation in the effects of invertebrate herbivory on plant communities across a landscape is significantly influenced by plant species richness.
Y1  - 2010
UR  - http://esapubs.org/esapubs/journals/ecology.htm
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0600.1
SN  - 0012-9658
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stein, Claudia
A1  - Rißmann, Cornelia
A1  - Hempel, Stefan
A1  - Renker, Carsten
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Auge, Harald
T1  - Interactive effects of mycorrhizae and a root hemiparasite on plant community productivity and diversity
N2  - Plant communities can be affected both by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and hemiparasitic plants. However, little is known about the interactive effects of these two biotic factors on the productivity and diversity of plant communities. To address this question, we set up a greenhouse study in which different AMF inocula and a hemiparasitic plant (Rhinanthus minor) were added to experimental grassland communities in a fully factorial design. In addition, single plants of each species in the grassland community were grown with the same treatments to distinguish direct AMF effects from indirect effects via plant competition. We found that AMF changed plant community structure by influencing the plant species differently. At the community level, AMF decreased the productivity by 15-24%, depending on the particular AMF treatment, mainly because two dominant species, Holcus lanatus and Plantago lanceolata, showed a negative mycorrhizal dependency. Concomitantly, plant diversity increased due to AMF inoculation and was highest in the treatment with a combination of two commercial AM strains. AMF had a positive effect on growth of the hemiparasite, and thereby induced a negative impact of the hemiparasite on host plant biomass which was not found in non-inoculated communities. However, the hemiparasite did not increase plant diversity. Our results highlight the importance of interactions with soil microbes for plant community structure and that these indirect effects can vary among AMF treatments. We conclude that mutualistic interactions with AMF, but not antagonistic interactions with a root hemiparasite, promote plant diversity in this grassland community.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://www.springerlink.com/content/100458
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1192-x
SN  - 0029-8549
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sorkau, Elisabeth
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Boeddinghaus, Runa S.
A1  - Bonkowski, Michael
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Kandeler, Ellen
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Kleinebecker, Till
A1  - Marhan, Sven
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Schoening, Ingo
A1  - Schrumpf, Marion
A1  - Weinert, Jan
A1  - Oelmann, Yvonne
T1  - The role of soil chemical properties, land use and plant diversity for microbial phosphorus in forest and grassland soils
JF  - Journal of plant nutrition and soil science = Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde
N2  - 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.
KW  - age class forest
KW  - land-use intensity
KW  - meadow
KW  - microbes
KW  - pasture
KW  - unmanaged forest
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201700082
SN  - 1436-8730
SN  - 1522-2624
VL  - 181
IS  - 2
SP  - 185
EP  - 197
PB  - Wiley-VCH
CY  - Weinheim
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Soliveres, Santiago
A1  - van der Plas, Fons
A1  - Manning, Peter
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Alt, Fabian
A1  - Arndt, Hartmut
A1  - Baumgartner, Vanessa
A1  - Binkenstein, Julia
A1  - Birkhofer, Klaus
A1  - Blaser, Stefan
A1  - Blüthgen, Nico
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Böhm, Stefan
A1  - Börschig, Carmen
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Diekötter, Tim
A1  - Heinze, Johannes
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Kleinebecker, Till
A1  - Klemmer, Sandra
A1  - Krauss, Jochen
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Morris, E. Kathryn
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Oelmann, Yvonne
A1  - Overmann, Jörg
A1  - Pasalic, Esther
A1  - Rillig, Matthias C.
A1  - Schaefer, H. Martin
A1  - Schloter, Michael
A1  - Schmitt, Barbara
A1  - Schöning, Ingo
A1  - Schrumpf, Marion
A1  - Sikorski, Johannes
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Solly, Emily F.
A1  - Sonnemann, Ilja
A1  - Sorkau, Elisabeth
A1  - Steckel, Juliane
A1  - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf
A1  - Stempfhuber, Barbara
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Türke, Manfred
A1  - Venter, Paul C.
A1  - Weiner, Christiane N.
