TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Winkler, Eckart
T1  - Non-random dispersal by ants : long-term field data versus model predictions of population spread of a forest herb
N2  - Myrmecochory, i.e. dispersal of seeds by ants towards and around their nests, plays an important role in temperate forests. Yet hardly any study has examined plant population spread over several years and the underlying joint contribution of a hierarchy of dispersal modes and plant demography. We used a seed-sowing approach with three replicates to examine colonization patterns of Melampyrum pratense, an annual myrmecochorous herb, in a mixed Scots pine forest in northeastern Germany. Using a spatially explicit individualbased (SEIB) model population patterns over 4 years were explained by short-distance transport of seeds by small ant species with high nest densities, resulting in random spread. However, plant distributions in the field after another 4 years were clearly deviating from model predictions. Mean annual spread rate increased from 0.9 m to 5.1 m per year, with a clear inhomogeneous component. Obviously, after a lag-phase of several years, non-random seed dispersal by large red wood ants (Formica rufa) was determining the species’ spread, thus resulting in stratified dispersal due to interactions with different-sized ant species. Hypotheses on stratified dispersal, on dispersal lag, and on non-random dispersal were verified using an extended SEIB model, by comparison of model outputs with field patterns (individual numbers, population areas, and maximum distances). Dispersal towards red wood ant nests together with seed loss during transport and redistribution around nests were essential features of the model extension. The observed lag-phase in the initiation of non-random, medium-distance transport was probably due to a change of ant behaviour towards a new food source of increasing importance, being a meaningful example for a lag-phase in local plant species invasion. The results demonstrate that field studies should check model predictions wherever possible. Future research will show whether or not the M. pratense–ant system is representative for migration patterns of similar animal dispersal systems after having crossed range edges by long-distance dispersal events.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 151 
KW  - Melampyrum pratense
KW  - population dynamics
KW  - seed dispersal
KW  - non-random dispersal
KW  - plant-animal interaction
Y1  - 2009
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-46482
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Die natürlichen Kiefernstandorte Deutschlands und ihre Gefährdung
T1  - Natural Scots pine forests in Germany : habitats, distribution, and threat
N2  - Natürliche Standorte der Waldkiefer gibt es in Deutschland nur kleinflächig. Während Kiefernforste anstelle natürlicher Laubwälder heute oft landschaftsprägend sind, bildet die konkurrenzschwache und lichtbedürftige Kiefer ausschließlich auf extrem trockenen oder nassen, nährstoffarmen Standorten naturnahe Schlusswaldgesellschaften. Regionale Schwerpunkte liegen in subkontinentalen Regionen wie dem nordostdeutschen Tiefland und Bayern, ein „natürliches Kiefernareal" lässt sich aber kaum abgrenzen. An der Trockengrenze des Waldes finden sich auf Kalk- und Dolomitgesteinen artenreiche Karbonat-Trockenkiefernwälder mit Elementen der alpinen Rasen und Kalkmagerrasen in der Bodenvegetation. Diese Wälder besiedeln steile, südexponierte Felsen und morphodynamisch aktive Bereiche wie Rutschhänge und FlussSchotterböden im Umkreis der Alpen, kommen aber auch in den Mittelgebirgen vor. Ihr Gegenstück auf sauren Standorten sind die Sand- und Silikat-Kiefernwälder der Quarzsande und Sandstein-Verwitterungsböden, deren Bodenvegetation durch Zwergsträucher, Moose und Strauchflechten geprägt ist. Hier siedelt die Kiefer in den Tieflagen besonders auf Binnendünen und Sandern, aber auch auf Küstendünen der Ostsee, in den Mittelgebirgen z. B. auf den Sandsteinriffen der Sächsischen Schweiz. Der dritte Wuchsbereich natürlicher Kiefernwälder sind saure, nährstoffarme Moore, die ganz überwiegend von Regenwasser gespeist werden. Auch die Kiefern-Moorwälder sind in Nordostdeutschland und Bayern am häufigsten. Von diesen Standorten ausgehend, wo ihr Platz kaum von anderen Baumarten streitig gemacht wird, tritt die Waldkiefer immer wieder als Pionier auf weniger extremen Standorten auf. In der Naturlandschaft kam dies etwa nach Waldbränden oder Stürmen vor, doch der Mensch förderte die Kiefer durch Auflichtung der Wälder, Waldweide und Streunutzung stark. Auch die damit verbundene Nährstoffverarmung macht eine exakte Abgrenzung natürlicher Kiefernstandorte unmöglich. Die schlechtwüchsigen und forstwirtschaftlich nicht interessanten, ästhetisch aber sehr ansprechenden natürlichen Kiefernbestände sind heute vor allem durch Stickstoff-Immissionen gefährdet. Trotz ihrer oft kargen Erscheinung besitzen sie einen hohen Wert für die Biodiversität und den Artenschutz. Neben bodenbewohnenden Flechten und regionalen Relikt-Endemiten ist vor allem die in den letzten Jahrzehnten zunehmend gefährdete Vielfalt an Mykorrhiza-Pilzen hervorzuheben, die der Kiefer das Leben auf extrem nährstoffarmen Standorten überhaupt ermöglichen. Abschließend werden mögliche Schutz- bzw. Regenerationsmaßnahmen wie das Abplaggen flechtenreicher Kiefernstandorte vorgestellt.
N2  - Only small areas of natural Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) habitat occur in Germany. Today pine plantations instead of natural deciduous forests often dominate the landscape. Yet, due to the competitive weakness and light demands of Scots pine, near-natural Scots pine climax communities are only found on extremely dry or wet, nutrient-poor sites, primarily in subcontinental regions of the north-eastern German lowlands and Bavaria. However, the "natural distribution range" of Scots pine is difficult to define. Species-rich, dry Scots pine forests, with alpine and calcareous grassland species in the ground vegetation, are found at the aridity limit of forests on sites with carbonate rich soils developed from limestone and dolomite parent material. These forests occur on steep south-facing slopes, on morphodynamically active areas such as landslides and coarse river gravel beds in and near the Alps, and also in the low mountain ranges. Scots pine forests are also found on acidic sites, on quartz sands and soils overlying weathered silicate rocks with an understorey dominated by dwarf shrubs, bryophytes and fruticose lichens. These forests are present in the lowlands, particularly on inland dunes and glacifluvial deposits, but also on coastal dunes around the Baltic Sea and in the low mountain ranges, for example on the sandstone cliffs in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Acidic, oligo-trophic bogs, mainly supplied by rainwater, comprise the third natural Scots pine forest habitat. These Scots pine bog forests occur most frequently in north-eastern Germany and in Bavaria. Coming from these habitats, where virtually no other tree species grows, Scots pine is found again and again as a pioneer on less extreme sites. In the natural landscape, it occurs mainly after forest fires and storms. Yet humans promote Scots pine by thinning forests, creating woodland pasture and removing litter. The nutrient depletion associated with these practices makes an exact delimitation of natural Scots pine habitats unfeasible. Natural pine forest stands, which, although attractive and appealing, grow poorly and are of little interest for forestry, are endangered mainly by anthropo-genic nitrogen depositions. Despite their meagre appearance, these forests are important for biodiversity and species conservation. In addition to terricolous lichens and regional relic endemic plant species, the diversity of mycorrhiza fungi, which enable Scots pine to exist on these nutrient-poor sites, increasingly is becoming endangered. Finally, possible conservation and regeneration practices, such as manually cutting sods in lichen-rich Scots pine forests, are presented.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 153 
KW  - Naturschutz
KW  - Phytodiversität
KW  - Pinus sylvestris
KW  - Standort
KW  - Walddynamik
KW  - nature conservation
KW  - phytodiversity
KW  - Pinus sylvestris
KW  - site conditions
KW  - forest dynamics
Y1  - 2008
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-46506
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Sand- und Silikat-Kiefernwälder (Dicrano-Pinion) in Deutschland : Gliederungskonzept und Ökologie
T1  - Pine forests on sandy and silicate soils (Dicrano-Pinion) in Germany : classification concept and ecology
N2  - In preparation for the „Synopsis of plant communities of Germany“ a comprehensive classification concept for the Scots pine forests on sandy and silicate soils is presented. On the basis of 2699 relevés from all natural provinces with important occurrences this classification for the first time integrates both northern and southern German forest stands. Pine forests are stable (“climax”) communities on three distinct habitat types at the drought and wetness limits of forest growth. In the phytosociological system these are reflected by the clearly separated syntaxa Erico-Pinetea (dry-calcareous), Dicrano-Pinion (dry-acidic) and Vaccinio uliginosi- Pinetea (wet-acidic). However, Pulsatillo-Pinetea (dry-moderate basicity) described in earlier publications cannot be separated floristically. In addition to the stable communities on extreme habitats pine forests of the mentioned syntaxa are widespread on potential mixed deciduous forest stands, especially after anthropogenic devastation and even beyond their original range. Six communites of the Dicrano-Pinion which also includes such secondary pine forest stands are occurring in Germany. They are presented in detail and classified according to their dynamic and edaphic differentiation. Lichen-rich pine forests (Cladonio- Pinetum) which grow on extremely dry and nutrient-poor sites are ecologically and floristically well-defined, though closely connected with other Dicrano-Pinion communities by forest succession. After separation of the Cladonio-Pinetum the Leucobryo-Pinetum is a speciespoor “central association” within the alliance. The Deschampsia flexuosa-Pinus-sylvestriscommunity is the most widespread forest type and dynamically and floristically passes into the mixed oak forests on acidic soils (Quercion roboris). On base-rich habitats the Empetro- Pinetum as endemic community of the southern Baltic Sea coasts, and the Peucedano-Pinetum in the northeastern and southern German inland are distinguished. The latter is found both on calcareous sands and primarily acidic sands which are secondary limed by calciferous pollutions. Finally, differences and similarities between the geographically separated northern and southern German Dicrano-Pinion forests are discussed in a biogeographic context, emphasising the advantages of the presented nation-wide classification concept.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 154 
Y1  - 2007
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-46518
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - von Oheimb, Goddert
A1  - Schmidt, Marcus
A1  - Kriebitzsch, Wolf-Ulrich
A1  - Ellenberg, Hermann
T1  - Schalenwild breitet Gefäßpflanzen in der mitteleuropäischen Kulturlandschaft aus : ein erster Überblick
T1  - The dispersal by hoofed game of vascularplants in the Central European cultural landscape : a first overview
N2  - Im Norddeutschen Tiefland wurde die Ausbreitung von Gefäßpflanzen durch Rehe, Dam- und Rothirsche sowie Wildschweine untersucht. Diese Tiere transportieren zahlreiche Pflanzenarten in teilweise erheblichen Mengen über größere Distanzen, sowohl durch den Kot nach Darmpassage (Endozoochorie) als auch durch Anheftung an Fell und Schalen (Epizoochorie). Besondere Bedeutung kommt dabei Wildschweinen zu, die potenziell fast alle Pflanzenarten ausbreiten können. Bevorzugt werden im Wald wie im Offenland vorkommende Pflanzen und Arten des Offenlands ausgebreitet, während Arten mit enger Waldbindung nur in geringem Maße transportiert werden. Zoochorie durch Schalenwild bietet Erklärungsansätze sowohl für Ausbreitungsphänomene wie auch für das weitgehend fehlende Ausbreitungspotenzial vieler Pflanzenarten. Der Einfluss des Schalenwilds auf die Artenzusammensetzung und Gefäßpflanzen-Diversität in der mitteleuropäischen Kulturlandschaft sollte in seine naturschutzfachliche Neubewertung miteinbezogen werden. Die Einschränkung von Aktionsradien der Tiere durch die Zerschneidung von Lebensräumen sowie die Wildfütterung können für Ausbreitungsprozesse bisher kaum beachtete Konsequenzen haben.
N2  - The dispersal of vascular plants by roe deer, fallow deer, reed deer and wild boar was studied in the lowlands of northern Germany. Hoofed game species transport numerous plant species - partially in large amounts - over relatively long distances, both by faeces after gut passage (endozoochory) and by adhesion to coats and hooves (epizoochory). Wild boar are of particular importance as they potentially disperse almost all plant species. Species occurring both in forests and the open landscape as well as species of the open landscape are preferentially dispersed, while species restricted to forests are only transported to a minor degree. Patterns of zoochory by hoofed game provide explanations for dispersal phenomena and for the low dispersal potential of many plant species. Hoofed game's influence on species composition and phytodiversity in the Central European cultural landscape needs to be re-assessed in terms of its nature conservation relevance. The reduction of home ranges by habitat dissection and the feeding of game animals may have consequences for dispersal processes that have been underestimated until now.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 155 
Y1  - 2005
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-46522
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Hoppert, Michael
A1  - Reimer, Rudolph
A1  - Kemmling, Anne
A1  - Schröder, Annekatrin
A1  - Günzl, Bettina
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Structure and reactivity of a biological soil crust from a xeric sandy soil in Central Europe
N2  - The investigation was designed to explore the structure, composition and activity of a biological soil crust on an acidic, sandy soil from a temperate climate. The crust covers several hundreds of square meters on the hilltop of a large terminal moraine. The conjugate alga Zygogonium ericetorum forms the essential matrix for the crust, a dense web of algal filaments with interspersed lichens and mosses. The crust is composed of three layers, with an uppermost layer consisting nearly entirely of a dense algal mat. In lower layers, a parasitic fungus, penetrating the algal cells, is another important component of the crust community. In this soil crust, photosynthetic and respiratory activity is stabilized at low water activities.
