@misc{DegruneDumackRyoetal., author = {Degrune, Florine and Dumack, Kenneth and Ryo, Masahiro and Garland, Gina and Romdhane, Sana and Sagha{\"i}, Aur{\´e}lien and Banerjee, Samiran and Edlinger, Anna and Herzog, Chantal and Pescador, David S{\´a}nchez and Garc{\´i}a-Palacios, Pablo and Fiore-Donno, Anna Maria and Bonkowski, Michael and Hallin, Sara and Heijden, Marcel G. A. van der and Maestre, Fernando T. and Philippot, Laurent and Glemnitz, Michael and Sieling, Klaus and Rillig, Matthias C.}, title = {The impact of fungi on soil protist communities in European cereal croplands}, series = {Environmental Microbiology}, volume = {26}, journal = {Environmental Microbiology}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {1462-2912}, doi = {10.1111/1462-2920.16673}, pages = {9}, abstract = {Protists, a crucial part of the soil food web, are increasingly acknowledged as significant influencers of nutrient cycling and plant performance in farmlands. While topographical and climatic factors are often considered to drive microbial communities on a continental scale, higher trophic levels like heterotrophic protists also rely on their food sources. In this context, bacterivores have received more attention than fungivores. Our study explored the connection between the community composition of protists (specifically Rhizaria and Cercozoa) and fungi across 156 cereal fields in Europe, spanning a latitudinal gradient of 3000 km. We employed a machine-learning approach to measure the significance of fungal communities in comparison to bacterial communities, soil abiotic factors, and climate as determinants of the Cercozoa community composition. Our findings indicate that climatic variables and fungal communities are the primary drivers of cercozoan communities, accounting for 70\% of their community composition. Structural equation modelling (SEM) unveiled indirect climatic effects on the cercozoan communities through a change in the composition of the fungal communities. Our data also imply that fungivory might be more prevalent among protists than generally believed. This study uncovers a hidden facet of the soil food web, suggesting that the benefits of microbial diversity could be more effectively integrated into sustainable agriculture practices.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Herzog, author = {Herzog, Michael}, title = {Instrumente zur Potentialabsch{\"a}tzung und Einf{\"u}hrung von Telekooperation in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen - Organisationgestaltung, Technik und Wirtschaftlichkeit}, language = {de} } @misc{KuenzelHoffmannWeberetal., author = {K{\"u}nzel, Stephan R. and Hoffmann, Maximilian and Weber, Silvio and K{\"u}nzel, Karolina and K{\"a}mmerer, Susanne and G{\"u}nscht, Mario and Klapproth, Erik and Rausch, Johanna S. E. and Sadek, Mirna S. and Kolanowski, Tomasz and Meyer-Roxlau, Stefanie and Piorkowski, Christopher and Tugtekin, Sems M. and Rose-John, Stefan and Yin, Xiaoke and Mayr, Manuel and Kuhlmann, Jan Dominik and Wimberger, Pauline and Gr{\"u}tzmann, Konrad and Herzog, Natalie and K{\"u}pper, Jan-Heiner and O'Reilly, Molly and Kabir, S. Nashitha and Sommerfeld, Laura C. and Guan, Kaomei and Wielockx, Ben and Fabritz, Larissa and Nattel, Stanley and Ravens, Ursula and Dobrev, Dobromir and Wagner, Michael and El-Armouche, Ali}, title = {Diminished PLK2 Induces Cardiac Fibrosis and Promotes Atrial Fibrillation}, series = {Circulation Research}, volume = {129}, journal = {Circulation Research}, number = {8}, issn = {1524-4571}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.121.319425}, pages = {804 -- 820}, abstract = {Rationale: Fibrosis promotes the maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF), making it resistant to therapy. Improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to atrial fibrosis will open new pathways toward effective antifibrotic therapies. Objective: This study aims to decipher the mechanistic interplay between PLK2 (polo-like kinase 2) and the profibrotic cytokine OPN (osteopontin) in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrosis and AF. Methods and Results: Atrial PLK2 mRNA expression was 10-fold higher in human fibroblasts than in cardiomyocytes. Compared with sinus rhythm, right atrial appendages and isolated right atrial fibroblasts from patients with AF showed downregulation of PLK2 mRNA and protein, along with increased PLK2 promotor methylation. Genetic deletion as well as pharmacological inhibition of PLK2 induced profibrotic phenotype conversion in cardiac fibroblasts and led to a striking de novo secretion of OPN. Accordingly, PLK2-deficient (PLK2 knockout) mice showed cardiac fibrosis