@misc{Birkhofer, author = {Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Thomas Wohlgemuth, Anke Jentsch und Rupert Seidl: St{\"o}rungs{\"o}kologie, Bern, 2019}, volume = {151}, number = {4}, isbn = {9783825250188}, pages = {1}, abstract = {Breiter {\"U}berblick zum Stand des Wissens {\"O}kosysteme werden durch Wind, Feuer, Insekten- oder Pilzbefall sowie durch die anthropogene Landnutzung gest{\"o}rt. St{\"o}rungen k{\"o}nnen {\"O}kosysteme rasch wandeln, aber langfristig auch zu deren Stabilisierung beitragen. In der Summe aller in einer Landschaft wirkenden St{\"o}rungen ergibt sich ein St{\"o}rungsregime, welches durch typische Rhythmen und Interaktionen gekennzeichnet ist. Das vorliegende Lehrbuch ist das erste in deutscher Sprache zu dieser Thematik. In 18 Kapiteln charakterisiert es St{\"o}rungstypen und St{\"o}rungsregime sowie ihre Bedeutung f{\"u}r {\"O}kosysteme und beschreibt die Anpassungen von Arten und Pflanzengemeinschaften an diese St{\"o}rungen. Es bietet einen breiten {\"U}berblick zum Stand des Wissens in der St{\"o}rungs{\"o}kologie. Zahlreiche Beispiele illustrieren dabei die Verh{\"a}ltnisse in Mitteleuropa.}, language = {de} } @misc{DampteyGarciadelaRivaBirkhofer, author = {Damptey, Frederick Gyasi and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Trade-offs and synergies between food and fodder production and other ecosystem services in an actively restored forest in Ghana.}, series = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, journal = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, number = {4}, issn = {2624-893X}, doi = {10.3389/ffgc.2021.630959}, pages = {13}, abstract = {Active restoration of degraded areas with multi-purpose tree species has been proposed as a measure to counter the losses from deforestation and mitigate consequences for local human communities. In a restoration project at a former mining site in Ghana, ecosystem services (ES) proxies in an actively restored forest were compared to a local agroforestry system and a natural forest. The results provide information about trade-offs and synergies between proxies of multiple ES(s). ES proxies were assessed according to the following categories: (a) food-tree ES: biomass of food and fodder trees, (b) other trees ES: biomass of fuelwood, medicine or mulch trees, (c) ES-providing arthropods: the number of detritivorous and predaceous arthropods, (d) carbon storage, and (e) tree diversity. Eight replicated plots with sizes of 20 m × 20 m were established in each forest type, and the following ES proxies were quantified: tree diversity was estimated as taxonomic richness of all trees with a diameter at breast height ≥ 10 cm in each plot. Tree species were then classified into ES categories (food, fodder, fuelwood, medicine, or mulch). Ground-dwelling arthropods were sampled for 10 weeks with five pitfall traps in each plot and categorized as decomposers and predators. Tree above-ground biomass was estimated based on the measured tree diameter, height, and specific wood density using an improved allometric equation. The above-ground biomass was later converted into carbon storage by assuming 50\% of the above-ground biomass of each tree. ES proxies based on tree biomass were highest in the natural forest. Fodder, medicine, fuelwood, and mulch ES proxies were significantly higher in the restored forest than the agroforestry system. Decomposer arthropods were most dominant in the natural forest, followed by the restored forest and the agroforestry system. Predacious arthropods were more dominant in the restored forest than in the other forest types. Carbon storage was highest in the natural forest, followed by the agroforestry system and the restored forest. The actively restored forest took an intermediate position between the agroforestry system and the natural forest regarding values for all nine ES proxies. Out of the 14 possible relationships between food or fodder and other ES proxies, five were significantly positive (synergies) with no observed trade-offs (significant negative relationships). High fodder production in the restored and natural forests went along with higher values of other biomass ES proxies and numbers of beneficial arthropods, while higher food biomass also correlated positively with numbers of decomposing arthropods. Our results document that active restoration of degraded sites provides a valuable framework to promote ES provision to local communities compared to agroforestry system, but at the cost of lower food and fuelwood biomass and carbon storage compared to natural forests.}, language = {en} } @misc{LeProvostThieleManningetal., author = {Le Provost, Ga{\"e}tane and Thiele, Jan and Manning, Peter and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity}, series = {Nature Communications}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {12}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-23931-1}, pages = {13}, abstract = {Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components of land use drive biodiversity loss requires the investigation of multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess the influence of multiple components of local- and landscape-level land use on more than 4,000 above- and belowground taxa, spanning 20 trophic groups. Plot-level land-use intensity is strongly and negatively associated with aboveground trophic groups, but positively or not associated with belowground trophic groups. Meanwhile, both above- and belowground trophic groups respond to landscape-level land use, but to different drivers: aboveground diversity of grasslands is promoted by diverse surrounding land-cover, while belowground diversity is positively related to a high permanent forest cover in the surrounding landscape. These results highlight a role of landscape-level land use in shaping belowground communities, and suggest that revised agroecosystem management strategies are needed to conserve whole-ecosystem biodiversity.