KW  - biological soil crust
KW  - desiccation tolerance
KW  - electron microscopy
KW  - <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>
KW  - <i>Zygogonium ericetorum</i>
Y1  - 2004
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5872
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Raudnitschka, Dorit
T1  - Do wild ungulates contribute to the dispersal of vascular plants in central European forests by epizoochory?
BT  - A case study in NE Germany
BT  - Eine Fallstudie aus Nordostdeutschland
N2  - The external dispersal ("epizoochory") of vascular plant diaspores (seeds and fruits) by roe deer and wild boar, i.e. the most common wild large mammals with a large home range in central Europe, was investigated in a 6.5-km² forest area in NE Germany dominated by mesic deciduous forests. The study involved brushing out the diaspores from the coats and hooves of 25 shot roe deer and nine wild boar. The results were compared with the forest vegetation of the study area. Whilst wild boar transported large amounts of various diaspores in the coat, the significance of roe deer for epizoochory was low due to their sleek fur and different behaviour compared to wild boar. Altogether, 55 vascular plant species were transported externally. Since only a limited number of seeds came from woodland habitats, the open landscape was at least as important as a source of attached seeds as the forest vegetation. Thus, most plant species occurring in the studied forest area, especially characteristic woodland herbs, showed no adaptations to epizoochorous dispersal, although being very abundant in the herb layer. We conclude that hoofed game play a particular role concerning the dispersal of ruderal and grassland species in the agricultural landscape of central Europe. However, the actual spread of some herb species in forests of northern Germany, e.g. Agrostis capillaris, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Deschampsia flexuosa, Galium aparine and Urtica dioica, may be mainly facilitated by wild ungulates. Though dispersal by large mammals is an important mechanism for long-distance dispersal of plants in general, our results suggest that most of the characteristic herb species of mesic deciduous forests have only low epizoochorous dispersal potentials. The implications for nature conservation and silviculture are discussed.
N2  - Die Ausbreitung von Gefäßpflanzen-Diasporen (Samen und Früchte) durch äußerliche Anhaftung ("Epizoochorie") an Rehen und Wildschweinen, den beiden häufigsten Schalenwild-Arten in Mitteleuropa, wurde im 6,5 km² großen Forst Brieselang bei Berlin (Bundesland Brandenburg) untersucht, in dem mesophile Laubwälder vorherrschen. Dazu wurden die Felle und Hufe von 25 geschossenen Rehen und neun Wildschweinen ausgekämmt und die Diasporen anschließend bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit der Waldvegetation verglichen. Während Wildschweine große Mengen verschiedener Diasporentypen transportierten, war die Bedeutung von Rehen für die Ausbreitung von Pflanzen auf Grund des glatten Fells und der im Vergleich zum Wildschwein unterschiedlichen Verhaltensweisen wesentlich geringer. Insgesamt wurden 55 Phanerogamenarten epizoochor transportiert. Da nur ein kleiner Teil der ausgebreiteten Pflanzen Waldhabitate bevorzugt, war das Offenland eine mindestens ebenso wichtige Quelle anhaftender Diasporen wie die Waldvegetation. Die meisten Waldpflanzenarten wurden nicht ausgebreitet; insbesondere solche Arten, die ausschließlich in Wäldern wachsen, wurden nicht nachgewiesen. Viele Pflanzenarten sind – vermutlich auf Grund ihrer Diasporenmorphologie – weitgehend vom Transport ausgeschlossen, obwohl sie sehr häufig in der Krautschicht des untersuchten Waldes vorkommen. Daher ist Schalenwild in der Agrarlandschaft Mitteleuropas vermutlich vor allem für die Ausbreitung von Ruderal-, Segetal- und Grünlandpflanzen von Bedeutung. Die Ausbreitung einiger Pflanzenarten der Krautschicht in norddeutschen Wäldern z.B. Agrostis capillaris, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Deschampsia flexuosa, Galium aparine und Urtica dioica, könnte jedoch wesentlich auf Schalenwild zurückgehen. Obwohl Großsäuger insgesamt ein wichtiger Vektor für die Fernausbreitung von Pflanzen sind, zeigt unsere Studie, dass die meisten charakteristischen Waldbodenpflanzen mesophiler Laubwälder kaum ausgebreitet werden, also nur ein geringes epizoochores Ausbreitungspotenzial aufweisen. Die Bedeutung der Ergebnisse für den Waldnaturschutz und den Waldbau wird diskutiert.
T2  - Trägt Schalenwild durch Epizoochorie zur Ausbreitung von Gefäßpflanzen in mitteleuropäischen Wäldern bei?
KW  - Diasporenmorphologie
KW  - Epizoochorie
KW  - Brandenburg
KW  - Reh
KW  - Waldbodenpflanzen
KW  - Wildschwein
KW  - diaspore morphology
KW  - epizoochory
KW  - forest plant species
KW  - NE Germany
KW  - roe deer
KW  - wild boar
Y1  - 2002
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5850
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Migration of an annual myrmecochore
BT  - a four year experiment with Melampyrum pratense L.
N2  - A seed sowing experiment was conducted in a mixed secondary woodland on acidic soils in NE Germany with Melampyrum pratense, an annual ant-dispersed forest herb which lacks a natural population in the study area, but is abundant in similar habitats. Each set of 300 seeds was sown within one square metre at three sites in 1997, and the development of the populations was recorded from 1998 onward. Additionally, seed fall patterns were studied in a natural population by means of adhesive cardboard. All trials resulted in the recruitment of populations, which survived and increased in both individual number and area, up to the year 2001. Thus, local distribution of Melampyrum pratense is dispersallimited. Total individual number increased from 105 to 3,390, and total population area from 2.07 to 109.04 m². Migration occurred in all directions. Mean migration rate was 0.91 m per year, and the highest migration rate was 6.48 m. No individual was recorded beyond 7.63 m from the centres of the sawn squares after three years, suggesting exclusive short-distance dispersal. As primary dispersal enables only distances of up to 0.25 m, ants are presumed to be the main dispersal vectors. Despite differences in individual number and colonization patterns, migration rates did not differ significantly between the populations, but were significantly higher in 2001 due to an increased population size. Colonization patterns were characterized by a rapid, negative exponential decrease of population density with increasing distance from the sown plot, suggesting a colonization by establishment of more or less isolated outposts of individuals and a subsequent gradual infill of the gaps between. My results resemble myrmecochorous dispersal distances in temperate woodlands, and migration rates and patterns across ecotones from ancient to recent deciduous forests. They may function as a colonization model of Melampyrum pratense after accidental long-distance dispersal.
KW  - artificial introduction
KW  - colonization
KW  - dispersal
KW  - myrmecochory
KW  - NE Germany
KW  - woodland herb
Y1  - 2004
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-5865
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lemke, Isgard
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
T1  - Where does the community start, and where does it end?
BT  - including the seed bank to reassess forest herb layer responses to the environment
JF  - Journal of vegetation science
N2  - QuestionBelow-ground processes are key determinants of above-ground plant population and community dynamics. Still, our understanding of how environmental drivers shape plant communities is mostly based on above-ground diversity patterns, bypassing below-ground plant diversity stored in seed banks. As seed banks may shape above-ground plant communities, we question whether concurrently analysing the above- and below-ground species assemblages may potentially enhance our understanding of community responses to environmental variation. LocationTemperate deciduous forests along a 2000km latitudinal gradient in NW Europe. MethodsHerb layer, seed bank and local environmental data including soil pH, canopy cover, forest cover continuity and time since last canopy disturbance were collected in 129 temperate deciduous forest plots. We quantified herb layer and seed bank diversity per plot and evaluated how environmental variation structured community diversity in the herb layer, seed bank and the combined herb layer-seed bank community. ResultsSeed banks consistently held more plant species than the herb layer. How local plot diversity was partitioned across the herb layer and seed bank was mediated by environmental variation in drivers serving as proxies of light availability. The herb layer and seed bank contained an ever smaller and ever larger share of local diversity, respectively, as both canopy cover and time since last canopy disturbance decreased. Species richness and -diversity of the combined herb layer-seed bank community responded distinctly differently compared to the separate assemblages in response to environmental variation in, e.g. forest cover continuity and canopy cover. ConclusionsThe seed bank is a below-ground diversity reservoir of the herbaceous forest community, which interacts with the herb layer, although constrained by environmental variation in e.g. light availability. The herb layer and seed bank co-exist as a single community by means of the so-called storage effect, resulting in distinct responses to environmental variation not necessarily recorded in the individual herb layer or seed bank assemblages. Thus, concurrently analysing above- and below-ground diversity will improve our ecological understanding of how understorey plant communities respond to environmental variation.
KW  - Above-ground
KW  - Below-ground
KW  - Canopy
KW  - Disturbance
KW  - Diversity
KW  - Light availability
KW  - NWEurope
KW  - Plant community
KW  - Species co-existence
KW  - Storage effect
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12493
SN  - 1100-9233
SN  - 1654-1103
VL  - 28
IS  - 2
SP  - 424
EP  - 435
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Lombaerde, Emiel
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chudomelova, Marketa
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Durak, Tomasz
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Macek, Martin
A1  - Máliš, František
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Petřík, Petr
A1  - Reczyńska, Kamila
A1  - Schmidt, Wolfgang
A1  - Swierkosz, Krzysztof
A1  - Vild, Ondrej
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Baetena, Lander
T1  - Responses of competitive understorey species to spatial environmental gradients inaccurately explain temporal changes
JF  - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie
N2  - Understorey plant communities play a key role in the functioning of forest ecosystems. Under favourable environmental conditions, competitive understorey species may develop high abundances and influence important ecosystem processes such as tree regeneration. Thus, understanding and predicting the response of competitive understorey species as a function of changing environmental conditions is important for forest managers. In the absence of sufficient temporal data to quantify actual vegetation changes, space-for-time (SFT) substitution is often used, i.e. studies that use environmental gradients across space to infer vegetation responses to environmental change over time. Here we assess the validity of such SFT approaches and analysed 36 resurvey studies from ancient forests with low levels of recent disturbances across temperate Europe to assess how six competitive understorey plant species respond to gradients of overstorey cover, soil conditions, atmospheric N deposition and climatic conditions over space and time. The combination of historical and contemporary surveys allows (i) to test if observed contemporary patterns across space are consistent at the time of the historical survey, and, crucially, (ii) to assess whether changes in abundance over time given recorded environmental change match expectations from patterns recorded along environmental gradients in space. We found consistent spatial relationships at the two periods: local variation in soil variables and overstorey cover were the best predictors of individual species’ cover while interregional variation in coarse-scale variables, i.e. N deposition and climate, was less important. However, we found that our SFT approach could not accurately explain the large variation in abundance changes over time. We thus recommend to be cautious when using SFT substitution to infer species responses to temporal changes.
KW  - Temperate forest
KW  - Herb layer
KW  - Tree regeneration
KW  - Global change
KW  - Nitrogen deposition
KW  - Canopy
KW  - Spatiotemporal resurvey data
KW  - Cover abundance
KW  - Chronosequence
KW  - forestREplot
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.05.013
SN  - 1439-1791
SN  - 1618-0089
VL  - 30
SP  - 52
EP  - 64
PB  - Elsevier GMBH
CY  - München
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Midolo, Gabriele
A1  - Blondeel, Haben
A1  - Depauw, Leen
A1  - Landuyt, Dries
A1  - Maes, Sybryn L.
A1  - De Lombaerde, Emiel
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - Vellend, Mark
A1  - Brunet, Joerg
A1  - Chudomelova, Marketa
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Dirnboeck, Thomas
A1  - Doerfler, Inken
A1  - Durak, Tomasz
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Gilliam, Frank S.
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Li, Daijiang
A1  - Malis, Frantisek
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Reczynska, Kamila
A1  - Schmidt, Wolfgang
A1  - Standovar, Tibor
A1  - Swierkosz, Krzysztof
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Vild, Ondrej
A1  - Wagner, Eva Rosa
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Global environmental change effects on plant community composition trajectories depend upon management legacies
JF  - Global change biology
N2  - The contemporary state of functional traits and species richness in plant communities depends on legacy effects of past disturbances. Whether temporal responses of community properties to current environmental changes are altered by such legacies is, however, unknown. We expect global environmental changes to interact with land-use legacies given different community trajectories initiated by prior management, and subsequent responses to altered resources and conditions. We tested this expectation for species richness and functional traits using 1814 survey-resurvey plot pairs of understorey communities from 40 European temperate forest datasets, syntheses of management transitions since the year 1800, and a trait database. We also examined how plant community indicators of resources and conditions changed in response to management legacies and environmental change. Community trajectories were clearly influenced by interactions between management legacies from over 200 years ago and environmental change. Importantly, higher rates of nitrogen deposition led to increased species richness and plant height in forests managed less intensively in 1800 (i.e., high forests), and to decreases in forests with a more intensive historical management in 1800 (i.e., coppiced forests). There was evidence that these declines in community variables in formerly coppiced forests were ameliorated by increased rates of temperature change between surveys. Responses were generally apparent regardless of sites’ contemporary management classifications, although sometimes the management transition itself, rather than historic or contemporary management types, better explained understorey responses. Main effects of environmental change were rare, although higher rates of precipitation change increased plant height, accompanied by increases in fertility indicator values. Analysis of indicator values suggested the importance of directly characterising resources and conditions to better understand legacy and environmental change effects. Accounting for legacies of past disturbance can reconcile contradictory literature results and appears crucial to anticipating future responses to global environmental change.