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Werner, Michael
A1  - Westphal, Catrin
A1  - Wilcke, Wolfgang
A1  - Wolters, Volkmar
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Wurst, Susanne
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Allan, Eric
T1  - Biodiversity at multiple trophic levels is needed for ecosystem multifunctionality
JF  - Nature : the international weekly journal of science
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19092
SN  - 0028-0836
SN  - 1476-4687
VL  - 536
SP  - 456
EP  - +
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Soliveres, Santiago
A1  - Manning, Peter
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Alt, Fabian
A1  - Arndt, Hartmut
A1  - Baumgartner, Vanessa
A1  - Binkenstein, Julia
A1  - Birkhofer, Klaus
A1  - Blaser, Stefan
A1  - Bluethgen, Nico
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Boehm, Stefan
A1  - Boerschig, Carmen
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Diekoetter, Tim
A1  - Heinze, Johannes
A1  - Hoelzel, Norbert
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Klein, Alexandra-Maria
A1  - Kleinebecker, Till
A1  - Klemmer, Sandra
A1  - Krauss, Jochen
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Morris, E. Kathryn
A1  - Mueller, Joerg
A1  - Oelmann, Yvonne
A1  - Overmann, Jörg
A1  - Pasalic, Esther
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Rillig, Matthias C.
A1  - Schaefer, H. Martin
A1  - Schloter, Michael
A1  - Schmitt, Barbara
A1  - Schoening, Ingo
A1  - Schrumpf, Marion
A1  - Sikorski, Johannes
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Solly, Emily F.
A1  - Sonnemann, Ilja
A1  - Sorkau, Elisabeth
A1  - Steckel, Juliane
A1  - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf
A1  - Stempfhuber, Barbara
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Tuerke, Manfred
A1  - Venter, Paul
A1  - Weiner, Christiane N.
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Werner, Michael
A1  - Westphal, Catrin
A1  - Wilcke, Wolfgang
A1  - Wolters, Volkmar
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Wurst, Susanne
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Allan, Eric
T1  - Locally rare species influence grassland ecosystem multifunctionality
JF  - Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London : B, Biological sciences
N2  - 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.
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - common species
KW  - ecosystem function
KW  - identity hypothesis
KW  - land use
KW  - multitrophic
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0269
SN  - 0962-8436
SN  - 1471-2970
VL  - 371
SP  - 3175
EP  - 3185
PB  - Royal Society
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Soliveres, Santiago
A1  - Maestre, Fernando T.
A1  - Ulrich, Werner
A1  - Manning, Peter
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Bowker, Matthew A.
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel
A1  - Quero, Jose L.
A1  - Schöning, Ingo
A1  - Gallardo, Antonio
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Garcia-Gomez, Miguel
A1  - Ochoa, Victoria
A1  - Schulze, Ernst-Detlef
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Allan, Eric
T1  - Intransitive competition is widespread in plant communities and maintains their species richness
JF  - Ecology letters
N2  - 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.
KW  - Aridity
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - coexistence
KW  - drylands
KW  - land use
KW  - mesic grasslands
KW  - rock-paper-scissors game
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12456
SN  - 1461-023X
SN  - 1461-0248
VL  - 18
IS  - 8
SP  - 790
EP  - 798
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Direct and productivity-mediated indirect effects of fertilization, mowing and grazing on grassland species richness
JF  - The journal of ecology
N2  - Recent declines in biodiversity have given new urgency to questions about the relationship between land-use change, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Despite the existence of a large body of research on the effects of land use on species richness, it is unclear whether the effects of land use on species richness are principally direct or indirect, mediated by concomitant changes in ecosystem processes. Therefore, we compared the direct effects of land use (fertilization, mowing and grazing) on species richness with indirect ones (mediated via grassland productivity) for grasslands in central Europe. We measured the richness and above-ground biomass in 150 grassland plots in 3 regions of Germany (the so-called Biodiversity Exploratories). We used univariate and structural equation models to examine direct and indirect land-use effects. The direct effects of mowing (-0.37, effect size) and grazing (0.04) intensity on species richness were stronger compared with the indirect effects of mowing (-0.04) and grazing (-0.01). However, the strong negative effect of fertilization (-0.23) on species richness was mainly indirect, mediated by increased productivity compared with the weak direct negative effect (-0.07). Differences between regions in land-use effects showed five times weaker negative effects of mowing (-0.13) in the region with organic soils (Schorfheide-Chorin), strong overall negative effects of grazing (-0.29) for the region with organic soils opposed to a similar strong positive effect (0.30) in the Hainich-Dun region, whereas the Schwabische Alb region displayed a five times weaker positive effect (0.06) only. Further, fertilization effects on species richness were positive (0.03) for the region with organic soils compared to up to 25 times stronger negative effects in the other two regions. Synthesis. Our results clearly show the importance of studying both direct and indirect effects of land-use intensity. They demonstrate the indirect nature, via productivity, of the negative effect of fertilization intensity on plant species richness in the real-world context of management-induced gradients of intensity of fertilization, mowing and grazing. Finally, they highlight that careful consideration of regional environments is necessary before attempting to generalize land-use effects on species diversity.
