@misc{GerwinRepmannGalatsidasetal., author = {Gerwin, Werner and Repmann, Frank and Galatsidas, Spyridon and Gounaris, Nikos and Vlachaki, Despoina and Dimitriadis, Elias and Ivanina, Vadym and Volkmann, Christiane and Baumgarten, Wibke}, title = {The potential of marginal lands for bioenergy}, series = {BE Sustainable : the magazine of bioenergy and the bioeconomy}, journal = {BE Sustainable : the magazine of bioenergy and the bioeconomy}, number = {9}, pages = {10 -- 13}, abstract = {For a longtime, marginal lands have been considered as promising alternative for sustainable production of bioenergy. However, there are many issues to tackle before determining whether a marginal land is able to sustain production on in dustrial scale or not.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchaafGerwinBiemeltetal., author = {Schaaf, Wolfgang and Gerwin, Werner and Biemelt, Detlef and Veste, Maik and Fischer, Annette}, title = {Monitoring of Soil-Plant-Atmosphere patterns and processes in an artificial catchment}, series = {EGU General Assembly 2009, Vienna, Austria, 19 - 24 April 2009}, journal = {EGU General Assembly 2009, Vienna, Austria, 19 - 24 April 2009}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{GerwinRepmann, author = {Gerwin, Werner and Repmann, Frank}, title = {Soil properties of selected marginal lands in Europe - hazard indicators}, series = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {Soils of marginal lands are characterized by a variety of different soil conditions depending on substrate properties, climate influences, the availability or even the excess of water. However, a number of soil properties can be found frequently at marginal sites which can be regarded as main restrictions of marginal lands and which clearly limit the potential of such sites with regard to land use potentials. The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating Index (SQR) considers the most important soil related factors responsible for these restrictions. Examples are acidification processes, soil compaction and water saturation or salinization. These soil properties are assessed as "soil hazard indicators" and have crucial impact on the overall soil score provided by the SQR concept for soils of marginal sites. This paper gives an overview of the importance of different soil hazard indicators found at case study sites of the H2020 project SEEMLA. These sites are located in Greece, Ukraine and Germany and represent a large variety of different climatic and geological conditions within Europe. Even if the occurrence of the single site limitations depends on regional conditions some generalizations are possible. Based on the respective dominating soil related restrictions a classification of types of marginality and of marginal lands can be derived.}, language = {en} } @article{HuettlGerwin, author = {H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F. and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {Landscape and ecosystem development after disturbance by mining}, series = {Ecological Engineering}, volume = {24}, journal = {Ecological Engineering}, number = {1-2}, issn = {0925-8574}, pages = {1 -- 3}, language = {en} } @article{HuettlGerwin, author = {H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F. and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {Gest{\"o}rte Kulturlandschaften - Neue Landschaften - Ideen f{\"u}r Neue Nutzungen}, language = {de} } @article{HuettlBensGerwin, author = {H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F. and Bens, Oliver and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {Wiederherstellung von Kulturlandschaften nach St{\"o}rung - Eine Zukunftsaufgabe}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{FragkiskakisKiourtsisKeramitzisetal., author = {Fragkiskakis, Nikitas and Kiourtsis, Fotios and Keramitzis, Dimitrios and Papatheodorou, Ioannis and Georgiadou, Margarita and Repmann, Frank and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {The importance of seedlings quality in timber and bio-energy production on marginal lands}, series = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {One of the main issues that the forest sector is facing is to achieve a balance between the demand for biomass \&wood production and the need to preserve the sustainability and biodiversity of forest ecosystems. The purposes of the new approaches are to ensure more efficient management of ecosystems and implement intensive forestry that will increase biomass production \& timber yields. To achieve this, we need to determine the macroeconomic potential of the various options available, including the use of biotechnology and genetics. The success of the forests plantations capacity may be solved through forest certification, based on: a) Stabilization of the forests and soils structure. b) Hierarchy of biomass production in the forest's management process. c) rganization and implementation of effective plantation on marginal lands. d) Maintenance or increase of forest productivity by introducing new items as and when they are required. It is important to evaluate of the influence of factors such as the quality of soils of plantation areas, the utilization of the genetic resources and the management of forest operations with the environmental economic criteria such as net present value of benefits (NPV) and the corresponding flow annuities (EACF).The existing evaluations studies showed that the quality of the plantation areas has the most influence and through validated quality seed production can generate an increase in the NPV up to 73\%. The importance of seedlings quality in timber and bio-energy production on marginal lands based on the literature it is estimated according to the heredity of the characteristics of the wood structure (except shrinkage). This clearly indicate that seedlings with the appropriate morphological characteristics can significantly improve the growth performance and help to support the development of biomass plantations oriented in tailor-made timber and bio-energy production.