KW  - biodiversity change
KW  - climate change
KW  - disturbance regime
KW  - forestREplot
KW  - herbaceous layer
KW  - management intensity
KW  - nitrogen deposition
KW  - plant functional traits
KW  - time lag
KW  - vegetation resurvey
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14030
SN  - 1354-1013
SN  - 1365-2486
VL  - 24
IS  - 4
SP  - 1722
EP  - 1740
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heim, Ramona J.
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kamp, Johannes
A1  - Thomas, Alexander
A1  - Darman, Galina F.
A1  - Smirenski, Sergei M.
A1  - Heim, Wieland
T1  - Post-burn and long-term fire effects on plants and birds in floodplain wetlands of the Russian Far East
JF  - Biodiversity and conservation
N2  - Wildfires affect biodiversity at multiple levels. While vegetation is directly changed by fire events, animals are often indirectly affected through changes in habitat and food availability. Globally, fire frequency and the extent of fires are predicted to increase in the future. The impact of fire on the biodiversity of temperate wetlands has gained little attention so far. We compared species richness and abundance of plants and birds in burnt and unburnt areas in the Amur floodplain/Russian Far East in the year of fire and 1 year after. We also analysed vegetation recovery in relation to time since fire over a period of 18 years. Plant species richness was higher in burnt compared to unburnt plots in the year of the fire, but not in the year after. This suggests that fire has a positive short-term effect on plant diversity. Bird species richness and abundance were lower on burnt compared to unburnt plots in the year of the fire, but not in the year after. Over a period of 18 years, high fire frequency led to an increase in herb cover and a decrease in grass cover. We show that the effects on biodiversity are taxon- and species-specific. Fire management strategies in temperate wetlands should consider fire frequency as a key driving force of vegetation structure, with carry-over effects on higher trophic levels. Designing fire refuges, i.e., areas that do not burn annually, might locally be necessary to maintain high species richness.
KW  - Disturbance
KW  - Bird species richness
KW  - Vegetation structure
KW  - Fire frequency
KW  - Amur River
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01746-3
SN  - 0960-3115
SN  - 1572-9710
VL  - 28
IS  - 6
SP  - 1611
EP  - 1628
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tischew, Sabine
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Schwabe, Angelika
A1  - Garve, Eckhard
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Holzel, Norbert
A1  - Bergmeier, Erwin
A1  - Remy, Dominique
A1  - Haerdtle, Werner
T1  - Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres 2019: Die Glatthaferwiese
T1  - Plant Community of the Year 2019: Oatgras Meadow
JF  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
N2  - Um Themen des Schutzes von Pflanzengemeinschaften wirksamer in der breiten Öffentlichkeit zu kommunizieren wird der Vorstand der „Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft (FlorSoz)“ ab 2019 eine „Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres“ ausrufen. Damit sollen politische und administrative Entscheidungs- und Umsetzungsprozesse zur Erhaltung der Vielfalt von Ökosystemen und Pflanzengesellschaften in Deutschlands gezielt unterstützt werden. Für das Jahr 2019 wurde die Glatthaferwiese ausgewählt. Sie zählt aktuell zu den durch Artenverarmung und Flächenrückgang besonders bedrohten Pflanzengesellschaften Deutschlands. Es sind deshalb dringend Maßnahmen zum Schutz und zur Wiederherstellung notwendig. Dieser Artikel gibt einen kurzen Überblick zur naturschutzfachlichen Bedeutung von Glatthaferwiesen und deren Ökosystemleistungen sowie zur floristisch-soziologischen Erforschung, zu Ursachen ihres Rückgangs und zu geeigneten Gegenmaßnahmen.
N2  - Aiming at a better promotion of topics related to the conservation of ecosystems and plant communities, the board of the Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft (FlorSoz)" has launched the initiative to announce a "Plant Community of the Year". Therewith we hope to raise awareness and stimulate civil society and politics in promoting more efficient conservation strategies. For the forthcoming year, we choose the oatgras meadow as Plant Community of the Year 2019. These lowland hay meadows belong to the most threatened plant communities in Germany. Concepts and schemes aiming at the conservation and restoration of lowland hay meadows are urgently needed. This article provides a short overview of the high nature-conservation value of lowland hay meadows and their ecosystem services as well as of the floristic-phytosociological research, reasons for their sharp decline and appropriate countermeasures.
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.14471/2018.38.011
SN  - 0722-494X
IS  - 38
SP  - 287
EP  - 295
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Dittmann, Thea
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Schmidt, Marcus
T1  - Die Wälder von Magdeburgerforth (Fläming, Sachsen-Anhalt)
T1  - The forests of Magdeburgerforth (Flaming, NE Germany)
BT  - eine Wiederholungsuntersuchung nach sechs Jahrzehnten
BT  - a resurvey study after six decades
JF  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
N2  - In einem rund 2.200 ha großen Waldgebiet bei Magdeburgerforth (Fläming, Sachsen-Anhalt) wurden 1948 bis 1950 von Harro Passarge 120 Vegetationsaufnahmen sowie eine Vegetationskartierung erstellt. Das Gebiet zeichnet sich durch eine große Vielfalt an Waldtypen aus den Verbänden Agrostio-Quercion petraeae, Alnion glutinosae, Alnion incanae, Carpinion betuli, Dicrano-Pinion und Quercion roboris aus. Daher und weil viele der heute in Wäldern wirksamen Prozesse (z. B. Stickstoffeintrag,
Klimawandel) vor 60 Jahren noch nicht spürbar waren, bietet sich das Gebiet für eine Wiederholungsuntersuchung besonders an. Da die Aufnahmeflächen von Passarge nicht punktgenau verortet waren, wurden im Jahr 2014 in einem über die Forstabteilungen und die Vegetationskarte definierten Suchraum immer die der Erstaufnahme ähnlichsten Waldbestände erfasst. Insgesamt konnten 97 (81 %) der Aufnahmen wiederholt werden. Vegetationsveränderungen werden mithilfe einer NMDS-Ordination, der Gegenüberstellung von α -Diversität, Zeigerwerten und Waldbindungskategorien für die beiden
Aufnahmezeitpunkte sowie über die Identifikation von Gewinner- und Verlierer-Arten analysiert.
Auch wenn methodenbedingt bei der Wiederholungsuntersuchung nur die jeweils geringstmögliche
Vegetationsveränderung abgebildet wird, konnten Ergebnisse erzielt werden, die mit denen quasi permanenter Plots übereinstimmen. Die beobachteten allgemeinen Trends (Eutrophierung, Sukzession nach Nutzungswandel, Verlust lichtliebender und magerkeitszeigender Arten, Ausbreitung von stickstoffliebenden Arten und mesophilen Waldarten, Einwanderung von Neophyten, keine generelle Abnahme der Artenzahl) stimmen gut mit den in zahlreichen Studien aus mitteleuropäischen Wäldern festgestellten überein. Durch das von nassen bis trockenen sowie von bodensauer-nährstoffarmen bis zu relativ basenreichen Böden reichende Standortsspektrum innerhalb des Untersuchungsgebietes konnte aber – deutlicher als in den meisten bisherigen Fallstudien – gezeigt werden, dass sich die Resilienz der
Wälder gegenüber Vegetationsveränderung je nach Ausgangsgesellschaft stark unterscheidet und jeweils unterschiedliche Treiber wirksam sind. Stellario-Carpinetum und Luzulo-Quercetum erwiesen
sich als relativ stabil, und auch in den Feuchtwäldern des Circaeo-Alnetum gab es trotz eines Artenwechsels wenig Hinweise auf Umweltveränderungen. Dagegen wiesen die Wälder nährstoffarmer Standorte (Sphagno-Alnetum, Betulo-Quercetum, Dicrano-Pinion) viele Verliererarten und eine starke Eutrophierungstendenz auf. Die in besonderem Maße von historischen Waldnutzungsformen abhängigen thermophilen Wälder und die Flechten-Kiefernwälder gingen weitgehend verloren.
N2  - Between 1948 and 1950 the German phytosociologist Harro Passarge conducted 120 relevés in a 2,200 ha large forest area near Magdeburgerforth (Fläming, Saxony-Anhalt, NE Germany). The study area is characterized by a remarkable diversity of forest communities of the alliances Agrostio-
Quercion petraeae, Alnion glutinosae, Alnion incanae, Carpinion betuli, Dicrano-Pinion and Quercion roboris. Because of this broad ecological spectrum, and because many processes which impact Central European forests today (nitrogen deposition, climate change) were not noticeable at the date of the first survey, it provides a good opportunity for a resurvey study after 60 years. As the position of Passarge’s relevés were not marked in a map, in the 2014 resurvey we sampled the most similar forest stands within a search area defined by the forest compartment and the Passarge vegetation map. In this way, 97 (81%) of the relevés could be repeated. Vegetation change was analysed by NMDS ordination and the comparison of α diversity, Ellenberg indicator values and linkage to forest habitats of species from both censuses, as well as by the identification of winner and loser species.
Although, due to the methodology, only the smallest possible vegetation change was indicated, we
nevertheless gained results which conform to those of resurveys based on quasi-permanent plots. The main trends (eutrophication, succession after management change, loss of plant species that are light- demanding and linked to oligotrophic sites, spread of nitrophilous and mesophilous forest species, immigration of neophytes, no general decline in species richness) are in agreement with the results of several other resurvey studies in Central and Western European forests. Because of the wide spectrum
of habitats within the study area (from wet to dry, as well as from acidic and nutrient-poor to relatively
base-rich) we could demonstrate more clearly than in previous studies that the resilience of forests to
vegetation change differs strongly according to the initial forest type, and that different drivers of tem-
poral changes are active. Mesophilous forests (Stellario-Carpinetum and Luzulo-Quercetum) turned out to be relatively stable, while Circaeo-Alnetum forests also showed few signs of environmental change despite some species turnover. In contrast, forests of nutrient-poor habitats (Sphagno-Alnetum, Betulo-Quercetum, Dicrano-Pinion) were characterized by many loser species and a strong tendency towards eutrophication. Thermophilous forests and lichen-pine forests, which are especially dependent on historical forest management techniques, largely disappeared.
KW  - initial site conditions
KW  - nitrogen deposition
KW  - past land use
KW  - quasi-permanent plots
KW  - vegetation change
KW  - winner and loser species
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.14471/2018.38.009
SN  - 0722-494X
IS  - 38
SP  - 11
EP  - 42
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Maes, Sybryn L.
A1  - Blondeel, Haben
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Depauw, Leen
A1  - Brumelis, Guntis
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - den Ouden, Jan
A1  - Haerdtle, Werner
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Heinrichs, Steffi
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Malis, Frantisek
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Litter quality, land-use history, and nitrogen deposition effects on topsoil conditions across European temperate deciduous forests
JF  - Forest ecology and management
N2  - Topsoil conditions in temperate forests are influenced by several soil-forming factors, such as canopy composition (e.g. through litter quality), land-use history, atmospheric deposition, and the parent material. Many studies have evaluated the effects of single factors on physicochemical topsoil conditions, but few have assessed the simultaneous effects of multiple drivers. Here, we evaluate the combined effects of litter quality, land-use history (past land cover as well as past forest management), and atmospheric deposition on several physicochemical topsoil conditions of European temperate deciduous forest soils: bulk density, proportion of exchangeable base cations, carbon/nitrogen-ratio (C/N), litter mass, bio-available and total phosphorus, pH(KCI)and soil organic matter. We collected mineral soil and litter layer samples, and measured site characteristics for 190 20 x 20 m European mixed forest plots across gradients of litter quality (derived from the canopy species composition) and atmospheric deposition, and for different categories of past land cover and past forest management. We accounted for the effects of parent material on topsoil conditions by clustering our plots into three soil type groups based on texture and carbonate concentration. We found that litter quality was a stronger driver of topsoil conditions compared to land-use history or atmospheric deposition, while the soil type also affected several topsoil conditions here. Plots with higher litter quality had soils with a higher proportion of exchangeable base cations, and total phosphorus, and lower C/N-ratios and litter mass. Furthermore, the observed litter quality effects on the topsoil were independent from the regional nitrogen deposition or the soil type, although the soil type likely (co)-determined canopy composition and thus litter quality to some extent in the investigated plots. Litter quality effects on topsoil phosphorus concentrations did interact with past land cover, highlighting the need to consider land-use history when evaluating canopy effects on soil conditions. We conclude that forest managers can use the canopy composition as an important tool for influencing topsoil conditions, although soil type remains an important factor to consider.