and were prone to experimentally induced AF. In line with these findings, OPN plasma levels were significantly higher only in patients with AF with atrial low-voltage zones (surrogates of fibrosis) compared with sinus rhythm controls. Mechanistically, we identified ERK1/2 as the relevant downstream mediator of PLK2 leading to increased OPN expression. Finally, oral treatment with the clinically available drug mesalazine, known to inhibit ERK1/2, prevented cardiac OPN overexpression and reversed the pathological PLK2 knockout phenotype in PLK2 knockout mice. Conclusions: Abnormal PLK2/ERK1/2/OPN axis function critically contributes to AF-related atrial fibrosis, suggesting reinforcing PLK2 activity and/or OPN inhibition as innovative targets to prevent fibrosis progression in AF. Mesalazine derivatives may be used as lead compounds for the development of novel anti-AF agents targeting fibrosis.}, language = {en} } @misc{KayRegaMorenoetal., author = {Kay, Sonja and Rega, Carlo and Moreno, Gerardo and Herder, Michael den and Palma, Jo{\~a}o H. N. and Borek, Robert and Crous-Duran, Josep and Freese, Dirk and Giannitsopoulos, Michail and Graves, Anil and J{\"a}ger, Mareike and Lamersdorf, Norbert and Memedemin, Daniyar and Mosquera-Losada, R. and Pantera, Anastasia and Paracchini, Maria Luisa and Paris, Pierluigi and Roces-D{\´i}az, Jos{\´e} V. and Rolo, Victor and Rosati, Adolfo and Sandor, Mignon and Smith, Jo and Szerencsits, Erich and Varga, Anna and Viaud, Val{\´e}rie and Wawer, Rafal and Burgess, Paul J. and Herzog, Felix}, title = {Agroforestry creates carbon sinks whilst enhancing the environment in agricultural landscapes in Europe}, series = {Land Use Policy}, volume = {83}, journal = {Land Use Policy}, issn = {0264-8377}, doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.02.025}, pages = {581 -- 593}, abstract = {Agroforestry, relative to conventional agriculture, contributes significantly to carbon sequestration, increases a range of regulating ecosystem services, and enhances biodiversity. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we combined scientific and technical knowledge to evaluate nine environmental pressures in terms of ecosystem services in European farmland and assessed the carbon storage potential of suitable agroforestry systems, proposed by regional experts. First, regions with potential environmental pressures were identified with respect to soil health (soil erosion by water and wind, low soil organic carbon), water quality (water pollution by nitrates, salinization by irrigation), areas affected by climate change (rising temperature), and by underprovision in biodiversity (pollination and pest control pressures, loss of soil biodiversity). The maps were overlaid to identify areas where several pressures accumulate. In total, 94.4\% of farmlands suffer from at least one environmental pressure, pastures being less affected than arable lands. Regional hotspots were located in north-western France, Denmark, Central Spain, north and south-western Italy, Greece, and eastern Romania. The 10\% of the area with the highest number of accumulated pressures were defined as Priority Areas, where the implementation of agroforestry could be particularly effective. In a second step, European agroforestry experts were asked to propose agroforestry practices suitable for the Priority Areas they were familiar with, and identified 64 different systems covering a wide range of practices. These ranged from hedgerows on field boundaries to fast growing coppices or scattered single tree systems. Third, for each proposed system, the carbon storage potential was assessed based on data from the literature and the results were scaled-up to the Priority Areas. As expected, given the wide range of agroforestry practices identified, the carbon sequestration potentials ranged between 0.09 and 7.29 t C ha -1 a -1 . Implementing agroforestry on the Priority Areas could lead to a sequestration of 2.1 to 63.9 million t C a -1 (7.78 and 234.85 million t CO 2eq a -1 ) depending on the type of agroforestry. This corresponds to between 1.4 and 43.4\% of European agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, promoting agroforestry in the Priority Areas would contribute to mitigate the environmental pressures identified there. We conclude that the strategic and spatially targeted establishment of agroforestry systems could provide an effective means of meeting EU policy objectives on GHG emissions whilst providing a range of other important benefits.