}, language = {en} } @misc{LeimerBernerBirkhoferetal., author = {Leimer, Sophia and Berner, Doreen and Birkhofer, Klaus and Boeddinghaus, Runa S.}, title = {Land-use intensity and biodiversity effects on infiltration rates and hydraulic conductivity of grassland soils in southern Germany}, series = {Ecohydrology}, volume = {14}, journal = {Ecohydrology}, number = {6}, issn = {1936-0584}, doi = {10.1002/eco.2301}, abstract = {Evidence from experimental and established grasslands indicates that plant biodiversity can modify the water cycle. One suspected mechanism behind this is a higher infiltration capacity (νB) and hydraulic conductivity (K) of the soil on species-rich grasslands. However, in established and agriculturally managed grasslands, biodiversity effects cannot be studied independent of land-use effects. Therefore, we investigated in established grassland systems how land-use intensity and associated biodiversity of plants and soil animals affect νB and K at and close to saturation. On 50 grassland plots along a land-use intensity gradient in the Biodiversity Exploratory Schw{\"a}bische Alb, Germany, we measured νB with a hood infiltrometer at several matrix potentials and calculated the saturated and unsaturated K. We statistically analysed the relationship between νB or K and land-use information (e.g., fertilising intensity), abiotic (e.g., soil texture) and biotic data (e.g., plant species richness, earthworm abundance). Land-use intensity decreased and plant species richness increased νB and K, while the direction of the effects of soil animals was inconsistent. The effect of land-use intensity on νB and K was mainly attributable to its negative effect on plant species richness. Our results demonstrate that plant species richness was a better predictor of νB and K at and close to saturation than land-use intensity or soil physical properties in the established grassland systems of the Schw{\"a}bische Alb.}, language = {en} } @misc{MichalkoKošuličMartineketal., author = {Michalko, Radek and Košulič, Ondřej and Martinek, Petr and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Disturbance by invasive pathogenic fungus alters arthropod predator - prey food webs in ash plantations}, series = {Journal of Animal Ecology}, volume = {90}, journal = {Journal of Animal Ecology}, number = {9}, issn = {1365-2656}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2656.13537}, pages = {2213 -- 2226}, abstract = {1. According to the disturbance-succession theory, natural disturbances support biodiversity and are expected to increase the complexity of food-webs in for-est ecosystems by opening canopies and creating a heterogeneous environment. However, a limited number of studies have investigated the impact of disturbance by invasive pathogenic species and succession on arthropod predator-prey food-webs in forest ecosystems.2. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus is a pathogenic fungus of ash trees that is invasive in Europe and causes massive dieback, mainly of the common ash Fraxinus excelsioracross its native range. Here we investigated how this pathogenic fungus affects food- webs of web- building spiders and their prey in understorey vegetation of ash plantations.3. In 23 young and middle-aged ash plantations that were distributed along a gradi-ent of infestation by H. fraxineus (29\%- 86\% infestation), we measured the vegeta-tion structure (canopy openness, shrub coverage, herb/grass coverage), the trait composition of local spider communities (web type, body size), the prey availabil-ity and the prey intercepted by spider webs. We then evaluated the multivariate prey composition (prey type, body size) and network properties.4. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus opened the ash tree canopy, which resulted in denser shrub coverage. The dense shrub vegetation changed the composition of web types in local spider communities and increasing fungus infestation resulted in reduced mean body size of spiders. Infestation by H. fraxineus reduced the avail-ability of predaceous Coleoptera and increased the availability of herbivorous Coleoptera as potential prey. The mean body size of captured prey and the per capita capture rates of most prey groups decreased with increasing fungus in-festation. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus infestation indirectly reduced the complexity in bipartite networks and the trophic functional complementarity in local web- building spider communities. The plantation age affected the vegetation structure but did not affect the studied food-webs.5. Forest disturbance by the invasive pathogen affected four trophic levels (plant- herbivore-coleopteran intermediate predator-top predator web- building spiders) and, contrary to the disturbance-succession theory, disturbance by the fungus simplified the web- building spider- prey food-webs. The results support the view that H. fraxineus represents a threat to the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the simplified ecosystems of ash plantations.