KW  - Soil fertility
KW  - Ancient forest
KW  - Post-agricultural forest
KW  - Coppice
KW  - High forest
KW  - pH
KW  - Phosphorus
KW  - Base cations
KW  - Nutrient cycling
KW  - Decomposition
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.056
SN  - 0378-1127
SN  - 1872-7042
VL  - 433
SP  - 405
EP  - 418
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwabe, Angelika
A1  - Tischew, Sabine
A1  - Bergmeier, Erwin
A1  - Garve, Eckhard
A1  - Härdtle, Werner
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Peppler-Lisbach, Cord
A1  - Remy, Dominique
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
T1  - Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres 2020
BT  - Borstgrasrasen
JF  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
N2  - Wie erstmals 2019 wird auch für das Jahr 2020 von der „Floristisch-soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft“ (FlorSoz) für Deutschland die „Pflanzengesellschaft des Jahres“ vorgestellt. Damit soll wiederum für die Öffentlichkeit die Notwendigkeit des Schutzes gefährdeter Pflanzengesellschaften aufgezeigt werden. Für das Jahr 2020 wurden die Borstgrasrasen ausgewählt. Wie alle Pflanzengemeinschaften nährstoffarmer Standorte, sind auch die Borstgrasrasen stark gefährdet und regional sogar unmittelbar vom Aussterben bedroht. Wir konzentrieren uns vor allem auf die Bestände der planaren bis montanen Stufe (Unterverband Violenion caninae: Hundsveilchen-Borstgrasrasen). Die Standorte von Violenion caninae-Gesellschaften werden nicht gedüngt und sind auf extensive Beweidung, z.T. auch auf einschürige Mahd angewiesen. Für Borstgrasrasen bezeichnend sind eine Fülle gefährdeter Pflanzenarten wie z.B. Arnica montana (Arnika) und Antennaria dioica (Zweihäusiges Katzenpfötchen). Bei den Borstgrasrasen spielen für die zunehmend hohe Gefährdung nicht nur Flächenrückgänge durch Nutzungsaufgabe, Aufforstung, Sport- und Freizeitaktivitäten und Überbauung eine Rolle, sondern auch Änderungen der Struktur und Artenzusammensetzung durch direkte Düngung sowie atmogene Stickstoffeinträge sind von Bedeutung. Nährstoffanreicherungen führen zum Verlust der konkurrenzschwachen,  gefährdeten Arten zugunsten einiger allgemein verbreiteter, häufig dominanter Gräser sowie konkurrenzkräftiger Kräuter. Wir skizzieren die Bedeutung der Borstgrasrasen als gefährdete Lebensgemeinschaften, geben Hinweise zur floristisch-soziologischen Erforschung und zu weiteren Naturschutz-Aspekten (Rückgang,  Erhaltung,  Möglichkeiten der Restitution). Ein wirksamer Schutz ist nur bei einem integrativen Naturschutzansatz mit geeigneter Nutzung möglich.
N2  - As  for  the  first  time  in  2019  the  ‘Floristisch-soziologische  Arbeitsgemeinschaft  (FlorSoz)’  intro-duces  the  ‘Plant  Community  of  the  Year  2020’  for  Germany.  The  FlorSoz  proposal  aims  to  alert  the  public that the conservation of endangered plant communities and their biodiversity is essential.For  the  year  2020  the  plant  community  of  mat-grass  swards  (Nardus  stricta  grassland)  has  been  selected.  Similar  to  other  plant  communities  on  nutrient-poor  sites,  Nardus grassland  is  highly  endan-gered and in some regions on the brink of extinction.  We  focus  on  Nardus grassland  of  the  lowland  to  montane  levels  with  the  characteristic  Violenion caninae suballiance (named after Viola canina,the Heath Dog-violet). The  sites  of  Violenion caninae communities are not fertilized and depend on extensive grazing, but there  are  also  mat-grass swards which are mown once a year. Nardus grasslands host many threatened species, e.g., Arnica montana (Arnica) and Antennaria dioica (Mountain Everlasting).The  decline  of  Nardus  grassland  is  not  only  due  to  abandonment,  afforestation,  outdoor  activities  and  construction  measures,  but  also  due  to  changes  in  the  structure  and  species  composition  through  eutrophication by either direct manuring or by atmospheric nitrogen input. Eutrophication causes local decline  or  extinction  of  low-competitive,  often  endangered  species  which  are  replaced  by  ubiquists,  mostly  highly  competitive  species.  For  management,  long-term  conservation  practices  like  extensive  grazing  or  cutting  once  a  year  are  essential.  We  give  an  outline  of  Nardus grassland as an endangered habitat type and summarize its current state of ecological and phytosociological research. In particular we take up the issue of conservation, including the loss of Nardus grasslands and their restoration.  Effective conservation depends on an integrative nature-conservation approach, using suitable man-agement practices.
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.14471/2019.39.017
SN  - 0722-494X
IS  - 39
SP  - 287
EP  - 308
PB  - Floristisch-soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V.
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Vorwort
T2  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
Y1  - 2019
UR  - https://www.tuexenia.de/publications/tuexenia/Tuexenia_2019_NS_039_0007-0007.pdf
SN  - 0722-494X
IS  - 39
SP  - 7
EP  - 7
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vanneste, Thomas
A1  - Valdes, Alicia
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
A1  - Andrieu, Emilie
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Deconchat, Marc
A1  - De Smedt, Pallieter
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Ehrmann, Steffen
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Paal, Taavi
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
T1  - Functional trait variation of forest understorey plant communities across Europe
JF  - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie
N2  - Global environmental changes are expected to alter the functional characteristics of understorey herb-layer communities, potentially affecting forest ecosystem functioning. However, little is known about what drives the variability of functional traits in forest understories. Here, we assessed the role of different environmental drivers in shaping the functional trait distribution of understorey herbs in fragmented forests across three spatial scales. We focused on 708 small, deciduous forest patches located in 16 agricultural landscape windows, spanning a 2500-km macroclimatic gradient across the temperate forest biome in Europe. We estimated the relative effect of patch-scale, landscape-scale and macroclimatic variables on the community mean and variation of plant height, specific leaf area and seed mass. Macroclimatic variables (monthly temperature and precipitation extremes) explained the largest proportion of variation in community trait means (on average 77% of the explained variation). In contrast, patch-scale factors dominated in explaining community trait variation (on average 68% of the explained variation). Notably, patch age, size and internal heterogeneity had a positive effect on the community-level variability. Landscape-scale variables explained only a minor part of the variation in both trait distribution properties. The variation explained by shared combinations of the variable groups was generally negligible. These findings highlight the importance of considering multiple spatial scales in predictions of environmental-change effects on the functionality of forest understories. We propose that forest management sustainability could benefit from conserving larger, historically continuous and internally heterogeneous forest patches to maximise ecosystem service diversity in rural landscapes. (C) 2018 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
KW  - Agricultural landscapes
KW  - Biogeography
KW  - Community ecology
KW  - Forest understorey
KW  - Functional trait diversity
KW  - Fragmentation
KW  - Global environmental change
KW  - Landscape connectivity
KW  - Macroclimatic gradient
KW  - Multi-scale analysis
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.09.004
SN  - 1439-1791
SN  - 1618-0089
VL  - 34
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - Elsevier GmbH
CY  - München
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Weber, Ewald
T1  - Consequences of habitat fragmentation for plant species do we know enough?
JF  - Perspectives in plant ecology, evolution and systematics
N2  - Habitat fragmentation is one of the most important causes for the decline of plant species. However, plants differing in phylogeny, habitat requirements and biology are likely to respond differently to habitat fragmentation. We ask whether case studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation conducted so far allow generalizations about its effects on the fitness and genetic diversity of populations of endangered plant species. We compared the characteristics of plant species endangered in Germany whose sensitivity to habitat fragmentation had been studied with those of the endangered species that had not been studied. We found strong discrepancies between the two groups with regard to their taxonomy and traits relevant to their sensitivity to habitat fragmentation. Monocots, graminoids, clonal, abiotically pollinated and self compatible species were underrepresented among the studied species, and most study species were from a few habitat types, in particular grasslands. We conclude that our current knowledge of the effects of habitat fragmentation on plant populations is not sufficient to provide widely applicable guidelines for species management. The selection of species studied so far has been biased toward species from certain habitats and species exhibiting traits that probably make them vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Future studies should include community-wide approaches in different habitats, e.g. re-visitation studies in which the species pool is assessed at different time intervals, and population-biological studies of species from a wide range of habitats, and of different life forms and growth strategies. A more representative picture of the effects of habitat fragmentation would allow a better assessment of threats and more specific recommendations for optimally managing populations of endangered plants.
KW  - CSR-strategies
KW  - Naturally rare species
KW  - Plant conservation
KW  - Recently rare species
KW  - Species traits
KW  - Taxonomic position
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2013.05.003
SN  - 1433-8319
VL  - 15
IS  - 4
SP  - 205
EP  - 216
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - de Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Dhondt, Rob
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Eriksson, Olof
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Jögar, uelle
A1  - Saguez, Robert
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Stanton, Sharon
A1  - Zindel, Renate
A1  - Zobel, Martin
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Significant effects of temperature on the reproductive output of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa L.
N2  - Climate warming is already influencing plant migration in different parts of the world. Numerous models have been developed to forecast future plant distributions. Few studies, however, have investigated the potential effect of warming on the reproductive output of plants. Understorey forest herbs in particular, have received little attention in the debate on climate change impacts. This study focuses on the effect of temperature on sexual reproductive output (number of seeds, seed mass, germination percentage and seedling mass) of Anemone nemorosa L., a model species for slow colonizing herbaceous forest plants. We sampled seeds of A. nemorosa in populations along a 2400 km latitudinal gradient from northern France to northern Sweden during three growing seasons (2005,2006 and 2008). This study design allowed us to isolate the effects of accumulated temperature (Growing Degree Hours; GDH) from latitude and the local abiotic and biotic environment. Germination and seed sowing trials were performed in incubators, a greenhouse and under field conditions in a forest. Finally, we disentangled correlations between the different reproductive traits of A. nemorosa along the latitudinal gradient. We found a clear positive relationship between accumulated temperature and seed and seedling traits: reproductive output of A. nemorosa improved with increasing GDH along the latitudinal gradient. Seed mass and seedling mass, for instance, increased by 9.7% and 10.4%, respectively, for every 1000 degrees C h increase in GDH. We also derived strong correlations between several seed and seedling traits both under field conditions and in incubators. Our results indicate that seed mass, incubator-based germination percentage (Germ%(Inc)) and the output of germinable seeds (product of number of seeds and Germ%(Inc) divided by 100) from plants grown along a latitudinal gradient (i.e. at different temperature regimes) provide valuable proxies to parameterize key population processes in models. We conclude that (1) climate warming may have a pronounced positive impact on sexual reproduction of A. nemorosa and (2) climate models forecasting plant distributions would benefit from including the temperature sensitivity of key seed traits and population processes.
Y1  - 2010
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781127
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.04.038
SN  - 0378-1127
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal P.
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lemke, Isgard
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
T1  - Climatic control of forest herb seed banks along a latitudinal gradient
JF  - Global ecology and biogeography : a journal of macroecology
N2  - Aim Seed banks are central to the regeneration strategy of many plant species. Any factor altering seed bank density thus affects plant regeneration and population dynamics. Although seed banks are dynamic entities controlled by multiple environmental drivers, climatic factors are the most comprehensive, but still poorly understood. This study investigates how climatic variation structures seed production and resulting seed bank patterns.
 Location Temperate forests along a 1900km latitudinal gradient in north-western (NW) Europe.
 Methods Seed production and seed bank density were quantified in 153 plots along the gradient for four forest herbs with different seed longevity: Geum urbanum, Milium effusum, Poa nemoralis and Stachys sylvatica. We tested the importance of climatic and local environmental factors in shaping seed production and seed bank density.
 Results Seed production was determined by population size, and not by climatic factors. G.urbanum and M.effusum seed bank density declined with decreasing temperature (growing degree days) and/or increasing temperature range (maximum-minimum temperature). P.nemoralis and S.sylvatica seed bank density were limited by population size and not by climatic variables. Seed bank density was also influenced by other, local environmental factors such as soil pH or light availability. Different seed bank patterns emerged due to differential seed longevities. Species with long-lived seeds maintained constant seed bank densities by counteracting the reduced chance of regular years with high seed production at colder northern latitudes.
 Main conclusions Seed bank patterns show clear interspecific variation in response to climate across the distribution range. Not all seed banking species may be as well equipped to buffer climate change via their seed bank, notably in short-term persistent species. Since the buffering capacity of seed banks is key to species persistence, these results provide crucial information to advance climatic change predictions on range shifts, community and biodiversity responses.