}, language = {en} } @misc{LiAmmannHelfensteinetal., author = {Li, Yafei and Ammann, Jeanine and Helfenstein, Julian and Williams, Tim G. and Levers, Christian and Mohr, Franziska and Diogo, Vasco and Zafeiriou, Rigas and Rolo, V{\´i}ctor and Beckmann, Michael and Hernik, J{\´o}zef and Kizos, Thanasis and Herzog, Felix}, title = {The potential of variable-rate technology for sustainable intensification of European arable farming}, series = {European journal of agronomy}, volume = {172}, journal = {European journal of agronomy}, publisher = {Elsevier BV}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1161-0301}, doi = {10.1016/j.eja.2025.127868}, pages = {1 -- 17}, abstract = {Sustainable intensification of agriculture calls for reducing inputs while increasing yields. Variable-rate technology (VRT) enables the application of the right amount of resources at the right time and place to meet crop requirements. VRT remains relatively underutilized in European arable farming compared to Americas and Australia. Facilitating VRT adoption and other precision agricultural technologies in European arable farming requires understanding the pressing needs of farmers and proposing location-specific solutions to their problems. To address this gap, we conducted online surveys of experts in agricultural research, service, and primary production across seven European arable farming regions. Experts were asked to estimate the current and future adoption of VRT and to assess the role of relevant factors for adopting VRT in their regions. Furthermore, we asked about the challenges of fertilization, weed/pest control, and water management. Our results show a higher current and future VRT application for fertilization compared to weed/pest control and irrigation across all regions. The biggest barriers against VRT adoption in arable farming are cost, government regulations, and technology complexity. Moreover, our results show that VRT can more efficiently address the challenges of fertilizer application and weed/pest control, but has limited potential in addressing water management challenges, which need to be tackled by crop breeding, irrigation infrastructure, and water withdrawal rights. Our findings suggest that the low adoption of VRT in Europe is related to high cost and complexity of VRT, the substitute measures of VRT, and the limitation of VRT in addressing agroecological and policy-related challenges. Sustainable intensification thus requires a portfolio of technological, social, behavioral, and policy innovations.}, language = {en} } @misc{LiHelfensteinSwartetal., author = {Li, Yafei and Helfenstein, Julian and Swart, Rebecca and Levers, Christian and Mohr, Franziska and Diogo, Vasco and B{\"u}rgi, Matthias and Williams, Tim G. and Zafeiriou, Rigas and Zarina, Anita and Ammann, Jeanine and Rolo, V{\´i}ctor and Verburg, Peter H. and Beckmann, Michael and Hernik, J{\´o}zef and Kizos, Thanasis and Herzog, Felix}, title = {Agroecological and technological practices in European arable farming : past uptake and expert visions for future development}, series = {Land use policy}, volume = {153}, journal = {Land use policy}, publisher = {Elsevier BV}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0264-8377}, doi = {10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107553}, pages = {1 -- 14}, abstract = {Agroecological and technological innovations are two important approaches in the transition towards agricultural sustainability. We lack knowledge about how current agricultural contexts may influence future development pathways and the relative importance of the two approaches. This study explores the alignment between past uptake of agroecological and technological practices and future visions of agricultural development in seven European arable farming systems. By combining landscape mapping with farmer interviews, we first assessed the past adoption of agroecological and technological practices in each region. Then, we compared our findings with expert surveys about the future directions of agricultural development that can address local arable farming challenges. We found that in regions with intensive arable farming, agroecological approaches lagged behind the uptake of technological measures, both in the past and in future prospects. In low-intensity regions, we found large gaps between past uptake and future prospects of agroecological and technological practice adoption. These gaps need to be overcome in the context of future challenges of climate change adaptation and of environmental obligations. Our results indicate the need to take differentiated measures depending on farm management intensity and landscape conditions to enhance the future uptake of agroecological and technological solutions that can address the local challenges.}, language = {en} }