}, language = {en} } @misc{MeyerKundelBirkhoferetal., author = {Meyer, Svenja and Kundel, Dominika and Birkhofer, Klaus and Fliessbach, Andreas and Scheu, Stefan}, title = {Soil microarthropods respond differently to simulated drought in organic and conventional farming systems}, series = {Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {11}, journal = {Ecology and Evolution}, number = {15}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.7839}, pages = {10369 -- 10380}, abstract = {In Central Europe, summer droughts are increasing in frequency which threatens production and biodiversity in agroecosystems. The potential of different farming systems to mitigate detrimental drought effects on soil animals is largely unknown. We investigated the effects of simulated drought on the abundance and community composition of soil microarthropods (Collembola and Oribatida and Meso-, Pro-, and Astigmata) in winter wheat fields under long-term conventional and organic farming in the DOK trial, Switzerland. We simulated drought by excluding 65\% of the ambient precipitation during the wheat-growing season from March to June 2017. The abundance of Collembola and Oribatida declined more consistently in conventionally managed fields compared to organically managed fields under simulated drought. The abundance of Collembola as well as Meso-, Pro- and Astigmata, but not the abundance of Oribatida, increased in deeper soil layers due to simulated drought, suggesting vertical migration as a drought avoidance strategy. The species composition of Oribatida communities, but not of Collembola communities, differed significantly between drought treatments and between farming systems. Soil carbon content was a major factor structuring Oribatida communities. Our results suggest that organic farming buffers negative effects of drought on soil microarthropods, presumably due to higher soil carbon content and associated higher soil moisture and improved soil structure. This potential of organic farming systems to mitigate consequences of future droughts on soil biodiversity is promising and needs further exploration across larger climatic and spatial scales and should be extended to other groups of soil biota.}, language = {en} } @misc{MichalkoBirkhoferPekar, author = {Michalko, Radek and Birkhofer, Klaus and Pek{\´a}r, Stano}, title = {Interaction between hunting strategy, habitat type and stratum drive intraguild predation and cannibalism}, series = {Oikos}, journal = {Oikos}, number = {3}, issn = {1600-0706}, doi = {10.1111/oik.08355}, pages = {12}, abstract = {Intraguild predation (IGP) is a common interaction between generalist predators when they competitively exploit similar resources and prey on each other. Theoretical models predict limitations for intraguild predator coexistence unless some mechanisms, such as the utilization of alternative prey (i.e. trophic niche partitioning) and cannibalism, increase the relative intraspecific clustering and interspecific segregation. As hunting strategies determine trophic niches of predators and their own vulnerability to predation, the hunting strategies may also determine the relative importance of cannibalism, predation, and exploitative competition and consequently the intensity of IGP. The importance of hunting strategies on the potential outcome of IGP and how habitat properties modify the interaction between hunting strategies remain poorly understood. Using published data on spider prey of spider predators, we first investigated how predation of a top-predator on a mesopredator is determined by the functional distance between both predators to understand how predation and exploitation are distributed in spider communities. Subsequently, we investigated the predation among spiders with particular hunting strategies to understand which strategies interact most frequently. We also investigated whether the interaction between hunting strategies was influenced by habitat type (forest, open (semi)natural habitat, agroecosystem) or by habitat stratum (ground versus vegetation). The hunting strategies of top-predators and mesopredators interacted to determine the relative capture proportions of conspecifics and hetero-specifics. This interaction was further modified by habitat type and stratum. Two mechanisms can reinforce coexistence in highly diverse spider communities. First, top-predators preyed most frequently on functionally distinct mesopredators, which indicates the overall intensity of IGP may be relaxed by a balanced distribution between exploitative competition and predation. Second, cannibalism was common for top-predators with a hunting strategy of frequently preying on functionally similar mesopredators. Cannibalism may lead to self-limitation of top-predator populations and may thereby facilitate coexistence between two predator species.}, language = {en} } @misc{FotangBroeringRoosetal., author = {Fotang, Chefor and Br{\"o}ring, Udo and Roos, Christian and Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu and Dutton, Paul and T{\´e}donzong, Luc R. D. and Willie, Jacob and Yuh, Yisa Ginath and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Environmental and anthropogenic effects on the nesting patterns of Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees in North-West Cameroon}, series = {American Journal of Primatology}, volume = {83}, journal = {American Journal of Primatology}, number = {9}, issn = {1098-2345}, doi = {10.1002/ajp.23312}, pages = {12}, abstract = {Environmental conditions and human activity influence the selection of nest sites by chimpanzees and may have serious conservation implications. We examined the characteristics of nesting trees preferred by chimpanzees, investigated the effect of vegetation composition and topography on nest site locations and seasonality on nesting heights of chimpanzees, and verified the effect of predator occurrence and human activity on the nesting behavior of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) and surrounding unprotected forest in Cameroon. We recorded 923 nests, 502 signs