KW  - Climate change
KW  - interspecific variation
KW  - plant-climate interaction
KW  - seed longevity
KW  - seed production
KW  - temperate deciduous forest
KW  - temperature
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12068
SN  - 1466-822X
SN  - 1466-8238
VL  - 22
IS  - 10
SP  - 1106
EP  - 1117
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Rohner, Maria-Sofie
A1  - Hoppert, Michael
T1  - Red wood ants (Formica rufa group) disperse bryophyte and lichen fragments on a local scale
N2  - Gametophyte and thallus fragments, respectively, may be an important or even the only mode of reproduction for many bryophytes and lichens species. Until now especially birds and mammals have been identifi ed as potential animal dispersal vectors of fragments. This study investigates the dispersal of bryophyte and lichen fragments by red wood ants which build large nest mounds from plant material and are abundant in European coniferous forests. We sampled nest material from 25 nest mounds in fi ve different pine and spruce forest types in Germany and found numerous fragments of 20 bryophyte and ten lichen species. As they occurred on almost all studied mounds and often in large numbers we conclude that collecting cryptogam fragments as nest material is a characteristic feature for the Formica rufa group in coniferous forests. Species number and composition of fragments on mounds coincided with the epigeic vegetation around ant nests to a large extent: Almost all collected species were present in the vegetation, and dominant fragment species occurred in large amounts in the vicinity of ant nests. Lichen fragments were larger than bryophyte fragments. Certain life forms (weft-forming bryophytes, reindeer lichens) were accumulated on mounds, while others (tall turfs, cup-type Cladonia species) were discriminated, refl ecting fragmentation features of species. Collected fragments may regenerate to mature plants if nest mounds are abandoned, and especially if they are lost during transport over several metres. We conclude that dispersal of fragments by red wood ants contributes to maintain epigeic bryophyte and lichen diversity of coniferous forests by supporting colonisation after disturbances, which occur on different spatial and temporal scales.
Y1  - 2007
SN  - 0078-2238
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Vegetation und Standort bodensaurer Buchenwälder am Arealrand : am Beispiel Mittelbrandenburgs
N2  - Different from NW Germany, the northern part of NE Germany and the "Hohe Flaeming" region, central Brandenburg is considered as being largely devoid of natural beech forests because of its subcontinental, dry climate. In the present study the vegetation ecology of beech forests of the region is comprehensively documented for the first time, and they are compared with NW German stands in Lower Saxony. In the study area beech forests are concentrated in the Berlin-Potsdam region along the Havel river lakes which is characterised by relatively high precipitation and a specific land use history. All belong to the Luzulo-Fagetum growing on acid soils. Four subtypes are distinguished according to nutrient availability and soil moisture. The central Brandenburg Luzulo-Fagetum does not markedly deviate from other beech forests in the northern German lowlands with respect to vegetation structure and edaphic subtypes. However, numerous indicator species for humid or moist conditions are less frequent than under atlantic climate conditions in the lowlands of Lower Saxony, a pattern occurring also in other forest communities. On the other hand, nitrogen and disturbance indicators are more frequent in central Brandenburg. As expected, podzolisation of the soils and humus accumulation is lower in beech forests under subcontinental climate, but surprisingly the soils are more sandy and thus drier. However, beech forests are lacking on south-exposed slopes, and they are notably occurring in northern exposition. A combined analysis of distribution patterns and climatic data, postglacial vegetation history and forest use history, and actual rejuvenation dynamics reveals that the present-day beech forests in central Brandenburg have to be considered as near-natural relics, which are currently spreading. The range of potentially natural beech forests is larger than assumed until now, but further on it is not clearly to define.
Y1  - 2008
SN  - 0018-0637
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fischer, Petra
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Meyer, Peter
A1  - Schmidt, Marcus
A1  - Waesch, Gunnar
T1  - Zur Abgrenzung und Situation des FFH-Lebensraumtyps "Mitteleuropäische Flechten-Kiefernwälder" (91TO) in Deutschland
N2  - Die in Deutschland gegenwärtig durch Nährstoffeinträge und ausbleibenden Nährstoffentzug stark im Rückgang begriffenen Flechten-Kiefernwälder werden als Biotoptyp wie auch als Lebensraumtyp "Mitteleuropäische Flechten-Kiefernwälder" (Code 91T0) diskutiert. Die bisherige, sehr uneinheitliche Differenzierung von Flechten-Kiefernwäldern auf der Ebene von Biotoptypen wird dargestellt. Auf der Grundlage neuerer vegetationskundlicher übersichten werden Vorschläge für eine einheitliche Abgrenzung des Biotoptyps "Flechten-Kiefernwald" und des Lebensraumtyps 91T0 unterbreitet. Im niedersächsischen Naturwaldreservat "Kaarßer Sandberge" (Niedersachsen) wurde die Anwendung des Konzeptes erfolgreich erprobt. Nicht nur hier, sondern auch deutschlandweit wird der Rückgang der Erdflechten in den Kieferwäldern zugunsten von Drahtschmiele und/ oder pleurokarpen Moosen deutlich. Nach der derzeitigen Definition des Lebensraumtyps 91T0 besteht auf der Grundlage der FFH-Richtlinie nicht für alle Flechten-Kiefernwälder eine Chance der Verbesserung. Der Ausschluss von außerhalb des natürlichen Verbreitungsgebietes der Wald-Kiefer gelegenen sowie von durch Aufforstung angepflanzten Beständen bringt Probleme mit sich, die diskutiert werden. Für den Erhalt und die Wiederherstellung der größtenteils nutzungsbedingt entstandenen Flechten-Kiefernwälder sind praktikable Pflegemaßnahmen notwendig, die im Rahmen von Streunutzungsversuchen erprobt werden müssen.
Y1  - 2009
SN  - 0028-0615
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Populationsbiologische und genetische Konsequenzen von Habitatfragmentierung bei Pflanzen : wissenschaftliche Grundlagen für Biotopverbundsysteme
N2  - Besides habitat loss, population-biological and genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation are thought to be a major threat to species since the 1990's and thus are now in the focus of plant species conservation. Using examples, this article gives an overview on the state of the art. It aims to evaluate the relevance habitat fragmentation and the resulting small size and isolation of populations may have for Central European plant populations. Stochasticity, edge effects, pollinator limitation, genetic drift and inbreeding depression are identified as important and very widespread negative effects. Together with changed habitat quality due to eutrophication, drainage or altered land use they negatively affect the fitness of individuals and populations, resulting in an increased risk of extinction. This negative effect of small populations on the fitness of individuals is called the Allee-effect, irrespective of the underlying causes, which can only be identified by scientific experiments. Metapopulation dynamics that are supported by a habitat network may prevent a permanent extinction of plant populations and minimize the negative genetic effects of habitat fragmentation by increasing gene flow via pollen and seeds. However, existing studies from Central Europe mainly concentrated on certain plant families (Gentianaceae, Primulaceae), habitats (species- rich grasslands), insect-pollinated and outcrossing species, and species mainly relying on sexual reproduction. On the other hand, few insights exist about grasses, ruderal plants and weeds, non-indigenous, wind- and self-pollinated species, and species mainly reproducing vegetatively or via apomictic seeds. However, according to the present state of knowledge especially these plant species, and those with a high dispersal potential, have to be considered as less sensitive to habitat fragmentation. Based on these findings, habitat types are classified with regard to their sensitivity to fragmentation, and ecological characters and species traits of sensitive and less sensitive species are compared. Finally, general consequences for conservation practice are presented with regard to target species and habitats for the formation of habitat networks, minimum viable population sizes, genetic rescue of populations, and deploying plants from ex-situ conservation to natural habitats.
Y1  - 2009
SN  - 0722-494X
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Welche populationsbiologischen und genetischen Konsequenzen hat Habitatfragmentierung für Pflanzen? : Wissenschaftliche Grundlagen für ein Biotopverbundsystem für Pflanzen in Brandenburg
N2  - Neben dem Habitatverlust gelten Konsequenzen der Habitatfragmentierung seit den 1990er Jahren als wesentliche Ursache der Gefaehrdung von Pflanzen und stehen damit nun auch im Fokus des botanischen Artenschutzes. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen ueberblick ueber den Stand der populationsbiologischen und genetischen Forschung und versucht abzuschaetzen, welche Bedeutung Habitatfragmentierung und die dadurch entstehenden kleinen, isolierten Populationen auf heimische Pflanzenarten haben koennen. Als wesentliche und offenbar sehr weit verbreitete negative Effekte werden Zufallsereignisse, Randeffekte, Bestaeuberlimitierung, Gendrift und Inzuchtdepression identifiziert. Zusammen mit verringerter Habitatqualitaet durch Eutrophierung, Entwaesserung oder Nutzungsaenderung wirken sie zumeist negativ auf die Fitness der Individuen und Populationen und erhoehen so deren Aussterberisiko. Dieser negative Effekt kleiner Populationen auf die individuelle Fitness wird unabhaengig von der Ursache als Allee-Effekt bezeichnet. Eine durch einen Biotopverbund gefoerderte Metapopulationsdynamik kann das dauerhafte Aussterben von Pflanzenpopulationen verhindern und mindert die negativen genetischen Effekte der Habitatfragmentierung ueber einen erhoehten Genfluss durch Pollen und Samen. Die bisherigen wissenschaftlichen Studien in Mitteleuropa beruhen allerdings in ueberproportionaler Weise auf bestimmten Pflanzenfamilien (Gentianaceae, Primulaceae), Habitaten (Trocken- und Magerrasen, Wirtschaftsgruenland), insekten- und obligat fremdbestaeubten sowie weitgehend auf sexuelle Fortpflanzung angewiesenen Arten, waehrend etwa ueber Grasartige, Ruderalpflanzen, wind- und selbstbestaeubte sowie an vegetative Fortpflanzung angepasste Arten nur wenige Erkenntnisse vorliegen. Gerade diese und Pflanzenarten mit hohem Ausbreitungspotenzial muessen aber nach derzeitigem Wissensstand als weniger sensitiv gegenueber Habitatfragmentierung eingestuft werden. Auf diesen Befunden aufbauend werden fuer die Naturschutzpraxis Biotoptypen hinsichtlich ihrer Sensitivitaet gegenueber Habitatfragmentierung klassifiziert und ein auf biologischen Merkmalen basierender Kriterienkatalog zur Auswahl von Zielarten des Biotopverbunds vorgestellt. Schließlich wird eroertert, was bei Maßnahmen zur Regeneration kleiner bzw. bereits ausgestorbener Populationen zu beachten ist, und es werden allgemeine Folgerungen zur Ausgestaltung eines Biotopverbundskonzepts fuer Pflanzen gezogen.
Y1  - 2008
SN  - 0942-9328
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwarzer, Christian
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Luthardt, Vera
A1  - Joshi, Jasmin Radha
T1  - Latitudinal shifts in species interactions interfere with resistance of southern but not of northern bog-plant communities to experimental climate change
JF  - The journal of ecology
N2  - The persistence of species under changed climatic conditions depends on adaptations and plastic responses to these conditions and on interactions with their local plant community resulting in direct and indirect effects of changed climatic conditions. Populations at species' range margins may be especially crucial in containing a gene pool comprising adaptations to extreme climatic conditions. Many species of northern European bog ecosystems reach their southern lowland range limit in central Europe. In a common-garden experiment, we experimentally assessed the impact of projected climatic changes on five bog-plant species (including peat moss Sphagnum magellanicum) sampled along a latitudinal gradient of 1400km from Scandinavia to the marginal lowland populations in Germany. Populations were cultivated in monocultures and in experimental communities composed of all five species from their local community, and exposed to five combinations of three climate treatments (warming, fluctuating water-tables, fertilization) in a southern common garden. Whereas most monocultures showed a decreasing biomass production from southern to northern origins under southern environmental conditions, in the experimental mixed-species communities, an increasing biomass production towards northern communities was observed together with a shift in interspecific interactions along the latitudinal gradient. While negative dominance effects prevailed in southern communities, higher net biodiversity effects were observed in northern subarctic communities. The combined effects of climate treatments increased biomass production in monocultures of most origins. In communities, however, overall the treatments did not result in significantly changed biomass production. Among individual treatments, water-table fluctuations caused a significant decrease in biomass production, but only in southern communities, indicating higher vulnerability to changed climatic conditions. Here, negative effects of climate treatments on graminoids were not compensated by the slightly increased growth of peat moss that benefited from interspecific interactions only in northern communities.Synthesis. We conclude that shifting interactions within multispecies communities caused pronounced responses to changed climatic conditions in wetland communities of temperate southern marginal, but not of northern subarctic origin. Therefore, future models investigating the impacts of climate change on plant communities should consider geographical variation in species interactions an important factor influencing community responses to changed climatic conditions.
KW  - additive partitioning of biodiversity effects
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - ecosystem services
KW  - ecosystem stability
KW  - intraspecific divergence
KW  - multifactorial environmental change
KW  - nitrogen deposition
KW  - northern peatlands
KW  - Sphagnum magellanicum
KW  - wetland ecosystems
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12158
SN  - 0022-0477
SN  - 1365-2745
VL  - 101
IS  - 6
SP  - 1484
EP  - 1497
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schmidt, Marcus
A1  - Fischer, Petra
A1  - Günzl, Bettina
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kelm, Hans-Jürgen
A1  - Meyer, Peter
A1  - Prüter, Johannes
A1  - Waesch, Gunnar
T1  - Flechten-Kiefernwälder : Artenvielfalt durch alte Nutzungsformen?