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{RepmannGerwinFreese, author = {Repmann, Frank and Gerwin, Werner and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Assessing soil quality and potential productivity - a basic approach to define and assess the marginality of land}, series = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, booktitle = {European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2017 Vienna, Austria, 23-28 April 2017}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, abstract = {An ever growing demand for energy and the widely proposed switch from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources puts the cultivation and use of bioenergy plants into focus. However, bioenergy production on regular and fertile agricultural soils might conflict with the worldwide growing demand for food. To mitigate or omit this potential conflict, the use of low quality or marginal land for cultivation of bioenergy plants becomes favorable. Against this background the definition and assessment of land marginality and, respectively, the evaluation whether and to which extent specific areas are marginal and thus convenient for sustainable bioenergy production, becomes highly relevant. Within the framework of the EU funded Horizon 2020 project SEEMLA, we attempted to asses land marginality of designated test sites in the Ukraine, Greece and Germany by direct field survey. For that purpose, soil and site properties were investigated and evaluated by applying the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (SQR) method, developed at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF). The method deploys a comprehensive set of biogeophysical and chemical indicators to describe and finally evaluate the quality of the soil and site by a score ranging from 1 to 100 points. Field survey data were supported by additional laboratory tests on a representative set of soil samples. Practical field work and analysis of field and lab data from the investigated sites proved the applicability of the SQR method within the SEEMLA context. The SQR indices calculated from the field and lab data ranged from 2 to < 40 and clearly demonstrated the marginality of the investigated sites in the Ukraine, Greece and Germany, which differed considerably in respect to their characteristics. Correlating the site quality index to yield data reflecting yield estimations for common bioenergy plants such as willow (Salix sp.), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and poplar (Populus sp.) cultivated at the respective test sites, revealed that SQR might additionally reflect the potential yield of the investigated sites.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{GerwinRepmannFreese, author = {Gerwin, Werner and Repmann, Frank and Freese, Dirk}, title = {B{\"o}den marginaler Standorte - eigenschaften, Limitierungen und Potentiale}, series = {Abstracts der DBG Jahrestagung 2017, 02.-07. Sept. 2017, G{\"o}ttingen}, booktitle = {Abstracts der DBG Jahrestagung 2017, 02.-07. Sept. 2017, G{\"o}ttingen}, pages = {V49}, abstract = {Eine zunehmende Knappheit ackerbaulicher Standorte und der zugleich steigende Bedarf an nachwachsenden Rohstoffen f{\"u}r die energetische und stoffliche Nutzung l{\"o}sen verst{\"a}rkt Konflikte zwischen der Nahrungsmittelproduktion und der Biomasseproduktion aus. Marginale Standorte kommen entsprechend immer st{\"a}rker in den Blickpunkt als m{\"o}gliche Erweiterungsfl{\"a}chen f{\"u}r die Biomasseproduktion. In der wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung fehlt allerdings eine eindeutige Definition f{\"u}r derartige marginale Standorte. Gerade im Hinblick auf eine m{\"o}gliche Reduzierung von Nutzungskonflikten ist die Abgrenzung zu stillgelegten, aber agrarisch nutzbaren Standorten oder zu nat{\"u}rlichen Badlands, mit naturschutzfachlichen Potentialen oftmals schwierig. Das EU H2020-Projekt SEEMLA untersucht Potentiale und Verf{\"u}gbarkeit von marginalen Standorten europaweit. In Deutschland, Griechenland und der Ukraine wurden Pilotstandorte eingerichtet, auf denen der Anbau von Bioenergiepflanzen exemplarisch durchgef{\"u}hrt wird. F{\"u}r eine erste Bewertung der Standortspotentiale und auch der Ursachen der Marginalit{\"a}t der Standorte wurden Bodenuntersuchungen an allen Pilotstandorten nach den Vorgaben des Muencheberger Soil Quality Rating-Verfahrens (SQR) (1) durchgef{\"u}hrt und die Standorte klassifiziert. Das SQR-Verfahren bewertet ausgew{\"a}hlte Boden- und Standortseigenschaften und bezieht zus{\"a}tzlich m{\"o}gliche limitierende Faktoren (Hazard Indicators) wie Versauerung, Versalzung, Vern{\"a}ssung etc. mit ein, um eine Gesamtbewertungszahl zur Bodenfruchtbarkeit zu ermitteln. Dieser Beitrag stellt anhand der SEEMLA-Standorte exemplarisch B{\"o}den marginaler Standorte vor. Mit Hilfe der SQR Hazard Indicators werden charakteristische limitierende Faktoren vorgestellt. Es wird zudem versucht, die untersuchten Standorte in eine m{\"o}gliche Klassifikation marginaler Standorte einzupassen und ihre Eignung f{\"u}r die Biomasseproduktion einzusch{\"a}tzen.