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - determinants of plant community diversity and structure
KW  - ecosystem functioning
KW  - functional plant group
KW  - land use
KW  - productivity
KW  - species richness
KW  - structural equation modelling
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.02020.x
SN  - 0022-0477
VL  - 100
IS  - 6
SP  - 1391
EP  - 1399
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Baumbach, Henryk
A1  - Gockel, Sonja
A1  - Hemp, Andreas
A1  - Schöning, Ingo
A1  - Wells, Konstans
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Kalko, Elisabeth K. V.
A1  - Linsenmair, Karl Eduard
A1  - Schulze, Ernst-Detlef
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Interacting effects of fertilization, mowing and grazing on plant species diversity of 1500 grasslands in Germany differ between regions
JF  - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie
N2  - 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
KW  - Biodiversity exploratories
KW  - Functional groups
KW  - Land use type
KW  - Livestock type
KW  - Shannon diversity
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2012.12.003
SN  - 1439-1791
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
SP  - 126
EP  - 136
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Simons, Nadja K.
A1  - Lewinsohn, Thomas
A1  - Bluethgen, Nico
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Daniel, Rolf
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Kaiser, Kristin
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Sonnemann, Ilja
A1  - Weiner, Christiane N.
A1  - Werner, Michael
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Wurst, Susanne
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
T1  - Contrasting effects of grassland management modes on species-abundance distributions of multiple groups
JF  - Agriculture, ecosystems & environment : an international journal for scientific research on the relationship of agriculture and food production to the biosphere
N2  - Intensive land use is a major cause of biodiversity loss, but most studies comparing the response of multiple taxa rely on simple diversity measures while analyses of other community attributes are only recently gaining attention. Species-abundance distributions (SADs) are a community attribute that can be used to study changes in the overall abundance structure of species groups, and whether these changes are driven by abundant or rare species. We evaluated the effect of grassland management intensity for three land-use modes (fertilization, mowing, grazing) and their combination on species richness and SADs for three belowground (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, prokaryotes and insect larvae) and seven aboveground groups (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens; arthropod herbivores; arthropod pollinators; bats and birds). Three descriptors of SADs were evaluated: general shape (abundance decay rate), proportion of rare species (rarity) and proportional abundance of the commonest species (dominance). Across groups, taxonomic richness was largely unaffected by land-use intensity and only decreased with increasing mowing intensity. Of the three SAD descriptors, abundance decay rate became steeper with increasing combined land-use intensity across groups. This reflected a decrease in rarity among plants, herbivores and vertebrates. Effects of fertilization on the three descriptors were similar to the combined land-use intensity effects. Mowing intensity only affected the SAD descriptors of insect larvae and vertebrates, while grazing intensity produced a range of effects on different descriptors in distinct groups. Overall, belowground groups had more even abundance distribtitions than aboveground groups. Strong differences among aboveground groups and between above- and belowground groups indicate that no single taxonomic group can serve as an indicator for effects in other groups. In the past, the use of SADs has been hampered by concerns over theoretical models underlying specific forms of SADs. Our study shows that SAD descriptors that are not connected to a particular model are suitable to assess the effect of land use on community structure.
