TY - JOUR A1 - Wolters, Steffen A1 - Bittmann, Felix A1 - Kummer, Volker T1 - The first subfossil records of Urtica kioviensis Rogow. and their consequences for palaeoecological interpretations N2 - Among plant remains from Mesolithic layers dating from 9249 to 7779 B.C. at the excavation site of Friesack IV in north-eastern Germany, nutlets of Urtica kioviensis were identified. Morphological studies have shown that they clearly differed from all other European Urtica species investigated. In contrast, pollen morphological investigations revealed only slight differences between the central European Urtica species, which could hardly have been noticed during routine or normal pollen analyses. The records of U. kioviensis nutlets are the first subfossil finds reported and prove the indigenous status of this taxon in north-eastern Germany. The records are discussed in the context of the overall species spectrum of the Mesolithic layers and consequences for the interpretation of pollen analytical studies concerning human impact are pointed out Y1 - 2005 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - Das Kienfenn : ein Beitrag zur Vegetationsgeschichte Y1 - 1998 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Diekoetter, Tim A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Socher, Stephanie A1 - Wolters, Volkmar T1 - Soil fauna feeding activity in temperate grassland soils increases with legume and grass species richness JF - Soil biology & biochemistry N2 - Edaphic fauna contributes to important ecosystem functions in grassland soils such as decomposition and nutrient mineralization. Since this functional role is likely to be altered by global change and associated shifts in plant communities, a thorough understanding of large scale drivers on below-ground processes independent of regional differences in soil type or climate is essential. We investigated the relationship between abiotic (soil properties, management practices) and biotic (plant functional group composition, vegetation characteristics, soil fauna abundance) predictors and feeding activity of soil fauna after accounting for sample year and study region. Our study was carried out over a period of two consecutive years in 92 agricultural grasslands in three regions of Germany, spanning a latitudinal gradient of more than 500 km. A structural equation model suggests that feeding activity of soil fauna as measured by the bait-lamina test was positively related to legume and grass species richness in both years. Most probably, a diverse vegetation promotes feeding activity of soil fauna via alterations of both microclimate and resource availability. Feeding activity of soil fauna also increased with earthworm biomass via a pathway over Collembola abundance. The effect of earthworms on the feeding activity in soil may be attributed to their important role as ecosystem engineers. As no additional effects of agricultural management such as fertilization, livestock density or number of cuts on bait consumption were observed, our results suggest that the positive effect of legume and grass species richness on the feeding activity in soil fauna is a general one that will not be overruled by regional differences in management or environmental conditions. We thus suggest that agri-environment schemes aiming at the protection of belowground activity and associated ecosystem functions in temperate grasslands may generally focus on maintaining plant diversity, especially with regard to the potential effects of climate change on future vegetation structure. KW - Above-belowground interactions KW - Bait lamina KW - Biodiversity ecosystem function research KW - Decomposition KW - Plant functional groups KW - Soil fauna KW - Spatial scale Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.07.008 SN - 0038-0717 VL - 43 IS - 10 SP - 2200 EP - 2207 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soliveres, Santiago A1 - van der Plas, Fons A1 - Manning, Peter A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Alt, Fabian A1 - Arndt, Hartmut A1 - Baumgartner, Vanessa A1 - Binkenstein, Julia A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Blaser, Stefan A1 - Blüthgen, Nico A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Böhm, Stefan A1 - Börschig, Carmen A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Diekötter, Tim A1 - Heinze, Johannes A1 - Hölzel, Norbert A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Kleinebecker, Till A1 - Klemmer, Sandra A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Lange, Markus A1 - Morris, E. Kathryn A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Oelmann, Yvonne A1 - Overmann, Jörg A1 - Pasalic, Esther A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Schaefer, H. Martin A1 - Schloter, Michael A1 - Schmitt, Barbara A1 - Schöning, Ingo A1 - Schrumpf, Marion A1 - Sikorski, Johannes A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Solly, Emily F. A1 - Sonnemann, Ilja A1 - Sorkau, Elisabeth A1 - Steckel, Juliane A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Stempfhuber, Barbara A1 - Tschapka, Marco A1 - Türke, Manfred A1 - Venter, Paul C. A1 - Weiner, Christiane N. A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Werner, Michael A1 - Westphal, Catrin A1 - Wilcke, Wolfgang A1 - Wolters, Volkmar A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Wurst, Susanne