}, language = {de} } @misc{MoghadasSchaafGerwinetal., author = {Moghadas, Davood and Schaaf, Wolfgang and Gerwin, Werner and Badorreck, Annika and H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F.}, title = {Chicken Creek data portal: a web-based R-Shiny platform for terrestrial data repository}, series = {Geophysical Research Abstracts}, volume = {21}, journal = {Geophysical Research Abstracts}, pages = {1}, abstract = {Exploring hydrological and ecological processes plays a key role in understanding ecosystem development. In this respect, the constructed catchment, Chicken Creek (H{\"u}hnerwasser), has been established to promote fundamental and interdisciplinary scientific research. Since 2005, an on-going monitoring program has been established in this catchment to measure hydrological, biological, meteorological, and pedological parameters during the ecological development of the site. This comprehensive and multidisciplinary monitoring program has produced a large and diverse data set. Managing and exploring such a complex data set for research purposes can be a cumbersome task. As a consequence, we developed an online data portal https://www.b-tu.de/chicken-creek/apps/datenportal/ to efficiently handle the data from Chicken Creek catchment. The portal was constructed using R programming language, Shiny package, and the accompanying local Linux server. This platform allows for efficient data discovery, download, visualization, and analysis. Data visualizations are freely available, while data storage is limited to the authorized users. In comparison with the commonly used data base tools, R-Shiny offers several advantages. As an open source package, this platform allows for constructing a web data platform in an interactive way taking into account the complexity and diversity of the data. The flexibility of this routine enables to make an efficient user-demand data portal rather than relying on predetermined outputs. It also offers flexibility in data handling by using many different R packages, rendering versatile and extensive functionalities. R-Shiny is particularly powerful in terms of statistical analyses. Although the Chicken Creek online data portal is complete and available, new features, and extended capabilities are under active development. The Chicken Creek data portal provides a comprehensive and reliable database to give scientists a fast and easy access to all collected data. Consequently, R-Shiny offers a great potential for future development of the web-based data portals to efficiently handle scientific data collected at different scales.}, language = {en} } @misc{GerwinSchaaf, author = {Gerwin, Werner and Schaaf, Wolfgang}, title = {Abiotic and biotic drivers of ecosystem development - results from Chicken Creek Catchment}, series = {EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4-8 May 2020}, journal = {EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4-8 May 2020}, doi = {10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7216}, language = {en} } @misc{HeinkenBlumroederAdhikarietal., author = {Heinken, Thilo and Blumr{\"o}der, Jeanette S. and Adhikari, Yojana and Balthasar, Cathrina and Binder, Anja and Birkhofer, Klaus and Bischoff, Antje and Brosinsky, Arlena and Bubner, Ben and Clerc, Danica and Djoudi, El Aziz and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Francke, Till and Gerwin, Werner and Hartong, Heinrich and Hess, Carsten and Jarling, Ren{\´e} and Jouy, Florent and Leinen, Loretta and Meißner, Andreas and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Schaaf, Wolfgang and Schirrmacher, Marina and Schmehl, Marie-Therese and Schmitt, Thomas and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Sturm, Knut and Welle, Torsten and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {PYROPHOB - A post-fire ecosystem research project to inform management for resilient forest development}, series = {Tuexenia}, volume = {44}, journal = {Tuexenia}, issn = {0722-494X}, doi = {10.14471/2024.44.004}, pages = {35}, abstract = {PYROPHOB (fire-resistant) is the name of an interdisciplinary research project that is running for five years from 2020 to 2025. In this project, eight institutions are investigating the ecological effects of wildfires and subsequent forest management strategies in pine forests (plantations) in Brandenburg (NE Germany), with the aim of formulating practical recommendations for managing fire-prone forests and the effective restoration of post-fire forest areas. We provide a brief overview of what is known about the effects of wildfire on abiotic and biotic parameters in temperate pine forests, as well as the effects of silvicultural treatments. To date, we know little about how different components of biodiversity are linked in post-fire forest ecosystems and how management affects their functioning. By describing the project, we illustrate the requirements for the implementation