of human activity, and 646 nesting trees along line transects and recces (reconnaissance) for two seasons. We found that chimpanzees constructed more arboreal nests on tall primary trees with high lowest branch height and large diameter at breast height. Moreover, they oriented their nests within trees in the slope direction when the nesting trees were located on slopes. Additionally, the occurrence of chimpanzee nests was positively related to increasing elevation and slope and decreased with distance to primary forest. In contrast, the number of nests increased with distance to secondary forest, open land, and villages, and nesting height was not influenced by seasons. While we recorded no signs of large nocturnal chimpanzee predators at nesting trees, we found signs of hunting activity at nesting locations. Nesting high in trees is likely a way of avoiding hunting, while nest orientation within trees in slope direction shortens escape routes from human hunters. Our findings suggest that chimpanzees select safe trees (tall trees with high lowest branch height) located in nesting areas (primary forest, high elevation, and steep slopes) that are not easily accessible by humans. Therefore, conservation efforts should focus on protecting primary forests at high elevation and steep slopes and reducing human impact.}, language = {en} } @misc{FengArvidssonSmithetal., author = {Feng, Lanya and Arvidsson, Fredrik and Smith, Henrik G. and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Fallows and permanent grasslands conserve the species composition and functional diversity of carabid beetles and linyphiid spiders in agricultural landscapes}, series = {Insect Conservation \& Diversity}, volume = {14}, journal = {Insect Conservation \& Diversity}, number = {6}, issn = {1752-4598}, doi = {10.1111/icad.12520}, pages = {825 -- 836}, abstract = {The European Union reformed the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP 2013) to include greening measures with the aim to decrease negative impacts of farming on the environment and biodiversity. The degree to which greening measures such as permanent grassland or fallows of different ages enhance biodiversity is still debated. We investigate the effect of fallows in two different age classes and permanent grassland in the surrounding landscape on the taxonomic and functional diversity of two numerically dominant groups of natural enemies in cereal fields: soil-emerging carabid beetles (Family Carabidae, Order Coleoptera) and ground-active linyphiid spiders (Family Linyphiidae, Order Araneae). The species richness, abundance and Hill-Shannon diversity of carabids and linyphiids did not differ significantly between fallows and cereal fields and was not significantly related to the proportion of permanent grassland in the surrounding landscape. The species composition of both communities differed significantly between cereal fields and fallows. The functional distinctness, as an index reflecting the similarity among species in terms of functional traits, of linyphiids was significantly higher in fallows than in cereal fields. The trait composition of carabids was significantly related to the proportion of permanent grassland depending on field type (cereal or fallow). Our results document considerable species turnover in natural enemy communities of adjacent cereal fields and fallows, and support the assumption that older fallows (>8 years) produce functionally more diverse natural enemy communities. Maintaining fallows for a long period is an important measure to promote the functional diversity in predaceous arthropod communities.}, language = {en} } @misc{BirkhoferFliessbachGavin‐Centoletal., author = {Birkhofer, Klaus and Fliessbach, Andreas and Gav{\´i}n-Centol, Mar{\´i}a Pilar and Hedlund, Katarina and Ingimarsd{\´o}ttir, Mar{\´i}a and Bracht J{\o}rgensen, Helene and Kozjek, Katja and Meyer, Svenja and Montserrat, Marta and S{\´a}nchez-Moreno, Sara and Moya-Lara{\~n}o, Jordi and Scheu, Stefan and Serrano-Carnero, Diego and Truu, Jaak and Kundel, Dominika}, title = {Conventional agriculture and not drought alters relationships between soil biota and functions}, series = {Scientific Reports}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {11}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-03276-x}, abstract = {Soil biodiversity constitutes the biological pillars of ecosystem services provided by soils worldwide. Soil life is threatened by intense agricultural management and shifts in climatic conditions as two important global change drivers which are not often jointly studied under field conditions. We addressed the effects of experimental short-term drought over the wheat growing season on soil organisms and ecosystem functions under organic and conventional farming in a Swiss long term trial. Our results suggest that activity and community metrics are suitable indicators for drought stress while microbial communities primarily responded to agricultural practices. Importantly, we found a significant loss of multiple pairwise positive and negative relationships between soil biota and process-related variables in response to conventional farming, but not in response to experimental drought. These results suggest a considerable weakening of the contribution of soil biota to ecosystem functions under long-term conventional agriculture. Independent of the farming system, experimental and seasonal (ambient) drought conditions directly affected soil biota and activity. A higher soil water content during early and intermediate stages of the growing season and a high number of significant relationships between soil biota to ecosystem functions suggest that organic farming provides a buffer against drought effects.