Y1  - 2008
SN  - 1430-2713
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Rodriguez-Sanchez, Francisco
A1  - Coomes, David Anthony
A1  - Bäten, Lander
A1  - Versträten, Gorik
A1  - Vellend, Mark
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Brown, Carissa D.
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Cornelis, Johnny
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume M.
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Gilliam, Frank S.
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jenkins, Michael A.
A1  - Kelly, Daniel L.
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Peterken, George
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Schultz, Jan
A1  - Sonnier, Gregory
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Waller, Donald M.
A1  - Walther, Gian-Reto
A1  - White, Peter S.
A1  - Woods, Kerry D.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming
JF  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
N2  - Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., "thermophilization" of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that "climatic lags" may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we document significant thermophilization of ground-layer plant communities. These changes reflect concurrent declines in species adapted to cooler conditions and increases in species adapted to warmer conditions. However, thermophilization, particularly the increase of warm-adapted species, is attenuated in forests whose canopies have become denser, probably reflecting cooler growing-season ground temperatures via increased shading. As standing stocks of trees have increased in many temperate forests in recent decades, local microclimatic effects may commonly be moderating the impacts of macroclimate warming on forest understories. Conversely, increases in harvesting woody biomass-e.g., for bioenergy-may open forest canopies and accelerate thermophilization of temperate forest biodiversity.
KW  - climate change
KW  - forest management
KW  - understory
KW  - climatic debt
KW  - range shifts
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1311190110
SN  - 0027-8424
VL  - 110
IS  - 46
SP  - 18561
EP  - 18565
PB  - National Acad. of Sciences
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - de Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Brunet, Johanne
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Jõgar, Ülle
A1  - Stanton, Sara
A1  - Quataert, Paul
A1  - Zindel, Renate
A1  - Zobel, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
T1  - Unravelling the effects of temperature, latitude and local environment on the reproduction of forest herbs
N2  - Aim To investigate the effect of temperature, latitude and local environment on the reproductive traits of widespread perennial forest herbs to better understand the potential impacts of rising temperatures on their population dynamics and colonization capacities. Location Six regions along a latitudinal gradient from France to Sweden. Methods Within each region, we collected data from three to five populations of up to six species. For each species, several variables were recorded in each region (temperature, latitude) and population (local abiotic and biotic environmental variables), and seed production and germination were estimated. Resource investment in reproduction (RIR) was quantified as seed number ¥ seed mass, while germinable seed output (GSO) was expressed as seed number ¥ germination percentage.We performed linear regression and mixed effect models to investigate the effects of temperature (growing degree hours), latitude and local abiotic and biotic environment on RIR and GSO. Results Temperature and latitude explained most of the variation in RIR and GSO for early flowering species with a northerly distribution range edge (Anemone nemorosa, Paris quadrifolia and Oxalis acetosella). Reproduction of the more southerly distributed species (Brachypodium sylvaticum, Circaea lutetiana and Primula elatior), in contrast, was independent of temperature/latitude. In the late summer species, B. sylvaticum and C. lutetiana, variation in RIR and GSO was best explained by local environmental variables, while none of the investigated variables appeared to be related to reproduction in P. elatior. Main conclusions We showed that reproduction of only two early flowering, northerly distributed species was related to temperature. This suggests that the potential reproductive response of forest herbs to climate warming partly depends on their phenology and distribution, but also that the response is to some extent species dependent. These findings should be taken into account when predictions about future shifts in distribution range are made.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118545893/home
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00487.x
SN  - 1466-822X
ER  - 
TY  - BOOK
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Dicrano-Pinion : Sand- und Silikat-Kiefernwälder
T3  - Synopsis der Pflanzengesellschaften Deutschlands
Y1  - 2008
SN  - 1433-8440
VL  - 10
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - van der Veken, Sebastian
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Valtinat, Karin
A1  - Zindel, Renate
A1  - Karlsson, Elisabeth
A1  - Ström, Lotta
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Baskin, Carol C.
T1  - Germination requirements and seed mass of slow- and fast-colonizing temperate forest herbs along a latitudinal gradient
N2  - Predictions on displacement of suitable habitats due to climate change suggest that plant species with poor colonization ability may be unable to move fast enough to match forecasted climate-induced changes in habitat distribution. However, studies on early Holocene plant migration show fast migration of many plant species that are poor colonizers today. We hypothesize that warmer temperatures during the early Holocene yielded higher seed quality, contributing to explaining the fast migration. We studied how the 3 seed quality variables, seed mass, germinability, and requirements for break of seed dormancy, vary for seeds of 11 forest herb species with varying colonization capacity collected along a 1400-km latitudinal gradient. Within species, seed mass showed a positive correlation with latitude, whereas germinability was more positively correlated with temperature (growing degree hours obtained at time of seed collection). Only slow-colonizing species increased germinability with temperature, whereas only fast-colonizing species increased germinability with latitude. These interactions were only detectable when analyzing germinability of the seeds, even though this trait and seed mass were correlated. The requirement for dormancy break did not correlate with latitude or temperature. The results indicate that seed development of slow colonizers may be favoured by a warmer climate, which in turn may be important for their migration capacity.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://www.bioone.org/loi/ecos
U6  - https://doi.org/10.2980/16-2-3234
SN  - 1195-6860
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Winkler, Eckart
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Spread of an ant-dispersed annual herb : an individual-based simulation study on population development of Melampyrum pratense L.
N2  - The paper presents a simulation and parameter-estimation approach for evaluating stochastic patterns of population growth and spread of an annual forest herb, Melampyrum pratense (Orobanchaceae). The survival of a species during large-scale changes in land use and climate will depend, to a considerable extent, on its dispersal and colonisation abilities. Predictions on species migration need a combination of field studies and modelling efforts. Our study on the ability of M. pratense to disperse into so far unoccupied areas is based on experiments in secondary woodland in NE Germany. Experiments started in 1997 at three sites where the species was not yet present, with 300 seeds sown within 1m2. Population development was then recorded until 2001 by mapping of individuals with a resolution of 5 cm. Additional observations considered density dependence of seed production. We designed a spatially explicit individual-based computer simulation model to explain the spatial patterns of population development and to predict future population spread. Besides primary drop of seeds (barochory) it assumed secondary seed transport by ants (myrmecochory) with an exponentially decreasing dispersal tail. An important feature of population-pattern explanation was the simultaneous estimation of both population-growth and dispersal parameters from consistent spatio-temporal data sets. As the simulation model produced stochastic time series and random spatially discrete distributions of individuals we estimated parameters by minimising the expectation of weighted sum of squares. These sums of squares criteria considered population sizes, radial population distributions around the area of origin and distributions of individuals within squares of 25cm×25 cm, the range of density action. Optimal parameter values, together with the precision of the estimates, were obtained from calculating sum of squares in regular grids of parameter values. Our modelling results showed that transport of fractions of seeds by ants over distances of 1-2m was indispensable for explaining the observed population spread that led to distances of at most 8mfrom population origin within 3 years. Projections of population development over four additional years gave a diffusion-like increase of population area without any "outposts". This prediction generated by the simulation model gave a hypothesis which should be revised by additional field observations. Some structural deviations between observations and model output already indicated that for full understanding of population spread the set of dispersal mechanisms assumed in the model may have to be extended by additional features of plant-animal mutualism.
Y1  - 2007
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03043800
SN  - 0304-3800
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Liang, Wei
A1  - Heinrich, Ingo
A1  - Simard, Sonia
A1  - Helle, Gerhard
A1  - Linan, Isabel Dorado
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Climate signals derived from cell anatomy of Scots pine in NE Germany
JF  - Tree physiology
N2  - Tree-ring chronologies of Pinus sylvestris L. from latitudinal and altitudinal limits of the species distribution have been widely used for climate reconstructions, but there are many sites within the temperate climate zone, as is the case in northeastern Germany, at which there is little evidence of a clear climate signal in the chronologies. In this study, we developed long chronologies of several cell structure variables (e. g., average lumen area and cell wall thickness) from P. sylvestris growing in northeastern Germany and investigated the influence of climate on ring widths and cell structure variables. We found significant correlations between cell structure variables and temperature, and between tree-ring width and relative humidity and vapor pressure, respectively, enabling the development of robust reconstructions from temperate sites that have not yet been realized. Moreover, it has been shown that it may not be necessary to detrend chronologies of cell structure variables and thus low-frequency climate signals may be retrieved from longer cell structure chronologies. The relatively extensive resource of archaeological material of P. sylvestris covering approximately the last millennium may now be useful for climate reconstructions in northeastern Germany and other sites in the temperate climate zone.
KW  - cell structure
KW  - dendroclimatology
KW  - Pinus sylvestris
KW  - quantitative wood anatomy
KW  - tree rings
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpt059
SN  - 0829-318X
SN  - 1758-4469
VL  - 33
IS  - 8
SP  - 833
EP  - 844
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Cornelis, Johnny
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Peterken, George
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Pfadenhauer, Joerg
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Walther, Gian-Reto
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verstraeten, Gorik
T1  - Driving factors behind the eutrophication signal in understorey plant communities of deciduous temperate forests
JF  - The journal of ecology
N2  - 1. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is expected to change forest understorey plant community composition and diversity, but results of experimental addition studies and observational studies are not yet conclusive. A shortcoming of observational studies, which are generally based on resurveys or sampling along large deposition gradients, is the occurrence of temporal or spatial confounding factors.
 2. We were able to assess the contribution of N deposition versus other ecological drivers on forest understorey plant communities by combining a temporal and spatial approach. Data from 1205 (semi-)permanent vegetation plots taken from 23 rigorously selected understorey resurvey studies along a large deposition gradient across deciduous temperate forest in Europe were compiled and related to various local and regional driving factors, including the rate of atmospheric N deposition, the change in large herbivore densities and the change in canopy cover and composition.
 3. Although no directional change in species richness occurred, there was considerable floristic turnover in the understorey plant community and a shift in species composition towards more shade-tolerant and nutrient-demanding species. However, atmospheric N deposition was not important in explaining the observed eutrophication signal. This signal seemed mainly related to a shift towards a denser canopy cover and a changed canopy species composition with a higher share of species with more easily decomposed litter.
 4. Synthesis. Our multi-site approach clearly demonstrates that one should be cautious when drawing conclusions about the impact of atmospheric N deposition based on the interpretation of plant community shifts in single sites or regions due to other, concurrent, ecological changes. Even though the effects of chronically increased N deposition on the forest plant communities are apparently obscured by the effects of canopy changes, the accumulated N might still have a significant impact. However, more research is needed to assess whether this N time bomb will indeed explode when canopies will open up again.
KW  - atmospheric deposition
KW  - determinants of plant community diversity and structure
KW  - Ellenberg indicator values
KW  - forest herbs
KW  - forest management
KW  - large herbivores
KW  - north-western Europe
KW  - resurveys
KW  - (semi-)permanent plots
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01928.x
SN  - 0022-0477
VL  - 100
IS  - 2
SP  - 352
EP  - 365
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schulze, Kiowa Alraune
A1  - Buchwald, Rainer
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Epizoochory via the hooves - the European bison (Bison bonasus L.) as a dispersal agent of seeds in an open-forest-mosaic
JF  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
N2  - Large herbivores are significant vectors for the long-distance dispersal of seeds in various habitats, both attached to animals (epizoochory) and via gut passage (endozoochory). The majority of studies on epizoochory have examined dispersal in the fur of domesticated ungulates. Studies on wild ungulates are important to understand dispersal processes in many habitats, but rare due to methodological constraints. We studied epizoochory of seeds by European bison in an open-forest-mosaic (nutrient-poor grassland and heathland, mixed forest) in NW Germany, where bison had been introduced for the purpose of nature conservation. At the study site it was possible to apply a method by which hoof material of free-ranging bison was non-invasively collected. We identified a total of 1082 seeds from 32 plant species in the hoof material. The three most abundant species were Polygonum aviculare, Agrostis capillaris and Betula spp. Seed species originated from various habitat types of the study area, while the majority of seeds derived from trampled areas. Compared to the non-dispersed plant species of the study area, dispersed plant species had a higher seed longevity index, suggesting that many seeds were picked up from the soil seed bank. Epizoochory ranking indices of dispersed seed species, classifying the importance of epizoochory, revealed that transport in the fur may be of minor importance for many species, i.e. epizoochory by the hooves turned out to be negatively correlated to epizoochory in the fur. We conclude that European bison disperses a considerable number of seed species through trampling. Further research should consider epizoochory via the hooves and include integrative approaches to understand the different dispersal mechanisms by ungulates and their long-term synergetic effect on plant communities.