of such an applied research project. We emphasize the importance of the study design for dealing with interdisciplinary questions and for the quantitative synthesis of research results. The project comprises a set of standardised field plots in two wildfire areas covering different post-fire management options. Fifteen study sites were established, including two reference sites in unburned pine stands, each with ten study plots as replicates. In situ nitrogen mineralisation, litter decomposition tests and soil biological activity are used for soil biological characterisation. Microclimate data is measured continuously. Standing and lying dead wood and tree regeneration are recorded as key indicators of the success of forestry treatments. Further methods com-prise terrestrial laser scanning, remote sensing techniques as well as surveys of vegetation and above and below ground biomass. Identification of fruiting body-forming fungi, phytoparasites and ectomycorrhizal fungi is supported by marker gene sequencing. Faunistic indicators comprise predatory soil arthropods (pairs of emergence tents and soil traps), saproxylic beetles (flight traps and funnel traps), moths (automated window traps), mammals (camera traps), and breeding birds (visual and acoustic observation). We discuss the strengths and limitations of the project design. We are able to systematically capture short-term temporal shifts in parameters and trends in post-fire ecosystem development. Research in a real landscape with ongoing environmental changes and interventions pres-ents challenges for experimental design, data analysis and interpretation. The drivers of ecosystem development are rarely completely independent or perfectly balanced, and lack of replication is ine-vitable. The two fires did not occur in the same year and season, resulting in different initial conditions for the colonisation of the burned areas. Finally, a large part of one study area was again affected by a fire in 2022, which destroyed direct comparability with the other sites. Despite these obstacles the project has started to generate valuable results to address management and conservation challenges.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{HuettlGerwin, author = {H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F. and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {Investigating point zero: The artificial catchment "Chicken Creek" as an observatory to study critical zone structures and processes of the critical zone in an initial ecosystem}, series = {EGU General Assembly 2010, held in Vienna, Austria, 02 - 07 May 2010}, booktitle = {EGU General Assembly 2010, held in Vienna, Austria, 02 - 07 May 2010}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, language = {en} } @misc{PohlWinklerMikuttaetal., author = {Pohl, Lydia and Winkler, Pauline and Mikutta, Robert and R{\"u}cknagel, Jan and Gerwin, Werner}, title = {Potential of Fe sludge addition to increase the water holding capacity of sandy soil substrates}, series = {Journal of environmental management}, volume = {393}, journal = {Journal of environmental management}, publisher = {Elsevier BV}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0301-4797}, doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126870}, pages = {1 -- 11}, abstract = {Iron (Fe) hydroxide sludge is a by-product of open-pit lignite mining that accumulates in large quantities during acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment, where Fe²⁺ is precipitated to mitigate its environmental impact on aquatic ecosystems. Large quantities accrue, and the majority of Fe sludge is currently landfilled, although it may hold potential for beneficial reuse, for example, as a soil amendment. Hence, this study investigated the potential of Fe sludge to improve the water-holding capacity of sandy soils. A pure quartz sand and three sandy soil substrates were mixed with three different amounts of Fe oxide sludge (15, 30, and 60 t ha⁻¹) in pelletized and powdered form. Plant-available water-holding capacity (AWHC) was measured for all treatments, and results were compared to controls without Fe oxide sludge addition. The quartz sand's AWHC increased at all application rates of Fe sludge. In natural sandy soil substrates, Fe sludge increased AWHC at the highest application rate only in the soil material with an initial AWHC of <10 vol\%. The application of powdered Fe sludge was found to be more effective than pelletized sludge. We conclude that Fe oxide sludge applied as powder has the potential to enhance the AWHC of soils with an initial AWHC <10 vol\%, thus improving the quality of sandy substrates in post-mining areas. Yet, application of Fe sludge to improve soil physical properties should always consider their simultaneous impact on soil chemical properties, such as pH buffering, carbon accumulation, and effects on potentially harmful trace elements.