KW  - Biodiversity
KW  - Cutting frequency
KW  - Management intensity
KW  - Rank-abundance
KW  - Species loss
KW  - Rarity
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.12.022
SN  - 0167-8809
SN  - 1873-2305
VL  - 237
SP  - 143
EP  - 153
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Heinrichs, Steffi
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Baumgartner, Vanessa
A1  - Blaser, Stefan
A1  - Böhm, Stefan
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Daniel, Rolf
A1  - Goldmann, Kezia
A1  - Kaiser, Kristin
A1  - Kahl, Tiemo
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Müller, Jörg Hans
A1  - Overmann, Jörg
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Schulze, Ernst-Detlef
A1  - Sikorski, Johannes
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Türke, Manfred
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Wemheuer, Bernd
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Ammer, Christian
T1  - The impact of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on regional biodiversity of multiple taxa in European beech forests
JF  - Journal of applied ecology : an official journal of the British Ecological Society
N2  - 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.
KW  - beta diversity
KW  - forest specialists
KW  - gamma diversity
KW  - heterogeneity
KW  - Hill numbers
KW  - saproxylic beetles
KW  - spatial grain
KW  - species accumulation curve
KW  - species richness
KW  - species turnover
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12950
SN  - 0021-8901
SN  - 1365-2664
VL  - 55
IS  - 1
SP  - 267
EP  - 278
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pfestorf, H.
A1  - Weiss, L.
A1  - Müller, J.
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Socher, S. A.
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Schöning, Ingo
A1  - Weisser, W.
A1  - Fischer, M.
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
T1  - Community mean traits as additional indicators to monitor effects of land-use intensity On grassland plant diversity
JF  - Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics
N2  - Semi-natural grasslands, biodiversity hotspots in Central-Europe, suffer from the cessation of traditional land-use. Amount and intensity of these changes challenge current monitoring frameworks typically based on classic indicators such as selected target species or diversity indices. Indicators based on plant functional traits provide an interesting extension since they reflect ecological strategies at individual and ecological processes at community levels. They typically show convergent responses to gradients of land-use intensity over scales and regions, are more directly related to environmental drivers than diversity components themselves and enable detecting directional changes in whole community dynamics. However, probably due to their labor- and cost intensive assessment in the field, they have been rarely applied as indicators so far.
 Here we suggest overcoming these limitations by calculating indicators with plant traits derived from online accessible databases. Aiming to provide a minimal trait set to monitor effects of land-use intensification on plant diversity we investigated relationships between 12 community mean traits, 2 diversity indices and 6 predictors of land-use intensity within grassland communities of 3 different regions in Germany (part of the German 'Biodiversity Exploratory' research network). By standardization of traits and diversity measures, use of null models and linear mixed models we confirmed (i) strong links between functional community composition and plant diversity, (ii) that traits are closely related to land-use intensity, and (iii) that functional indicators are equally, or even more sensitive to land-use intensity than traditional diversity indices. The deduced trait set consisted of 5 traits, i.e., specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), seed release height, leaf distribution, and onset of flowering. These database derived traits enable the early detection of changes in community structure indicative for future diversity loss. As an addition to current monitoring measures they allow to better link environmental drivers to processes controlling community dynamics.
KW  - Biodiversity Exploratories
KW  - Biological conservation
KW  - (Semi-natural) Grasslands
KW  - Plant functional traits
KW  - Indicators
KW  - Land-use intensity
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2012.10.003
SN  - 1433-8319
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
SP  - 1
EP  - 11
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Penone, Caterina
A1  - Allan, Eric
A1  - Soliveres, Santiago
A1  - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R.
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Seibold, Sebastian
A1  - Simons, Nadja K.
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - van der Plas, Fons
A1  - Manning, Peter
A1  - Manzanedo, Ruben D.
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Ammer, Christian
A1  - Bauhus, Juergen
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Ehbrecht, Martin
A1  - Goldmann, Kezia
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Mueller, Joerg
A1  - Mueller, Joerg C.
A1  - Pena, Rodica
A1  - Polle, Andrea
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Ruess, Liliane
A1  - Schoenig, Ingo
A1  - Schrumpf, Marion
A1  - Solly, Emily F.
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Specialisation and diversity of multiple trophic groups are promoted by different forest features
JF  - Ecology letters
N2  - 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.
