@misc{UlrichPiwczynskiZaplataetal., author = {Ulrich, Werner and Piwczynski, Marcin and Zaplata, Markus K. and Winter, Susanne and Schaaf, Wolfgang and Fischer, Anton}, title = {Small-scale spatial variability in phylogenetic community structure during early plant succession depends on soil properties}, series = {Oecologia}, volume = {175}, journal = {Oecologia}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1007/s00442-014-2954-2}, pages = {985 -- 995}, abstract = {During early plant succession, the phylogenetic structure of a community changes in response to important environmental filters and emerging species interactions. We traced the development of temperate-zone plant communities during the first 7 years of primary succession on catchment soils to explore patterns of initial species assembly. We found pronounced small-scale differences in the phylogenetic composition of neighbouring plant assemblages and a large-scale trend towards phylogenetic evenness. This small-scale variability appears to be mediated by soil properties, particularly carbonate content. Therefore, abiotic environmental conditions might counteract or even supersede the effects of interspecific competition among closely related species, which are usually predicted to exhibit patterns of phylogenetic evenness. We conclude that theories on phylogenetic community composition need to incorporate effects of small-scale variability of environmental factors.}, language = {en} } @misc{WinterZaplataRzannyetal., author = {Winter, Susanne and Zaplata, Markus K. and Rzanny, Michael and Schaaf, Wolfgang and Fischer, Anton and Ulrich, Werner}, title = {Increasing ecological multifunctionality during early plant succession}, series = {Plant Ecology}, volume = {220}, journal = {Plant Ecology}, number = {4-5}, issn = {1573-5052}, doi = {10.1007/s11258-019-00930-3}, pages = {499 -- 509}, abstract = {Ecological multifunctionality quantifies the functional performance of various important plant traits and increases with growing structural habitat heterogeneity, number of plant functional traits, and species richness. However, the successional changes in multifunctionality have not been traced so far. We use quantitative plant samples of 1 m2 plots from the first 6 years of initial vegetation dynamics in a German created catchment to infer the temporal changes in plant functional trait space and multifunctionality. Multifunctionality at the plot level was in all study years lower than expected from a random sample of the local pool of potential colonizers and was lowest at intermediate states of succession. In each year species containing a specific set of traits occurred with limited but focused functionality. The observed average low degree of multifunctionality contrasts with recent models predicting a tendency towards maximum multifunctionality during plant community development. However, variability in multifunctionality among plots increased during succession and the respective multifunctionality distribution among plots was increasingly right skewed indicating an excess of plots with relatively high multifunctionality. This relative excess of plots with high multifunctionality might act as an important trigger of community development paving the way for new species and functions to become established.}, language = {en} } @misc{BucherBataryBaudryetal., author = {Bucher, Roman and Batary, P{\´e}ter and Baudry, Julia and Beaumelle, L{\´e}a and Čerevkov{\´a}, Andrea and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Dirilgen, Tara and Gall{\´e}, Robert and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle and Rembiałkowska, Ewa and Rusch, Adrien and Stanley, Dara A. and Ulrich, Werner and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms}, series = {Ecological Applications}, volume = {2024}, journal = {Ecological Applications}, issn = {1051-0761}, doi = {10.1002/eap.3035}, pages = {16}, abstract = {Land-use intensification is often associated with a decline in functional diversity, potentially undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, how changes in traits affect ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Variation in trait values among species in a community may drive ecosystem processes. Alternatively, the mass ratio hypothesis proposes that trait values of the dominant species in a local community are related to ecosystem processes. Using data from 159 farms in six European countries, we quantified the impact of local and landscape-level land-use intensity on ground beetles as pest control agents. We then assessed the extent to which functional diversity and community-weighted mean trait values relate to pest control and cereal yield. In addition, we assessed how the responses to land use and the effects of different species on pest control and yield varied with their traits to compare the relative impact of the traits studied. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid removal, but did not translate into higher crop yields. Pest control of aphids was enhanced by a higher proportion of smaller, mobile ground beetles with a preference for the vegetation layer. Smaller, predatory ground beetles in communities improved crop yield. The magnitude of responses to land-use intensification and the effects on pest control and yield were more strongly influenced by body size than other traits. Our study provides evidence that reduced management intensity can improve pest control by supporting small-sized, macropterous ground beetles. In contrast to the claims of ecological intensification, our joint analysis of the direct effects of land use on yield and indirect effects via functional diversity of ground beetles and pest control suggests that ecosystem services by ground beetles cannot compensate for the yield gap due to a reduction in land-use intensity.}, language = {en} }