}, language = {en} } @misc{TlusteBirkhofer, author = {Tluste, Claudia and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Shells of the Roman snail are important microhabitats for soil invertebrates}, series = {Soil organisms}, volume = {93}, journal = {Soil organisms}, number = {3}, issn = {2509-9523}, doi = {10.25674/so93iss3id167}, pages = {141 -- 152}, abstract = {Shells of molluscs from snail farms (heliciculture) are used as food additives or construction material and ecological engineering approaches utilize their potential to assist with ecosystem restoration. Previous studies, for example, highlighted the importance of snail shells as microhabitat for threatened arthropod species with particular focus on wild bees nesting in empty shells. This study focuses on shells of the Roman snail (Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758) and their value as microhabitat for shell adopters in different dominant vegetation forms and sample periods. In total, 1408 empty shells were placed in areas dominated by one of two vegetation forms (herbaceous vegetation or trees) from February to November 2019 (autumn) or from February to June/ July 2020 (summer). All collected shells (N = 618) were sealed at the time of collection, frozen and all content was then analysed with a digital microscope. In total, 91.4\% of all collected shells were occupied and the average number of shell adopters was 1.5 time higher in shells collected in summer compared to shells collected in autumn. The number of shell adopters per shell was 1.5 times higher in study areas dominated by herbaceous vegetation compared to study areas dominated by trees. Shell width, but not shell height significantly affected the composition of shell adopter communities. Shells with a larger width were more frequently colonized by another gastropod species [Discus rotundatus (O. F. M{\"u}ller, 1774)] than less wide shells. Shells of the Roman snail provide important multipurpose benefits for a wide range of soil organisms, particularly in habitats that were dominated by herbaceous vegetation and in summer. In autumn, shell adopters included isopods, gastropods and spiders in one subset of shells or Collembola in another subset. The future use of commercially available, empty shells from heliciculture in local restoration projects of open, tree-free areas, holds the potential to support a diverse invertebrate fauna with additional refuge habitats.}, language = {en} } @misc{MathulweJacobsMalanetal., author = {Mathulwe, Letodi L. and Jacobs, Karin and Malan, Antoinette P. and Birkhofer, Klaus and Addison, Matthew F. and Addison, Pia}, title = {Characterisation of Metarhizium majus (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) isolated from the Western Cape Province, South Africa.}, series = {PloS one}, journal = {PloS one}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0240955}, pages = {11}, abstract = {Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are important soil-dwelling entomopathogens, which can be used as biological control agents against pest insects. EPF are capable of causing lethal epizootics in pest insect populations in agroecosystems. During a survey of the orchard soil at an organic farm, different EPF species were collected and identified to species level, using both morphological and molecular techniques. The EPF were trapped from soil samples taken from an apricot orchard. The traps, which were baited in the laboratory, used susceptible host insects, including the last-instar larvae of Galleria mellonella (wax moth larvae) and Tenebrio molitor (mealworm larvae). The potential pathogenicity of the local Metarhizium majus isolate was tested and verified using susceptible laboratory-reared last-instar T. molitor larvae. The identification of the M. majus isolated from South African soil was verified using both morphological and molecular techniques. The occurrence of M. majus in the South African soil environment had not previously been reported.}, language = {en} } @misc{FotangBroeringRoosetal., author = {Fotang, Chefor and Br{\"o}ring, Udo and Roos, Christian and Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu and E. Abwe, Ekwoge and Dutton, Paul and Schierack, Peter and Angwafo, Tsi Evaristus and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Human activity and forest fragmentation threaten populations of the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Western Cameroon}, series = {International Journal of Primatology}, volume = {42}, journal = {International Journal of Primatology}, number = {1}, issn = {1573-8604}, doi = {10.1007/s10764-020-00191-2}, pages = {105 -- 129}, abstract = {Increased human activities such as commodity-led deforestation, extension of agriculture, urbanization, and wildfires are major drivers of forest loss worldwide. In Cameroon, these activities cause a loss of suitable primate habitat and could ultimately threaten the survival of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We derived independent estimates of the population size of the Endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, Cameroon, and surrounding unprotected forest areas through 1) direct observations, 2) camera trapping, 3) distance sampling, 4) marked nest counts, and 5) standing crop nest counts. In addition, we georeferenced signs of chimpanzee and human activity along line transects. We used a generalized linear mixed model to predict the occurrence of chimpanzees in response to edge length (measured as the perimeter of core forest patches), core area of forest patches (measured as area of forest patches beyond an edge width of 100 m), habitat