}, language = {en} } @misc{SchmehlAdhikariBalthasaretal., author = {Schmehl, Marie-Therese and Adhikari, Yojana and Balthasar, Cathrina and Binder, Anja and Clerc, Danica and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Gerwin, Werner and G{\"u}nther, Kristin and Hartong, Heinrich and Heinken, Thilo and Hess, Carsten and Ibisch, Pierre L. and Jouy, Florent and Leinen, Loretta and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Rohlfs, Lilly and Schirrmacher, Marina and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea and Francke, Till}, title = {Monitoring abiotic and biotic parameters of forest regrowth under different management regimes on former wildfire sites in northeastern Germany - data from the PYROPHOB project}, series = {Earth system science data}, volume = {17}, journal = {Earth system science data}, number = {11}, publisher = {Copernicus GmbH}, address = {G{\"o}ttingen}, issn = {1866-3516}, doi = {10.5194/essd-17-6295-2025}, pages = {6295 -- 6313}, abstract = {We present the data recorded by eight institutions within the PYROPHOB project, running from 2020 to 2024 at two forest research sites in the south-west of Brandenburg, Germany. The aim of the project was to monitor abiotic and biotic parameters of forest regrowth under different management regimes on former wildfire sites in northeastern Germany. The observations comprised intermittent and continuous measurements or surveys on meteorological parameters (rainfall, temperature, vapour pressure deficit), soil (soil type and texture, soil chemistry and leaching, water content, soil temperature), deadwood, stand structure, vegetation regrowth, abundance of selected fauna (moths, beetles, mammals), UAV-based remote sensing (stand structure, spatial overview), and photo monitoring (succession). Thus, the multitude of collected data allows not only for detailed analyses of these observables separately, but also considering their interaction for a more multidisciplinary view on forest recovery after a wildfire. The data are available under the following DOIs: https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.08a6a8b56f774a08a984871e7ef1b5a8 (Part 1, Schmehl et al., 2025a), under embargo until 31 March 2026 (Part 2, Schmehl et al., 2025b), https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.de1661761da5481f938caf460e4f0ca9 (Part 3.1, Schmehl et al., 2025c), and https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.51bdf4b6dc854873b6ff44fdddbf4c3b (Part 3.2, Schmehl et al., 2025d).}, language = {en} } @misc{SchueleHeinkenAdhikarietal., author = {Sch{\"u}le, Maren and Heinken, Thilo and Adhikari, Yojana and Binder, Anja and Clerc, Danica and Dobkowitz, Sophia and Francke, Till and Gerwin, Werner and Hartong, Heinrich and Jouy, Florent and Raab, Thomas and Repmann, Frank and Rohlfs, Lilly and R{\"o}nnefarth, Susanne and Ibisch, Pierre L.}, title = {Intensive post-fire management drives ecosystem degradation but does not prevent tree regeneration}, series = {Journal of applied ecology}, volume = {63}, journal = {Journal of applied ecology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {0021-8901}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.70257}, pages = {1 -- 17}, abstract = {In recent years, wildfires have affected relatively large areas of managed forests in Central Europe. Often, forestry uses intensive post-fire management practices, which can have negative effects on various components of the ecosystem. Fire ecology has been largely neglected in Central Europe and strategies for appropriate management and successful reforestation of burned areas are urgently needed. We have studied the effects of different post-fire forest management treatments (including different levels of salvage logging and soil disturbances such as ploughing or raking) on soil parameters (phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, magnesium, pH), microclimate (temperatures, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), heat and drought stress), deadwood, regrowth (biomass of tree regeneration, herb and bryophyte layer) and species richness (plants and saproxylic beetles) 3 years after wildfire in a Central European Scots pine forest (northeast Germany). Intensive forest management led to more unfavourable abiotic conditions, including stronger temperature extremes and elevated VPD. Consequently, vegetation on these sites experienced increased heat and drought stress and reduced nutrient availability. The biomass of the herb and bryophyte layer, as well as the species richness of plants and saproxylic beetles, was lower on completely salvage logged sites. Tree biomass recovered on all sites, including sites with intensive forest management. Tree regeneration in our study area was mainly driven by the recolonization of the pioneer species European aspen (Populus tremula), which can tolerate a wide range of site conditions. Synthesis and applications. We recommend avoiding intensive management on burned sites, such as complete salvage logging or ploughing, as this creates extreme site conditions that could inhibit the regeneration of more sensitive tree species and result in a long-term legacy of degradation. In addition, herb and bryophyte layers, as well as the species richness of vegetation and saproxylic beetles, which are important components of forest ecosystems, are negatively affected by intense forest management.}, language = {en} } @techreport{RepmannGerwinKanzler, author = {Repmann, Frank and Gerwin, Werner and Kanzler, Michael}, title = {Schlussbericht zum Vorhaben "Ermittlung der Bodenqualit{\"a}t zur Bewertung der Ertragspotentiale von Rohstoffpflanzen auf marginalen Standorten (BodenPotential)"}, publisher = {Technische Informationsbibliothek}, address = {Hannover}, doi = {10.34657/25088}, pages = {54}, language = {de} }