KW  - diaspore
KW  - external dispersal
KW  - large ungulate
KW  - secondary seed dispersal
KW  - trampling
Y1  - 2014
SN  - 0722-494X
IS  - 34
SP  - 131
EP  - 144
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - Selvi, Federico
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Divergent regeneration responses of two closely related tree species to direct abiotic and indirect biotic effects of climate change
JF  - Forest ecology and management
N2  - Changing temperature and precipitation can strongly influence plant reproduction. However, also biotic interactions might indirectly affect the reproduction and recruitment success of plants in the context of climate change. Information about the interactive effects of changes in abiotic and biotic factors is essential, but still largely lacking, to better understand the potential effects of a changing climate on plant populations. Here we analyze the regeneration from seeds of Acer platanoides and Acer pseudoplatanus, two currently secondary forest tree species from seven regions along a 2200 km-wide latitudinal gradient in Europe. We assessed the germination, seedling survival and growth during two years in a common garden experiment where temperature, precipitation and competition with the understory vegetation were manipulated. A. platanoides was more sensitive to changes in biotic conditions while A. pseudoplatanus was affected by both abiotic and biotic changes. In general, competition reduced (in A. platanoides) and warming enhanced (in A. pseudoplatanus) germination and survival, respectively. Reduced competition strongly increased the growth of A. platanoides seedlings. Seedling responses were independent of the conditions experienced by the mother tree during seed production and maturation. Our results indicate that, due to the negative effects of competition on the regeneration of A. platanoides, it is likely that under stronger competition (projected under future climatic conditions) this species will be negatively affected in terms of germination, survival and seedling biomass. Climate-change experiments including both abiotic and biotic factors constitute a key step forward to better understand the response of tree species' regeneration to climate change. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - Acer
KW  - Regeneration
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
KW  - Temperature
KW  - Precipitation
KW  - Competition
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.01.003
SN  - 0378-1127
SN  - 1872-7042
VL  - 342
SP  - 21
EP  - 29
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - De Schrijver, An
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Nilsson, Christer
A1  - Stanton, Sharon
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - The response of forest plant regeneration to temperature variation along a latitudinal gradient
JF  - Annals of botany
N2  - The response of forest herb regeneration from seed to temperature variations across latitudes was experimentally assessed in order to forecast the likely response of understorey community dynamics to climate warming.
 Seeds of two characteristic forest plants (Anemone nemorosa and Milium effusum) were collected in natural populations along a latitudinal gradient from northern France to northern Sweden and exposed to three temperature regimes in growth chambers (first experiment). To test the importance of local adaptation, reciprocal transplants were also made of adult individuals that originated from the same populations in three common gardens located in southern, central and northern sites along the same gradient, and the resulting seeds were germinated (second experiment). Seedling establishment was quantified by measuring the timing and percentage of seedling emergence, and seedling biomass in both experiments.
 Spring warming increased emergence rates and seedling growth in the early-flowering forb A. nemorosa. Seedlings of the summer-flowering grass M. effusum originating from northern populations responded more strongly in terms of biomass growth to temperature than southern populations. The above-ground biomass of the seedlings of both species decreased with increasing latitude of origin, irrespective of whether seeds were collected from natural populations or from the common gardens. The emergence percentage decreased with increasing home-away distance in seeds from the transplant experiment, suggesting that the maternal plants were locally adapted.
 Decreasing seedling emergence and growth were found from the centre to the northern edge of the distribution range for both species. Stronger responses to temperature variation in seedling growth of the grass M. effusum in the north may offer a way to cope with environmental change. The results further suggest that climate warming might differentially affect seedling establishment of understorey plants across their distribution range and thus alter future understorey plant dynamics.
KW  - Anemone nemorosa
KW  - climate change
KW  - common garden
KW  - growth chambers
KW  - latitudinal gradient
KW  - local adaptation
KW  - Milium effusum
KW  - plant regeneration
KW  - range edges
KW  - recruitment
KW  - seedling establishment
KW  - temperature
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs015
SN  - 0305-7364
VL  - 109
IS  - 5
SP  - 1037
EP  - 1046
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Warton, David I.
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Verstraeten, Gorik
A1  - Bonte, Dries
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Cornelis, Johnny
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Walther, Gian-Reto
A1  - Wulf, Monica
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - A model-based approach to studying changes in compositional heterogeneity
JF  - Methods in ecology and evolution : an official journal of the British Ecological Society
Y1  - 2014
SN  - 2041-210X
SN  - 2041-2096
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
SP  - 156
EP  - 164
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Benete Jessen
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Baltora, S.
A1  - De Schrijver, A.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Dhondt, Rob
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Gruwez, R.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Liira, J.
A1  - Saguez, R.
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Baskin, Carol C.
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - A latitudinal gradient in seed nutrients of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa
JF  - Plant biology
N2  - The nutrient concentration in seeds determines many aspects of potential success of the sexual reproductive phase of plants, including the seed predation probability, efficiency of seed dispersal and seedling performance. Despite considerable research interest in latitudinal gradients of foliar nutrients, a similar gradient for seeds remains unexplored. We investigated a potential latitudinal gradient in seed nutrient concentrations within the widespread European understorey forest herb Anemone nemorosa L. We sampled seeds of A. nemorosa in 15 populations along a 1900-km long latitudinal gradient at three to seven seed collection dates post-anthesis and investigated the relative effects of growing degree-hours > 5 degrees C, soil characteristics and latitude on seed nutrient concentrations. Seed nitrogen, nitrogen:phosphorus ratio and calcium concentration decreased towards northern latitudes, while carbon:nitrogen ratios increased. When taking differences in growing degree-hours and measured soil characteristics into account and only considering the most mature seeds, the latitudinal decline remained particularly significant for seed nitrogen concentration. We argue that the decline in seed nitrogen concentration can be attributed to northward decreasing seed provisioning due to lower soil nitrogen availability or greater investment in clonal reproduction. This pattern may have large implications for the reproductive performance of this forest herb as the degree of seed provisioning ultimately co-determines seedling survival and reproductive success.
KW  - Collection date
KW  - latitude
KW  - nutrient stoichiometry
KW  - seed nitrogen
KW  - seed predation
KW  - seed provisioning
KW  - sexual reproduction
KW  - wood anemone
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00404.x
SN  - 1435-8603
VL  - 13
IS  - 3
SP  - 493
EP  - 501
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Malden
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Albert, Aurelie
A1  - Auffret, Alistair G.
A1  - Cosyns, Eric
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Eichberg, Carsten
A1  - Eycott, Amy E.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hoffmann, Maurice
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Malo, Juan E.
A1  - Marell, Anders
A1  - Mouissie, Maarten
A1  - Pakeman, Robin J.
A1  - Picard, Melanie
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - Poschlod, Peter
A1  - Provoost, Sam
A1  - Schulze, Kiowa Alraune
A1  - Baltzinger, Christophe
T1  - Seed dispersal by ungulates as an ecological filter: a trait-based meta-analysis
JF  - Oikos
N2  - Plant communities are often dispersal-limited and zoochory can be an efficient mechanism for plants to colonize new patches of potentially suitable habitat. We predicted that seed dispersal by ungulates acts as an ecological filter - which differentially affects individuals according to their characteristics and shapes species assemblages - and that the filter varies according to the dispersal mechanism (endozoochory, fur-epizoochory and hoof-epizoochory). We conducted two-step individual participant data meta-analyses of 52 studies on plant dispersal by ungulates in fragmented landscapes, comparing eight plant traits and two habitat indicators between dispersed and non-dispersed plants. We found that ungulates dispersed at least 44% of the available plant species. Moreover, some plant traits and habitat indicators increased the likelihood for plant of being dispersed. Persistent or nitrophilous plant species from open habitats or bearing dry or elongated diaspores were more likely to be dispersed by ungulates, whatever the dispersal mechanism. In addition, endozoochory was more likely for diaspores bearing elongated appendages whereas epizoochory was more likely for diaspores released relatively high in vegetation. Hoof-epizoochory was more likely for light diaspores without hooked appendages. Fur-epizoochory was more likely for diaspores with appendages, particularly elongated or hooked ones. We thus observed a gradient of filtering effect among the three dispersal mechanisms. Endozoochory had an effect of rather weak intensity (impacting six plant characteristics with variations between ungulate-dispersed and non-dispersed plant species mostly below 25%), whereas hoof-epizoochory had a stronger effect (eight characteristics included five ones with above 75% variation), and fur-epizoochory an even stronger one (nine characteristics included six ones with above 75% variation). Our results demonstrate that seed dispersal by ungulates is an ecological filter whose intensity varies according to the dispersal mechanism considered. Ungulates can thus play a key role in plant community dynamics and have implications for plant spatial distribution patterns at multiple scales.
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.02512
SN  - 0030-1299
SN  - 1600-0706
VL  - 124
IS  - 9
SP  - 1109
EP  - 1120
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Dhondt, Rob
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Gruwez, Robert
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Oster, Mathias
A1  - Saguez, Robert
A1  - Stanton, Sharon
A1  - Tack, Wesley
A1  - Vanhellemont, Margot
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - An intraspecific application of the leaf-height-seed ecology strategy scheme to forest herbs along a latitudinal gradient
JF  - Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum
N2  - We measured LHS traits in 41 Anemone nemorosa and 44 Milium effusum populations along a 1900-2300 km latitudinal gradient from N France to N Sweden. We then applied multilevel models to identify the effects of regional (temperature, latitude) and local (soil fertility and acidity, overstorey canopy cover) environmental factors on LHS traits.
 Both species displayed a significant 4% increase in plant height with every degree northward shift (almost a two-fold plant height difference between the southernmost and northernmost populations). Neither seed mass nor SLA showed a significant latitudinal cline. Temperature had a large effect on the three LHS traits of Anemone. Latitude, canopy cover and soil nutrients were related to the SLA and plant height of Milium. None of the investigated variables appeared to be related to the seed mass of Milium.
 The variation in LHS traits indicates that the ecological strategy determined by the position of each population in this three-factor triangle is not constant along the latitudinal gradient. The significant increase in plant height suggests greater competitive abilities for both species in the northernmost populations. We also found that the studied environmental factors affected the LHS traits of the two species on various scales: spring-flowering Anemone was affected more by temperature, whereas early-summer flowering Milium was affected more by local and other latitude-related factors. Finally, previously reported cross-species correlations between LHS traits and latitude were generally unsupported by our within-species approach.
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06399.x
SN  - 0906-7590
VL  - 34
IS  - 1
SP  - 132
EP  - 140
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Malden
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Craven, Dylan
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Bert, Didier
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chudomelova, Marketa
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Dirnboeck, Thomas
A1  - Dörfler, Inken
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Keczynski, Andrzej
A1  - Kelly, Daniel L.
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Macek, Martin
A1  - Malis, Frantisek
A1  - Mirtl, Michael
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Peterken, George
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Schmidt, Wolfgang
A1  - Standovar, Tibor
A1  - Toth, Zoltan
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Verstraeten, Gorik
A1  - Vladovic, Jozef
A1  - Vild, Ondrej
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Drivers of temporal changes in temperate forest plant diversity vary across spatial scales
JF  - Global change biology
N2  - Global biodiversity is affected by numerous environmental drivers. Yet, the extent to which global environmental changes contribute to changes in local diversity is poorly understood. We investigated biodiversity changes in a meta-analysis of 39 resurvey studies in European temperate forests (3988 vegetation records in total, 17-75years between the two surveys) by assessing the importance of (i) coarse-resolution (i.e., among sites) vs. fine-resolution (i.e., within sites) environmental differences and (ii) changing environmental conditions between surveys. Our results clarify the mechanisms underlying the direction and magnitude of local-scale biodiversity changes. While not detecting any net local diversity loss, we observed considerable among-site variation, partly explained by temporal changes in light availability (a local driver) and density of large herbivores (a regional driver). Furthermore, strong evidence was found that presurvey levels of nitrogen deposition determined subsequent diversity changes. We conclude that models forecasting future biodiversity changes should consider coarse-resolution environmental changes, account for differences in baseline environmental conditions and for local changes in fine-resolution environmental conditions.
KW  - atmospheric nitrogen deposition
KW  - evenness
KW  - forestREplot
KW  - forest management
KW  - game browsing
KW  - Shannon diversity
KW  - spatiotemporal resurvey data
KW  - species richness
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12993
SN  - 1354-1013
SN  - 1365-2486
VL  - 21
IS  - 10
SP  - 3726
EP  - 3737
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Liang, Wei
A1  - Heinrich, Ingo
A1  - Helle, Gerhard
A1  - Linan, Isabel Dorado
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Applying CLSM to increment core surfaces for histometric analyses a novel advance in quantitative wood anatomy
JF  - Dendrochronologia : an interdisciplinary journal of tree-ring science
N2  - A novel procedure has been developed to conduct cell structure measurements on increment core samples of conifers. The procedure combines readily available hardware and software equipment. The essential part of the procedure is the application of a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) which captures images directly from increment cores surfaced with the advanced WSL core-microtome. Cell wall and lumen are displayed with a strong contrast due to the monochrome black and green nature of the images. Consecutive images are merged into long images representing entire increment cores which are then analysed for cell structures in suitable software.