perforation (measured as the perimeter of nonforested landscape within core forest patches), patch size(measured as area of forest patches), and forest cover. Chimpanzee density estimates ranged from 0.1 (direct observation) to 0.9 (distance sampling) individuals km-2 depending on estimation method with a mean nest group size of 7 ± 5.4 (SD). The mean encounter rate for signs of chimpanzee activity was significantly higher in mature forests (2.3 signs km-1) than in secondary forests (0.3 signs km-1) and above 1000 m elevation (4.0 signs km-1) than below 1000 m (1.0 signs km-1). The mean encounter rate for signs of human activity was significantly higher in secondary (8.0 signs km-1) than in mature forests (0.9 signs km-1). Secondary forests, habitat perforation, and edge length had a significant negative effect on the occurrence of chimpanzee signs. Overall, human activity and forest degradation affected the number of observed chimpanzee signs negatively. Regular antipoaching patrols and reforestation programs in degraded areas could potentially reduce threats to populations of endangered species and may increase suitable habitat area.}, language = {en} } @misc{PhillipsBachEisenhaueretal., author = {Phillips, Helen R. P. and Bach, Elizabeth M. and Eisenhauer, Nico and Birkhofer, Klaus and Bartz, Marie L. C.}, title = {Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties}, series = {Scientific Data}, journal = {Scientific Data}, number = {8}, issn = {2052-4463}, doi = {10.1038/s41597-021-00912-z}, abstract = {Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change.}, language = {en} } @misc{PekarWolffČerneckaetal., author = {Pek{\´a}r, Stano and Wolff, Jonas O. and Černeck{\´a}, Ľudmila and Birkhofer, Klaus and Mammola, Stefano and Lowe, Elizabeth C. and Fukushima, Caroline S. and Herberstein, Marie E. and Kučera, Adam and Buzatto, Bruno A.}, title = {The World Spider Trait database: a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traits}, series = {Database}, journal = {Database}, number = {2021}, issn = {1758-0463}, doi = {10.1093/database/baab064}, pages = {10}, abstract = {Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology.}, language = {en} } @misc{KozjekKundelKKushwahaetal., author = {Kozjek, Katja and Kundel, Dominika and K. Kushwaha, Sandeep and Olsson, P{\aa}l Axel and Ahr{\´e}n, Dag and Fliessbach, Andreas and Birkhofer, Klaus and Hedlund, Katarina}, title = {Long-term agricultural management impacts arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi more than short-term experimental drought}, series = {Applied Soil Ecology}, journal = {Applied Soil Ecology}, number = {168}, issn = {0929-1393}, doi = {10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.104140}, abstract = {Agricultural management practices and extreme weather events associated with climate change can influence the diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) with potential consequences for crop production. However, the importance of the interactive effects of long-term agricultural management and extreme weather events on AMF communities in agricultural soils is not yet fully explored. A short-term drought experiment with rainout-shelters was performed in winter wheat fields in a long-term agricultural trial with organic (biodynamic) and conventional management practices. During four months of the winter wheat growing period (March-June 2017), the rainout-shelters reduced the ambient precipitation by 65\% on average. At two sampling dates, the AMF diversity and community composition were assessed using a single-molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. A total of 955 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), belonging to twelve genera were identified. The long-term farming systems and the short-term experimental drought did not affect AMF ASV diversity levels. The AMF community composition at the genus level differed between the organic and the conventional farming systems, but no distinctive communities were found in response to the experimental drought. The three most abundant genera Acaulospora, Paraglomus and Funneliformis were correlated to the two farming practices. Our study demonstrates that AMF communities in agricultural soils are responsive to long-term farming systems, and are resistant to one short-term summer drought event.}, language = {en} } @misc{HeckerBirkhoferYangetal., author = {Hecker, Lutz Philip and Birkhofer, Klaus and Yang, Xueyan and Querhammer, Lisa and St{\"o}ckmann, Ina and W{\"a}tzold, Frank}, title = {Insektenverluste durch den Einsatz von Konditionierern bei der Behandlung von M{\"a}hgut - {\"o}kologische und {\"o}konomische Aspekte}, series = {Natur und Landschaft. Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege}, volume = {97}, journal = {Natur und Landschaft. Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege}, number = {2}, issn = {0028-0615}, doi = {10.19217/NuL2022-02-03}, pages = {78 -- 84}, language = {de} } @misc{HeitmannGlemnitzBirkhoferetal., author = {Heitmann, Nadja and Glemnitz, Michael and Birkhofer, Klaus and M{\"u}ller, Marina E. H.