A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Allan, Eric T1 - Biodiversity at multiple trophic levels is needed for ecosystem multifunctionality JF - Nature : the international weekly journal of science Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19092 SN - 0028-0836 SN - 1476-4687 VL - 536 SP - 456 EP - + PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - THES A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - Vegetationsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zur spätglazialen und holozänen Landschaftsentwicklung in der Döbritzer Heide (Brandenburg) Y1 - 2001 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - Spät- und postglazialem Vegetationsentwicklung im Bereich der Fercher Berge südwestlich von Potsdam Y1 - 1999 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brande, Arthur A1 - Böse, M. A1 - Müller, M. A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - The Bliesendorf soil and aerolian sand transport in the Potsdam area Y1 - 1999 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Burkart, Michael A1 - Hinrichsen, Arne A1 - Kühling, Matthias A1 - Oehlschläger, Susanne A1 - Wallschläger, Hans-Dieter A1 - Wiegleb, Gerhard A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - Einführung : Offene Sandlandschaften Mitteleuropas ; Truppenübungsplätze und Naturschutz Y1 - 2004 SN - 3-540-22449-1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kühling, Matthias A1 - Burkart, Michael A1 - Hinrichsen, Arne A1 - Oehlschläger, Susanne A1 - Wallschläger, Hans-Dieter A1 - Wiegleb, Gerhard A1 - Wolters, Steffen T1 - Offene Sandlandschaften Mitteleuropas, Truppenübungsplätze und Naturschutz Y1 - 2004 SN - 3-540-22449-1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Lewinsohn, Thomas M. A1 - Kahl, Tiemo A1 - Grassein, Fabrice A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Sikorski, Johannes A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Arndt, Hartmut A1 - Baumgartner, Vanessa A1 - Blaser, Stefan A1 - Blüthgen, Nico A1 - Börschig, Carmen A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Diekötter, Tim A1 - Jorge, Leonardo Re A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Keyel, Alexander C. A1 - Klein, Alexandra-Maria A1 - Klemmer, Sandra A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Lange, Markus A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Overmann, Jörg A1 - Pasalic, Esther A1 - Penone, Caterina A1 - Perovic, David J. A1 - Purschke, Oliver A1 - Schall, Peter A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Sonnemann, Ilja A1 - Tschapka, Marco A1 - Tscharntke, Teja A1 - Türke, Manfred A1 - Venter, Paul Christiaan A1 - Weiner, Christiane N. A1 - Werner, Michael A1 - Wolters, Volkmar A1 - Wurst, Susanne A1 - Westphal, Catrin A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Allan, Eric T1 - Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities JF - Nature : the international weekly journal of science N2 - Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss(1,2). Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in beta-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (alpha)-diversity(1,3) and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing beta-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above-and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in alpha-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on beta-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in beta-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local alpha-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the alpha-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the alpha-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity loss could prove to be the most substantial consequence of land-use intensification. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20575 SN - 0028-0836 SN - 1476-4687 VL - 540 SP - 266 EP - + PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Soliveres, Santiago A1 - Manning, Peter A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Alt, Fabian A1 - Arndt, Hartmut A1 - Baumgartner, Vanessa A1 - Binkenstein, Julia A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Blaser, Stefan A1 - Bluethgen, Nico A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Boehm, Stefan A1 - Boerschig, Carmen A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Diekoetter, Tim A1 - Heinze, Johannes A1 - Hoelzel, Norbert A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Klein, Alexandra-Maria A1 - Kleinebecker, Till A1 - Klemmer, Sandra A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Lange, Markus A1 - Morris, E. Kathryn A1 - Mueller, Joerg A1 - Oelmann, Yvonne A1 - Overmann, Jörg A1 - Pasalic, Esther A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Schaefer, H. Martin A1 - Schloter, Michael A1 - Schmitt, Barbara A1 - Schoening, Ingo A1 - Schrumpf, Marion A1 - Sikorski, Johannes A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Solly, Emily F. A1 - Sonnemann, Ilja A1 - Sorkau, Elisabeth A1 - Steckel, Juliane A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Stempfhuber, Barbara A1 - Tschapka, Marco A1 - Tuerke, Manfred A1 - Venter, Paul A1 - Weiner, Christiane N. A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Werner, Michael A1 - Westphal, Catrin A1 - Wilcke, Wolfgang A1 - Wolters, Volkmar A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Wurst, Susanne