KW  - Wood anatomy
KW  - Cell structures
KW  - Confocal laser scanning microscopy
KW  - CLSM
KW  - Dendrochronology
KW  - Surface preparation
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2012.09.002
SN  - 1125-7865
VL  - 31
IS  - 2
SP  - 140
EP  - 145
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara Ao
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - De Schrijver, An
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Gruwez, Robert
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Nilsson, Christer
A1  - Stanton, Sharon
A1  - Tack, Wesley
A1  - Willaert, Justin
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Temperature effects on forest herbs assessed by warming and transplant experiments along a latitudinal gradient
JF  - Global change biology
N2  - Slow-colonizing forest understorey plants are probably not able to rapidly adjust their distribution range following large-scale climate change. Therefore, the acclimation potential to climate change within their actual occupied habitats will likely be key for their short-and long-term persistence. We combined transplant experiments along a latitudinal gradient with open-top chambers to assess the effects of temperature on phenology, growth and reproductive performance of multiple populations of slow-colonizing understorey plants, using the spring flowering geophytic forb Anemone nemorosa and the early summer flowering grass Milium effusum as study species. In both species, emergence time and start of flowering clearly advanced with increasing temperatures. Vegetative growth (plant height, aboveground biomass) and reproductive success (seed mass, seed germination and germinable seed output) of A. nemorosa benefited from higher temperatures. Climate warming may thus increase future competitive ability and colonization rates of this species. Apart from the effects on phenology, growth and reproductive performance of M. effusum generally decreased when transplanted southwards (e. g., plant size and number of individuals decreased towards the south) and was probably more limited by light availability in the south. Specific leaf area of both species increased when transplanted southwards, but decreased with open-top chamber installation in A. nemorosa. In general, individuals of both species transplanted at the home site performed best, suggesting local adaptation. We conclude that contrasting understorey plants may display divergent plasticity in response to changing temperatures which may alter future understorey community dynamics.
KW  - climate change
KW  - common garden experiment
KW  - forest understorey
KW  - latitude
KW  - local adaptation
KW  - open-top chambers
KW  - phenotypic plasticity
KW  - pot experiment
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02449.x
SN  - 1354-1013
VL  - 17
IS  - 10
SP  - 3240
EP  - 3253
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lemke, Isgard H.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal P.
A1  - Blandino, Cristina
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Schmucki, Reto
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
T1  - Patterns of phenotypic trait variation in two temperate forest herbs along a broad climatic gradient
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Phenotypic trait variation plays a major role in the response of plants to global environmental change, particularly in species with low migration capabilities and recruitment success. However, little is known about the variation of functional traits within populations and about differences in this variation on larger spatial scales. In a first approach, we therefore related trait expression to climate and local environmental conditions, studying two temperate forest herbs, Milium effusum and Stachys sylvatica, along a similar to 1800-2500 km latitudinal gradient. Within each of 9-10 regions in six European countries, we collected data from six populations of each species and recorded several variables in each region (temperature, precipitation) and population (light availability, soil parameters). For each plant, we measured height, leaf area, specific leaf area, seed mass and the number of seeds and examined environmental effects on within-population trait variation as well as on trait means. Most importantly, trait variation differed both between and within populations. Species, however, differed in their response. Intrapopulation variation in Milium was consistently positively affected by higher mean temperatures and precipitation as well as by more fertile local soil conditions, suggesting that more productive conditions may select for larger phenotypic variation. In Stachys, particularly light availability positively influenced trait variation, whereas local soil conditions had no consistent effects. Generally, our study emphasises that intra-population variation may differ considerably across larger scales-due to phenotypic plasticity and/or underlying genetic diversity-possibly affecting species response to global environmental change.
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Global environmental change
KW  - Milium effusum
KW  - Phenotypic plasticity
KW  - Intraspecific variation
KW  - Stachys sylvatica
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0534-0
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 216
IS  - 11
SP  - 1523
EP  - 1536
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Pepin, Nick
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Zobel, Martin
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Nijs, Ivan
A1  - Milbau, Ann
T1  - On the use of weather data in ecological studies along altitudinal and latitudinal gradients
JF  - Oikos
N2  - Global warming has created a need for studies along climatic gradients to assess the effects of temperature on ecological processes. Altitudinal and latitudinal gradients are often used as such, usually in combination with air temperature data from the closest weather station recorded at 1.52 m above the ground. However, many ecological processes occur in, at, or right above the soil surface. To evaluate how representative the commonly used weather station data are for the microclimate relevant for soil surface biota, we compared weather station temperatures for an altitudinal (500900 m a.s.l.) and a latitudinal gradient (4968 degrees N) with data obtained by temperature sensors placed right below the soil surface at five sites along these gradients. The mean annual temperatures obtained from weather stations and adjusted using a lapse rate of -5.5 degrees C km-1 were between 3.8 degrees C lower and 1.6 degrees C higher than those recorded by the temperature sensors at the soil surface, depending on the position along the gradients. The monthly mean temperatures were up to 10 degrees C warmer or 5 degrees C colder at the soil surface. The within-site variation in accumulated temperature was as high as would be expected from a 300 m change in altitude or from a 4 degrees change in latitude or a climate change scenario corresponding to warming of 1.63.8 degrees C. Thus, these differences introduced by the decoupling are significant from a climate change perspective, and the results demonstrate the need for incorporating microclimatic variation when conducting studies along altitudinal or latitudinal gradients. We emphasize the need for using relevant temperature data in climate impact studies and further call for more studies describing the soil surface microclimate, which is crucial for much of the biota.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.19694.x
SN  - 0030-1299
VL  - 121
IS  - 1
SP  - 3
EP  - 19
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pauliuk, Franziska
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Bryophyte dispersal by sheep on dry grassland
JF  - Nova Hedwigia : Zeitschrift für Kryptogamenkunde
N2  - Many bryophytes may depend on epizoochorous dispersal by large mammals for maintaining their populations and colonizing new habitats. On dry grassland we investigated the transport of bryophyte diaspores by sheep, which are known to be effective epizoochorous dispersal vectors of seed plants. Twelve sheep of two breeds were examined by collecting gametophyte fragments from their fleece and hooves. Furthermore, microscopic diaspores from the soil adhering to the hooves were grown in a greenhouse. Species frequency and composition were compared to bryophyte vegetation on the pasture. Considerable amounts of unspecialized gametophyte fragments from 16 moss species, 40% of the species growing on the pasture, were transported by sheep, especially on the belly and the tail. Additionally, we provide first evidence of epizoochorous dispersal of thallus fragments from fruticose lichens. Sheep breeds differed in species spectrum and frequency, i.e. sheep with dense, curly fleece carried more fragments and larger species than those with smooth and fine hair. Among the dispersed bryophytes pleurocarps, certain taxa, sizes (small species) and life forms (mats) were overrepresented compared to the vegetation of the pasture, while large species, acrocarps, wefts and turfs were underrepresented, reflecting fragmentation and adhesion features of the species. In the hooves mostly acrocarpous colonist species were transported. We conclude that sheep are important dispersal vectors with the potential of long-range dispersal for bryophytes, especially for species without sexual reproduction, and that epizoochorous dispersal of microscopic diaspores might be underestimated in its importance so far.
KW  - Calcareous grassland
KW  - dispersal of cryptogams
KW  - epizoochory
KW  - shoot fragments
KW  - life history attributes
KW  - vegetative reproduction
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1127/0029-5035/2011/0092-0327
SN  - 0029-5035
VL  - 92
IS  - 3-4
SP  - 327
EP  - 341
PB  - Cramer
CY  - Stuttgart
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - De Backer, L.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Graae, B. J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Naaf, T.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Selvi, F.
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Latitudinal variation in seeds characteristics of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Climate change will likely affect population dynamics of numerous plant species by modifying several aspects of the life cycle. Because plant regeneration from seeds may be particularly vulnerable, here we assess the possible effects of climate change on seed characteristics and present an integrated analysis of seven seed traits (nutrient concentrations, samara mass, seed mass, wing length, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass) of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus seeds collected along a wide latitudinal gradient from Italy to Norway. Seed traits were analyzed in relation to the environmental conditions experienced by the mother trees along the latitudinal gradient. We found that seed traits of A. platanoides were more influenced by the climatic conditions than those of A. pseudoplatanus. Additionally, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass of A. platanoides were strongly related to the seed mass and nutrient concentration. While A. platanoides seeds were more influenced by the environmental conditions (generally negatively affected by rising temperatures), compared to A. pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides still showed higher germination percentage and seedling biomass than A. pseudoplatanus. Thus, further research on subsequent life-history stages of both species is needed. The variation in seed quality observed along the climatic gradient highlights the importance of studying the possible impact of climate change on seed production and species demography.
KW  - Acer platanoides
KW  - Acer pseudoplatanus
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Seed traits
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0343-x
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 215
IS  - 8
SP  - 911
EP  - 925
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Reinecke, Jennifer
A1  - Klemm, Gunther
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Vegetation change and homogenization of species composition in temperate nutrient deficient scots pine forests after 45 yr
JF  - Journal of vegetation science
N2  - QuestionDoes eutrophication drive vegetation change in pine forests on nutrient deficient sites and thus lead to the homogenization of understorey species composition?
 LocationForest area (1600ha) in the Lower Spreewald, Brandenburg, Germany.
 MethodsResurvey of 77 semi-permanent plots after 45yr, including vascular plants, bryophytes and ground lichens. We applied multidimensional ordination of species composition, dissimilarity indices, mean Ellenberg indicator values and the concept of winner/loser species to identify vegetation change between years. Differential responses along a gradient of nutrient availability were analysed on the basis of initial vegetation type, reflecting topsoil N availability of plots.
 ResultsSpecies composition changed strongly and overall shifted towards higher N and slightly lower light availability. Differences in vegetation change were related to initial vegetation type, with strongest compositional changes in the oligotrophic forest type, but strongest increase of nitrophilous species in the mesotrophic forest type. Despite an overall increase in species number, species composition was homogenized between study years due to the loss of species (mainly ground lichens) on the most oligotrophic sites.
 ConclusionsThe response to N enrichment is confounded by canopy closure on the N-richest sites and probably by water limitation on N-poorest sites. The relative importance of atmospheric N deposition in the eutrophication effect is difficult to disentangle from natural humus accumulation after historical litter raking. However, the profound differences in species composition between study years across all forest types suggest that atmospheric N deposition contributes to the eutrophication, which drives understorey vegetation change and biotic homogenization in Central European Scots pine forests on nutrient deficient sites.
KW  - Eutrophication
KW  - Litter raking
KW  - Canopy closure
KW  - Cryptogams
KW  - Species diversity
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12069
SN  - 1100-9233
SN  - 1654-1103
VL  - 25
IS  - 1
SP  - 113
EP  - 121
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kruse, Michaela
A1  - Stein-Bachinger, Karin
A1  - Gottwald, Frank
A1  - Schmidt, Elisabeth
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
T1  - Influence of grassland management on the biodiversity of plants and butterflies on organic suckler cow farms
JF  - Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft
N2  - The intensification of agricultural practices has led to a severe decrease in grassland biodiversity. Although there is strong evidence that organic farming can reduce the negative impacts of land use, knowledge regarding the most beneficial management system for species richness on organic grasslands is still scarce. This study examines differences in the biodiversity of plants and butterflies on rotationally and continuously grazed pastures as well as on meadows cut twice per year on two large organic suckler cow farms in NE Germany. Vegetation and flower abundance, as factors likely to influence butterfly abundance and diversity, were compared and used to explain the differences. The data attained by vegetation assessments and monthly transect inspections from May to August were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric methods. The abiotic site conditions of the studied plots had more influence on plant species numbers than the management method. Dry and nutrient-poor areas (mainly poor types of Cynosurion) and undrained wet fens (Calthion) were important for phytodiversity, measured by the absolute number of species, indicator species for ecologically valuable grasslands and the Shannon Index. Meadows tended to have more indicator species than pastures, where small-scale special sites such as wet depressions were crucial for plant diversity. Butterfly diversity was very low, and 90% of the recorded butterflies were individuals of the generalist species Pieris napi. Butterfly abundance depended mainly on occurrence of specific habitat types and specific larval host plants. Supply of flowers was crucial only in certain time periods. Differences in butterfly abundance between the management systems could be explained by the site conditions of the studied grasslands. We conclude that meadows are more favorable to support ecologically valuable plant species; however, their extension is contradictory to the organic farming method of suckler cows maintained outside of stables. Rotationally grazed pastures could be a compromise that would enhance the temporal heterogeneity of flower abundance and vegetation structure. The plant diversity on pastures should be improved by less intensive grazing on special sites and plant species enrichment by means of hay transfer. For enhancing butterfly diversity we suggest to reduce land use intensity especially on poor soils. Considering the economic perspective of the farms, small parts of the agricultural area could be sufficient if connectivity to other suitable habitats is assured. Flower abundance and diversity of larval host plants could be promoted by high diversity of farming practices as well as preserving small uncut strips of meadows.
KW  - cattle grazing
KW  - continuous pasture
KW  - land use impact
KW  - lowland fen
KW  - meadow
KW  - organic farming
KW  - plant community
KW  - rotational pasture
KW  - species diversity
KW  - wet grassland
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.14471/2016.56.006
SN  - 0722-494X
VL  - 37
SP  - 97
EP  - 119
PB  - Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft
CY  - Göttingen
ER  -