KW  - biodiversity exploratories
KW  - dark diversity
KW  - forest management
KW  - global change
KW  - land-use
KW  - multidiversity
KW  - specialisation
KW  - temperate forests
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13182
SN  - 1461-023X
SN  - 1461-0248
VL  - 22
IS  - 1
SP  - 170
EP  - 180
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Kleinebecker, Till
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Impact of Land-Use intensity and productivity on bryophyte diversity in agricultural grasslands
JF  - PLoS one
N2  - While bryophytes greatly contribute to plant diversity of semi-natural grasslands, little is known about the relationships between land-use intensity, productivity, and bryophyte diversity in these habitats. We recorded vascular plant and bryophyte vegetation in 85 agricultural used grasslands in two regions in northern and central Germany and gathered information on land-use intensity. To assess grassland productivity, we harvested aboveground vascular plant biomass and analyzed nutrient concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Further we calculated mean Ellenberg indicator values of vascular plant vegetation. We tested for effects of land-use intensity and productivity on total bryophyte species richness and on the species richness of acrocarpous (small & erect) and pleurocarpous (creeping, including liverworts) growth forms separately. Bryophyte species were found in almost all studied grasslands, but species richness differed considerably between study regions in northern Germany (2.8 species per 16 m(2)) and central Germany (6.4 species per 16 m(2)) due environmental differences as well as land-use history. Increased fertilizer application, coinciding with high mowing frequency, reduced bryophyte species richness significantly. Accordingly, productivity estimates such as plant biomass and nitrogen concentration were strongly negatively related to bryophyte species richness, although productivity decreased only pleurocarpous species. Ellenberg indicator values for nutrients proved to be useful indicators of species richness and productivity. In conclusion, bryophyte composition was strongly dependent on productivity, with smaller bryophytes that were likely negatively affected by greater competition for light. Intensive land-use, however, can also indirectly decrease bryophyte species richness by promoting grassland productivity. Thus, increasing productivity is likely to cause a loss of bryophyte species and a decrease in species diversity.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051520
SN  - 1932-6203
VL  - 7
IS  - 12
PB  - PLoS
CY  - San Fransisco
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Heinze, Johannes
A1  - Joshi, Jasmin Radha
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Prati, Daniel
T1  - Influence of experimental soil disturbances on the diversity of plants in agricultural grasslands
JF  - Journal of plant ecology
N2  - Disturbance is supposed to play an important role for biodiversity and ecosystem stability as described by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH), which predicts highest species richness at intermediate levels of disturbances. In this study, we tested the effects of artificial soil disturbances on diversity of annual and perennial vascular plants and bryophytes in a field experiment in 86 agricultural grasslands differing in land use in two regions of Germany. On each grassland, we implemented four treatments: three treatments differing in application time of soil disturbances and one control. One year after experimental disturbance, we recorded vegetation and measured biomass productivity and bare ground. We analysed the disturbance response taking effects of region and land-use-accompanied disturbance regimes into account.
 Region and land-use type strongly determined plant species richness. Experimental disturbances had small positive effects on the species richness of annuals, but none on perennials or bryophytes. Bare ground was positively related to species richness of bryophytes. However, exceeding the creation of 12% bare ground further disturbance had a detrimental effect on bryophyte species richness, which corresponds to the IDH. As biomass productivity was unaffected by disturbance our results indicate that the disturbance effect on species richness of annuals was not due to decreased overall productivity, but rather due to short-term lowered inter- and intraspecific competition at the newly created microsites.
 Generally, our results highlight the importance of soil disturbances for species richness of annual plants and bryophytes in agricultural grasslands. However, most grasslands were disturbed naturally or by land-use practices and our additional experimental soil disturbances only had a small short-term effect. Overall, total plant diversity in grasslands seemed to be more limited by the availability of propagules rather than by suitable microsites for germination. Thus, nature conservation efforts to increase grassland diversity should focus on overcoming propagule limitation, for instance by additional sowing of seeds, while the creation of additional open patches by disturbance might only be appropriate where natural disturbances are scarce.