A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Allan, Eric T1 - Locally rare species influence grassland ecosystem multifunctionality JF - Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London : B, Biological sciences N2 - Species diversity promotes the delivery of multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). However, the relative functional importance of rare and common species in driving the biodiversity multifunctionality relationship remains unknown. We studied the relationship between the diversity of rare and common species (according to their local abundances and across nine different trophic groups), and multifunctionality indices derived from 14 ecosystem functions on 150 grasslands across a land use intensity (LUI) gradient. The diversity of above- and below-ground rare species had opposite effects, with rare above-ground species being associated with high levels of multifunctionality, probably because their effects on different functions did not trade off against each other. Conversely, common species were only related to average, not high, levels of multifunctionality, and their functional effects declined with LUI. Apart from the community level effects of diversity, we found significant positive associations between the abundance of individual species and multifunctionality in 6% of the species tested. Species specific functional effects were best predicted by their response to LUI: species that declined in abundance with land use intensification were those associated with higher levels of multifunctionality. Our results highlight the importance of rare species for ecosystem multifunctionality and help guiding future conservation priorities. KW - biodiversity KW - common species KW - ecosystem function KW - identity hypothesis KW - land use KW - multitrophic Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0269 SN - 0962-8436 SN - 1471-2970 VL - 371 SP - 3175 EP - 3185 PB - Royal Society CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Allan, Eric A1 - Bossdorf, Oliver A1 - Dormann, Carsten F. A1 - Prati, Daniel A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Tscharntke, Teja A1 - Blüthgen, Nico A1 - Bellach, Michaela A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Böhm, Stefan A1 - Börschig, Carmen A1 - Chatzinotas, Antonis A1 - Christ, Sabina A1 - Daniel, Rolf A1 - Diekötter, Tim A1 - Fischer, Christiane A1 - Friedl, Thomas A1 - Glaser, Karin A1 - Hallmann, Christine A1 - Hodac, Ladislav A1 - Hölzel, Norbert A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Klein, Alexandra-Maria A1 - Klaus, Valentin H. A1 - Kleinebecker, Till A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Lange, Markus A1 - Morris, E. Kathryn A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Nacke, Heiko A1 - Pasalic, Esther A1 - Rillig, Matthias C. A1 - Rothenwoehrer, Christoph A1 - Schally, Peter A1 - Scherber, Christoph A1 - Schulze, Waltraud X. A1 - Socher, Stephanie A. A1 - Steckel, Juliane A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Türke, Manfred A1 - Weiner, Christiane N. A1 - Werner, Michael A1 - Westphal, Catrin A1 - Wolters, Volkmar A1 - Wubet, Tesfaye A1 - Gockel, Sonja A1 - Gorke, Martin A1 - Hemp, Andreas A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Schöning, Ingo A1 - Pfeiffer, Simone A1 - König-Ries, Birgitta A1 - Buscot, Francois A1 - Linsenmair, Karl Eduard A1 - Schulze, Ernst-Detlef A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Fischer, Markus T1 - Interannual variation in land-use intensity enhances grassland multidiversity JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America N2 - Although temporal heterogeneity is a well-accepted driver of biodiversity, effects of interannual variation in land-use intensity (LUI) have not been addressed yet. Additionally, responses to land use can differ greatly among different organisms; therefore, overall effects of land-use on total local biodiversity are hardly known. To test for effects of LUI (quantified as the combined intensity of fertilization, grazing, and mowing) and interannual variation in LUI (SD in LUI across time), we introduce a unique measure of whole-ecosystem biodiversity, multidiversity. This synthesizes individual diversity measures across up to 49 taxonomic groups of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria from 150 grasslands. Multidiversity declined with increasing LUI among grasslands, particularly for rarer species and aboveground organisms, whereas common species and belowground groups were less sensitive. However, a high level of interannual variation in LUI increased overall multidiversity at low LUI and was even more beneficial for rarer species because it slowed the rate at which the multidiversity of rare species declined with increasing LUI. In more intensively managed grasslands, the diversity of rarer species was, on average, 18% of the maximum diversity across all grasslands when LUI was static over time but increased to 31% of the maximum when LUI changed maximally over time. In addition to decreasing overall LUI, we suggest varying LUI across years as a complementary strategy to promote biodiversity conservation. KW - biodiversity loss KW - agricultural grasslands KW - Biodiversity Exploratories Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1312213111 SN - 0027-8424 VL - 111 IS - 1 SP - 308 EP - 313 PB - National Acad. of Sciences CY - Washington ER -