}, title = {Unselective Transport of Phytopathogenic Fusarium Fungi from Litter and Soil by Ground-Dwelling Arthropods Links Semi-Natural and Agricultural Habitats}, series = {Microorganisms}, volume = {10}, journal = {Microorganisms}, number = {2}, issn = {2076-2607}, doi = {10.3390/microorganisms10020335}, abstract = {The dispersal of propagules, such as fungal spores or seeds by actively moving animals, connects and shapes communities. The dispersal of plant pathogens by arthropods might be a crucial mechanism in the spread of several crop diseases. Ground-dwelling arthropods are potential linkers between fungal communities in semi-natural and agricultural habitats by transporting propagules of Fusarium fungi. We compared the Fusarium communities on the body surface of ground-dwelling arthropods with litter in semi-natural and soil in agricultural habitats with a focus on the Fusarium community. We found three relatively distinct Fusarium communities with moderate overlap. We detected a higher richness of Fusarium species on the body surface of arthropods compared to litter and soil communities. The results suggest that the Fusarium community on the body surface of arthropods relates to the composition observed in litter and soil with limited filtering mechanisms between communities. Ground-dwelling arthropods are relevant agents for the distribution of Fusarium and therefore link fungal communities in adjacent habitats.}, language = {en} } @misc{SikorskiBaumgartnerBirkhofer, author = {Sikorski, Johannes and Baumgartner, Vanessa and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {The evolution of ecological diversity in Acidobacteria}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {Vol. 13}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, number = {2}, issn = {1664-302X}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2022.715637}, pages = {18}, abstract = {Acidobacteria occur in a large variety of ecosystems worldwide and are particularly abundant and highly diverse in soils. In spite of their diversity, only few species have been characterized to date which makes Acidobacteria one of the most poorly understood phyla among the domain Bacteria. We used a culture-independent niche modeling approach to elucidate ecological adaptations and their evolution for 4,154 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of Acidobacteria across 150 different, comprehensively characterized grassland soils in Germany. Using the relative abundances of their 16S rRNA gene transcripts, the responses of active OTUs along gradients of 41 environmental variables were modeled using hierarchical logistic regression (HOF), which allowed to determine values for optimum activity for each variable (niche optima). By linking 16S rRNA transcripts to the phylogeny of full 16S rRNA gene sequences, we could trace the evolution of the different ecological adaptations during the diversification of Acidobacteria. This approach revealed a pronounced ecological diversification even among acidobacterial sister clades. Although the evolution of habitat adaptation was mainly cladogenic, it was disrupted by recurrent events of convergent evolution that resulted in frequent habitat switching within individual clades. Our findings indicate that the high diversity of soil acidobacterial communities is largely sustained by differential habitat adaptation even at the level of closely related species. A comparison of niche optima of individual OTUs with the phenotypic properties of their cultivated pepresentatives showed that our niche modeling approach (1) correctly predicts those physiological properties that have been determined for cultivated species of Acidobacteria but (2) also provides ample information on ecological adaptations that cannot be inferred from standard taxonomic descriptions of bacterial isolates. These novel information on specific adaptations of not-yet-cultivated Acidobacteria can therefore guide future cultivation trials and likely will increase their cultivation success.}, language = {en} } @misc{PotapovBeaulieuBirkhoferetal., author = {Potapov, Anton and Beaulieu, Fr{\´e}d{\´e}ric and Birkhofer, Klaus and Bluhm, Sarah L. and Degtyarev, Maxim I. and Devetter, Miloslav and Goncharov, Anton A. and Gongalsky, Konstantin B. and Klarner, Bernhard and Korobushkin, Daniil I.}, title = {Feeding habits and multifunctional classification of soil-associated consumers from protists to vertebrates}, series = {Biological Reviews}, volume = {97}, journal = {Biological Reviews}, number = {3}, issn = {1469-185X}, doi = {10.1111/brv.12832}, pages = {1057 -- 1117}, abstract = {Soil organisms drive major ecosystem functions by mineralising carbon and releasing nutrients during decomposition processes, which supports plant growth, aboveground biodiversity and, ultimately, human nutrition. Soil ecologists often operate with functional groups to infer the effects of individual taxa on ecosystem functions and services. Simultaneous assessment of the functional roles of multiple taxa is possible using food-web reconstructions, but our knowledge of the feeding habits of many taxa is insufficient and often based on limited evidence. Over the last two decades, molecular, biochemical and isotopic tools have improved our understanding of the feeding habits of various soil organisms, yet this knowledge is still to be synthesised into a common functional framework. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the feeding habits of consumers in soil, including protists, micro-, meso- and macrofauna (invertebrates), and soil-associated vertebrates. We have integrated existing functional group classifications with findings gained with novel methods and compiled an overarching classification across taxa focusing on key universal traits such as food resource preferences, body masses, microhabitat specialisation, protection and hunting mechanisms. Our summary highlights various strands of evidence that many functional groups commonly used in soil ecology and food-web models are feeding on multiple types of food resources. In many cases, omnivory is observed down to the species level of taxonomic resolution, challenging realism of traditional soil food-web models based on distinct resource-based energy channels. Novel methods, such as stable