KW  - annuals
KW  - bryophytes
KW  - colonization
KW  - intermediate disturbance hypothesis
KW  - microsites
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtt062
SN  - 1752-9921
SN  - 1752-993X
VL  - 7
IS  - 6
SP  - 509
EP  - 517
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Pommer, Ulf
A1  - Hessenmöller, Dominik
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - Schulze, Ernst Detlef
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests
JF  - Forest ecology and management
N2  - We studied the effect of three major forest management types (unmanaged beech, selection beech, and age class forests) and stand variables (SMId, soil pH, proportion of conifers, litter cover, deadwood cover, rock cover and cumulative cover of woody trees and shrubs) on bryophyte species richness in 1050 forest plots in three regions in Germany. In addition, we analysed the species richness of four ecological guilds of bryophytes according to their colonized substrates (deadwood, rock, soil, bark) and the number of woodland indicator bryophyte species. Beech selection forests turned out to be the most species rich management type, whereas unmanaged beech forests revealed even lower species numbers than age-class forests. Increasing conifer proportion increased bryophyte species richness but not the number of woodland indicator bryophyte species. The richness of the four ecological guilds mainly responded to the abundance of their respective substrate. We conclude that the permanent availability of suitable substrates is most important for bryophyte species richness in forests, which is not stringently linked to management type. Therefore, managed age-class forests and selection forests may even exceed unmanaged forests in bryophyte species richness due to higher substrate supply and therefore represent important habitats for bryophytes. Typical woodland indicator bryophytes and their species richness were negatively affected by SMId (management intensity) and therefore better indicate forest integrity than the species richness of all bryophytes. Nature conservation efforts should focus on the reduction of management intensity. Moreover, maintaining and increasing a variability of substrates and habitats, such as coarse woody debris, increasing structural heterogeneity by retaining patches with groups of old, mature to over-mature trees in managed forests, maintaining forest climate conditions by silvicultural methods that assure stand continuity, e.g. by selection cutting rather than clear cutting and shelterwood logging might promote bryophyte diversity and in particular the one of woodland indicator bryophytes.
KW  - Beech forests
KW  - Conifer plantations
KW  - Cryptogams
KW  - Ecological guilds
KW  - Forest management
KW  - Temperate forests
KW  - Selection vs. age-class forests
KW  - Unmanaged vs. managed forests
KW  - Woodland indicator species
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.019
SN  - 0378-1127
SN  - 1872-7042
VL  - 432
SP  - 850
EP  - 859
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Blaser, Steffen
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Prati, Daniel
T1  - Effects of forest management on bryophyte communities on deadwood
JF  - Nova Hedwigia : Zeitschrift für Kryptogamenkunde
N2  - Epixylic bryophytes are important components of forest vegetation but are currently endangered by increment of wood harvest and intensive forest management. In this paper we present a study about the relationship between forest management, deadwood abundance, deadwood attributes and species richness of epixylic bryophytes on 30 plots comprising three forest types (managed coniferous, managed deciduous and unmanaged deciduous forests) in three regions in Germany. Additionally we analyzed the relations between deadwood attributes (wood species, decay, deadwood type, size) and bryophytes on deadwood items (n = 799) and calculated species interaction networks of wood species and bryophytes. Overall, species richness of epixylic bryophytes was positively related to deadwood abundance and diversity. The mean deadwood abundance was lowest in unmanaged forests (9.7 m(3) ha(-1)) compared with 15.0 m(3) ha(-1) in managed deciduous and 25.1 m(3) ha(-1) in managed coniferous forests. Accordingly, epixylic bryophyte species richness per plot increased from 7 species per 400 m(2) in unmanaged, 10 in managed deciduous and 16 in managed coniferous forests. The interaction network provided evidence of importance of tree-species diversity for bryophyte diversity and the relevance of particular wood species for rare bryophytes.
 Generally, the results demonstrate a considerable lack of deadwood in all forest types, even in unmanaged forests. Species richness of epixylic bryophytes was strongly limited by available substrates within the observed deadwood abundance ranging up to only 60 m(3) ha(-1). Altogether, this suggests a high demand to increase both abundance and diversity of deadwood in forests.
KW  - Coarse woody debris
KW  - cryptogams
KW  - deadwood
KW  - species interaction network
KW  - wood harvest
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1127/nova_hedwigia/2015/0242
SN  - 0029-5035
VL  - 100
IS  - 3-4
SP  - 423
EP  - 438
PB  - Cramer
CY  - Stuttgart
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  -