Biodiversity

Eine Studie der Universität Leipzig, des Deutschen Zentrums für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) und des MPI für Biogeochemie zeigt, dass Lücken im Kronendach eines Auenmischwalds einen direkten Einfluss auf die Temperatur und Feuchtigkeit im Waldboden haben,  jedoch nur geringe Auswirkungen auf die Bodenaktivität. mehr

A new study shows that, in addition to species richness, plant evolutionary history plays a critical role in regulating year-to-year variation of biomass production in grasslands. In the face of climate change, understanding the causes of variability in key ecosystem services such as biomass production is essential. mehr

On the menu for slugs are not only mosses, lichens and garden vegetables, but also miniscule oribatid mites, which they unavoidably take in with their food. Astonishingly, most of these tiny arachnids survive the voyage through the slug's digestive system without harm and are excreted, alive, elsewhere in the ecosystem. Scientists led by Dr Manfred Türke of iDiv research centre and Leipzig University have, for the first time, discovered this dispersal strategy, used predominantly by plants and known in the scientific community as endozoochory (dispersal by ingestion), also being used by mites. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Oecologia. mehr

How serious is the loss of species globally? Are material cycles in an ecosystem with few species changed? In order to find this out, the "Jena Experiment" was established in 2002, one of the largest biodiversity experiments worldwide. Professor Wolfgang Weisser from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) reports on two unexpected findings of the long-term study: Biodiversity influences almost half the processes in the ecosystem, and intensive grassland management does not result in higher yields than high biodiversity. mehr

Forests fulfil numerous important functions, and do so particularly well if they are rich in different species of trees. This is the result of a new study. In addition, forest managers do not have to decide on the provision of solely one service – such as wood production or nature conservation – as a second study demonstrates: several services provided by forest ecosystems can be improved at the same time. Both studies were led by scientists from Leipzig University and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and published in the prestigious journal Ecology Letters. mehr