isotope, fatty acid and DNA gut content analyses, have revealed previously hidden facets of trophic relationships of soil consumers, such as food assimilation, multichannel feeding across trophic levels, hidden trophic niche differentiation and the importance of alternative food/prey, as well as energy transfers across ecosystem compartments. Wider adoption of such tools and the development of open interoperable platforms that assemble morphological, ecological and trophic data as traits of soil taxa will enable the refinement and expansion of the multifunctional classification of consumers in soil. The compiled multifunctional classification of soil-associated consumers will serve as a reference for ecologists working with biodiversity changes and biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, making soil food-web research more accessible and reproducible.}, language = {en} } @misc{MeyerKundelBirkhoferetal., author = {Meyer, Svenja and Kundel, Dominika and Birkhofer, Klaus and Fliessbach, Andreas and Scheu, Stefan}, title = {Trophic niche but not abundance of Collembola and Oribatida changes with drought and farming system}, series = {PeerJ}, volume = {10}, journal = {PeerJ}, number = {12}, issn = {2167-8359}, doi = {10.7717/peerj.12777}, abstract = {Higher frequencies of summer droughts are predicted to change soil conditions in the future affecting soil fauna communities and their biotic interactions. In agroecosystems drought effects on soil biota may be modulated by different management practices that alter the availability of different food resources. Recent studies on the effect of drought on soil microarthropods focused on measures of abundance and diversity. We here additionally investigated shifts in trophic niches of Collembola and Oribatida as indicated by stable isotope analysis (13C and 15N). We simulated short-term summer drought by excluding 65\% of the ambient precipitation in conventionally and organically managed winter wheat fields on the DOK trial in Switzerland. Stable isotope values suggest that plant litter and root exudates were the most important resources for Collembola (Isotoma caerulea, Isotomurus maculatus and Orchesella villosa) and older plant material and microorganisms for Oribatida (Scheloribates laevigatus and Tectocepheus sarekensis). Drought treatment and farming systems did not affect abundances of the studied species. However, isotope values of some species increased in organically managed fields indicating a higher proportion of microorganisms in their diet. Trophic niche size, a measure of both isotope values combined, decreased with drought and under organic farming in some species presumably due to favored use of plants as basal resource instead of algae and microorganisms. Overall, our results suggest that the flexible usage of resources may buffer effects of drought and management practices on the abundance of microarthropods in agricultural systems.}, language = {en} } @misc{DampteyBirkhoferMenoretal., author = {Damptey, Frederick Gyasi and Birkhofer, Klaus and Menor, Imma Oliveras and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique}, title = {The functional Structure of Tropical Plant Communities and soil Properties Enhance Ecosystem Functioning and Multitunctionality in Different Ecosystems in Ghana}, series = {Forests}, volume = {13}, journal = {Forests}, number = {2}, issn = {1999-4907}, doi = {10.3390/f13020297}, pages = {20}, abstract = {Plant functional traits are useful in tracking changes in the environment, and play an important role in determining ecosystem functioning. The relationship between plant functional traits and ecosystem functioning remains unclear, although there is growing evidence on this relationship. In this study, we tested whether the functional structure of vegetation has significant effects on the provision of ecosystem services. We analysed plant trait composition (specific leaf area, leaf carbon and nitrogen ratio, isotopic carbon fraction, stem dry matter content, seed mass and plant height), soil parameters (nutrients, pH, bulk density) and proxies of ecosystem services (carbon stock, decomposition rate, invertebrate activity) in twenty-four plots in three tropical ecosystems (active restored and natural forests and an agroforestry system) in Ghana. For each plot, we measured above-ground biomass, decomposition rates of leaves and invertebrate activity as proxies for the provision of ecosystem services to evaluate (i) whether there were differences in functional composition and soil properties and their magnitude between ecosystem types. We further aimed to (ii) determine whether the functional structure and/or soil parameters drove ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in the three ecosystem types. For functional composition, both the leaf economic spectrum and seed mass dimension clearly separated the ecosystem types. The natural forest was more dominated by acquisitive plants than the other two ecosystem types, while the non-natural forests (agroforest and restored forest) showed higher variation in the functional space. The natural forest had higher values of soil properties than the restored forest and the agroforestry system, with the differences between the restored and agroforestry systems driven by bulk density. Levels of ecosystem service proxies and multifunctionality were positively related to the functional richness of forest plots and were mainly explained by the differences in site conditions. Our study demonstrated the effects of functional forest structure on ecosystem services in different forest ecosystems located in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana.}, language = {en} }