TY - GEN A1 - Kanzler, Michael A1 - Böhm, Christian A1 - Freese, Dirk T1 - Impact of P fertilisation on the growth performance of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in a lignite post-mining area in Germany T2 - Annals of Forest Research N2 - Due to its ability to grow on marginal sites black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) has been widely planted as a short rotation coppice (SRC) system that produce a renewable biomass feedstock in several post-mining areas of East Germany. However, as most of these sites are still in an initial stage of reclamation with low humus and nutrient contents, phosphorous can play a significant role as a plant limiting factor, because legumes require more P than other plants for their development. In April 2011, two experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of higher rates and different applications of phosphorus fertiliser on the nutrition, survival, and biomass production of two different-aged black locust SRC plantations on the post lignite-mining site “Welzow-Süd”, situated in NE Germany. Treatments were applied as triple superphosphate (30, 60 and 120 kg P ha-1) and PK fertiliser (60 kg P ha-1) through broadcasting or banding on recently harvested or planted trees, respectively. Soil, leaf and woody biomass data were analysed utilising the Mann-Whitney U test and the Spearman correlation coefficient (rS). Following two growing seasons, it was observed that the total dry weight yields of the black locust seedlings were increased strongly by up to 8 times when compared to the control group, particularly when TSP was applied through banding. P fertilisation, however, did not affect the biomass yield of six-year-old black locust trees, but P concentration in leaves among treatments of both sites was still significantly increased and sufficient from a quantity upwards of 60 kg P ha-1. Taken together, a comparably moderate amount of P fertiliser (60 kg ha-1) had a strong impact on P uptake and growth performance in the examined black locust seedlings, which reveals a high potential to improve the current fertilisation practices for SRC black locust plantations grown on our research site. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2015.303 VL - 58 IS - 1 SP - 39 EP - 54 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gypser, Stella A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Fischer, Thomas A1 - Lange, Philipp T1 - Infiltration and water retention of biological soil crusts on reclaimed soils of former open-cast lignite mining sites in Brandenburg, north-east Germany T2 - Journal of hydrology and hydromechanics N2 - Investigations were done on two former open-cast lignite mining sites under reclamation, an artificial sand dune in Welzow Süd, and a forest plantation in Schlabendorf Süd (Brandenburg, Germany). The aim was to associate the topsoil hydrological characteristics of green algae dominated as well as moss and soil lichen dominated biological soil crusts during crustal succession with their water retention and the repellency index on sandy soils under temperate cli-mate and different reliefs. The investigation of the repellency index showed on the one hand an increase due to the cross-linking of sand parti-cles by green algae which resulted in clogging of pores. On the other hand, the occurrence of moss plants led to a de-crease of the repellency index due to absorption caused by bryophytes. The determination of the water retention curves showed an increase of the water holding capacity, especially in conjunction with the growth of green algae layer. The pore-related van Genuchten parameter indicate a clay-like behaviour of the developed soil crusts. Because of the inho-mogeneous distribution of lichens and mosses as well as the varying thickness of green algae layers, the water retention differed between the study sites and between samples of similar developmental stages. However, similar tendencies of water retention and water repellency related to the soil crust formation were observed. Biological soil crusts should be considered after disturbances in the context of reclamation measures, because the ini-tial development of green algae biocrusts lead to an increasing repellency index, while the occurrence of mosses and a gain in organic matter enhance the water holding capacity. Thus, the succession of biocrusts and their small-scale succes-sion promote the development of soil and ecosystem. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/johh-2016-0009 VL - 64 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kwak, Jin-Hyeob A1 - Chang, Scott X. A1 - Naeth, M. Anne A1 - Schaaf, Wolfgang T1 - Coarse Woody Debris Increases Microbial Community Functional Diversity but not Enzyme Activities in Reclaimed Oil Sands Soils T2 - PLoS One N2 - Forest floor mineral soil mix (FMM) and peat mineral soil mix (PMM) are cover soils commonly used for upland reclamation post open-pit oil sands mining in northern Alberta, Canada. Coarse woody debris (CWD) can be used to regulate soil temperature and water content, to increase organic matter content, and to create microsites for the establishment of microorganisms and vegetation in upland reclamation. We studied the effects of CWD on soil microbial community level physiological profile (CLPP) and soil enzyme activities in FMM and PMM in a reclaimed landscape in the oil sands. This experiment was conducted with a 2 (FMM vs PMM) × 2 (near CWD vs away from CWD) factorial design with 6 replications. The study plots were established with Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen) CWD placed on each plot between November 2007 and February 2008. Soil samples were collected within 5 cm from CWD and more than 100 cm away from CWD in July, August and September 2013 and 2014. Microbial biomass was greater (p<0.05) in FMM than in PMM, in July, and August 2013 and July 2014, and greater (p<0.05) near CWD than away from CWD in FMM in July and August samplings. Soil microbial CLPP differed between FMM and PMM (p<0.01) according to a principal component analysis and CWD changed microbial CLPP in FMM (p<0.05) but not in PMM. Coarse woody debris increased microbial community functional diversity (average well color development in Biolog Ecoplates) in both cover soils (p<0.05) in August and September 2014. Carbon degrading soil enzyme activities were greater in FMM than in PMM (p<0.05) regardless of distance from CWD but were not affected by CWD. Greater microbial biomass and enzyme activities in FMM than in PMM will increase organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling, improving plant growth. Enhanced microbial community functional diversity by CWD application in upland reclamation has implications for accelerating upland reclamation after oil sands mining. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143857 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 10 SP - 0143857 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mantovani, Dario A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Gypser, Stella A1 - Halke, Christian A1 - Koning, Laurie Anne A1 - Freese, Dirk A1 - Lebzien, Stefan T1 - Transpiration and biomass production of the bioenergy crop Giant Knotweed Igniscum under various supplies of water and nutrients T2 - Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics N2 - Soil water availability, nutrient supply and climatic conditions are key factors for plant production. For a sustainable integration of bioenergy plants into agricultural systems, detailed studies on their water uses and growth performances are needed. The new bioenergy plant Igniscum Candy is a cultivar of the Sakhalin Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), which is characterized by a high annual biomass production. For the determination of transpiration-yield relations at the whole plant level we used wicked lysimeters at multiple irrigation levels associated with the soil water availability (25, 35, 70, 100%) and nitrogen fertilization (0, 50, 100, 150 kg N ha–1). Leaf transpiration and net photosynthesis were determined with a portable minicuvette system. The maximum mean transpiration rate was 10.6 mmol m–2 s–1 for well-watered plants, while the mean net photosynthesis was 9.1 μmol m–2 s–1. The cumulative transpiration of the plants during the growing seasons varied between 49 l (drought stressed) and 141 l (well-watered) per plant. The calculated transpiration coefficient for Fallopia over all of the treatments applied was 485.6 l kg–1. The transpiration-yield relation of Igniscum is comparable to rye and barley. Its growth performance making Fallopia a potentially good second generation bioenergy crop. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2014-0028 SN - 0042-790X VL - 62 IS - 4 SP - 316 EP - 323 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Koning, Laurie Anne A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Freese, Dirk A1 - Lebzien, Stefan T1 - Effects of nitrogen and phsphate fertilization on leaf nutrient content, photosythesis, and growth of the novel bioenergy crop Fallopia schalinensis vc. 'Igniscum Candy' T2 - Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality N2 - The aim of the study was to determine the effects of nitrogen and phosphate fertilization on the growth performance of the novel bioenergy crop Fallopia sachalinensis cv. ‘Igniscum Candy’ (Polygonaceae). In a controlled pot experiment various nitrogen (0, 50, 150, 300 kg N ha-1) and phosphate (20, 40, 80 kg P ha-1) fertilizer amounts were applied to measure the effect on the biomass, plant height, leaf area, and leaf nutrient (N and P) content. Furthermore, the ecophysiological processes of chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, and gas exchange were measured. The application of nitrogen correlated positively with biomass production, while phosphate fertilization did not show a significant effect on plant growth or ecophysiological parameters. The leaf nitrogen contents were significantly correlated with the nitrogen applications, while the leaf phosphate contents did not show a correlation with the P fertilizations, but increased with the leaf nitrogen contents. A significant linear correlation between N-Tester chlorophyll meter values and chlorophyll contents as well as with leaf nitrogen contents could be determined. Under the influence of the nitrogen fertilization, net photosynthesis increased from 3.7 to 6.6 μmol m-2 s-1. The results of this experiment demonstrated that nitrogen fertilization has an overall positive correlation with leaf nitrogen content, photosynthesis, and growth of the bioenergy crop Fallopia sachalinensis var. Igniscum Candy. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5073/JABFQ.2015.088.005 SN - 1439-040X VL - 88 SP - 22 EP - 28 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Todt, Henning A1 - Breckle, Siegmar-W. T1 - Influence of halophytic hosts on their parasites - the case of Plicosepalus acaciae T2 - AOB Plants N2 - Halophytes develop various morphological and physiological traits that enable them to grow successfully on saline substrates. Parasitic plants on halophytic hosts may also encounter salt stress. We investigated the mistletoe Plicosepalus acaciae (syn: Loranthus acacia; Loranthaceae), which occurs on 5 halophytic and at least 10 non-halophytic hosts in the Southern Arava Valley (Israel). Plicosepalus acaciae is a common parasite north of Eilat to the Dead Sea area and in the Jordan Valley. Morphological and physiological responses of P. acaciae to salinity were investigated by comparison of plants on halophytic with those on non-halophytic hosts. Ion patterns of different host–parasite associations were determined as was the development of leaf succulence at different growth stages. The leaf water content of P. acaciae increased and leaves developed succulence when growing on halophytic hosts, especially on Tamarix species, where leaf water content was three times higher than that on non-halophytic hosts and the leaf volume increased four to five times. The reason for increased succulence was a higher ion concentration of, and osmotic adjustment with, Na+ and Cl2. Plicosepalus acaciae showed a high morphological and ecophysiological plasticity, enabling it to cope with salt stress, and can be classified as a facultative eu-halophyte, which increases its halo-succulence according to the host. Host–parasite associations are a model systemfor the investigation of halophytes under different salt stress conditions. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plu084 SN - 2041-2851 VL - 7 SP - plu084 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mantovani, Dario A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Freese, Dirk T1 - Effects of Drought Frequency on Growth Performance and Transpiration of Young Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) T2 - International Journal of Forestry Research N2 - Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a drought-tolerant fast growing tree, which could be an alternative to the more common tree species used in short-rotation coppice on marginal land. The plasticity of black locust in the form of ecophysiological and morphological adaptations to drought is an important precondition for its successful growth in such areas. However, adaptation to drought stress is detrimental to primary production. Furthermore, the soil water availability condition of the initial stage of development may have an impact on the tree resilience. We aimed to investigate the effect of drought stress applied during the resprouting on the drought tolerance of the plant, by examining the black locust growth patterns. We exposed young trees in lysimeters to different cycles of drought. The drought memory affected the plant growth performance and its drought tolerance: the plants resprouting under drought conditions were more drought tolerant than the well-watered ones. Black locust tolerates drastic soil water availability variations without altering its water use efficiency (2.57 g L−1), evaluated under drought stress. Due to its constant water use efficiency and the high phenotypic plasticity, black locust could become an important species to be cultivated on marginal land. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/821891 SN - 1687-9376 N1 - Article ID 821891 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Veste, Maik T1 - Bioenergie aus Wüstenpflanzen T2 - Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau Y1 - 2014 SN - 0028-1050 VL - 67 IS - 2 SP - 80 EP - 81 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gypser, Stella A1 - Herppich, Werner B. A1 - Fischer, Thomas A1 - Lange, Philipp A1 - Veste, Maik T1 - Photosynthetic characteristics and their spatial variance on biological soil crusts covering initial soils of post-mining sites in Lower Lusatia, NE Germany T2 - Flora N2 - Following surface disturbance, quaternary sands are the basic substrate for soil development in the Lusatian reclamation area. These substrates mostly contain few organic matter and, hence, are nutrient poor. Accumulation of soil carbon is an important factor for ecosystem development, where biological soil crusts initially influence soil processes and promote ecosystem succession. The compositional structures of biological soil crusts at various developmental stages and their photosynthetic properties were investigated on two former open-cast lignite sites, currently under reclamation, an artificial sand dune in Welzow Süd, and a forest plantation in Schlabendorf Süd (Brandenburg, Germany). As development of biological soil crusts progressed, their contents of organic carbon and total chlorophyll increased. The ratio of these parameters, however, varied with the relative contribution of lichens and mosses in particular. Also maximum photochemical efficiency, net photosynthesis and respiration increased with crustal development. An additional evaluation of NDVI and chlorophyll fluorescence images showed that especially moss-dominated biocrusts had higher photosynthetic capacity compared to green algae-dominated biocrusts or soil lichens, so the photosynthetic capacity showed to be highly species-specific. The ratio of gross photosynthesis to respiration indicated a higher ecological efficiency of biocrusts dominated by green algae than of lichen-dominated biocrusts. The occurrence of soil lichens reduced net CO2 fixation and increased CO2 release due to the enhanced mycobiontic respiration. During crustal succession, the rise of photosynthesis-related parameters is not necessarily linear as a result of the highly heterogenic distribution of the different crustal organisms between biocrusts of similar developmental stages as well as between those growing at the two study sites. Therefore, the evaluation of relevant ecophysiological parameters highlighted that not all biocrust-forming organisms similarly contribute to the ecophysiological behavior of biological soil crusts. Nevertheless, the occurrence of the biological soil crusts promoted soil formation and accumulation of soil carbon in initial soils. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2016.02.012 SN - 0367-2530 VL - Vol. 220 SP - 103 EP - 116 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mantovani, Dario A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Böhm, Christian A1 - Vignudelli, Marco A1 - Freese, Dirk T1 - Spatial and temporal variation of drought impact on black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) water status and growth T2 - iForest Biogeosciences and Forestry N2 - Stimulated by the rising demand for bioenergy, forestry practices for energy production are of increasing importance worldwide. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a suitable tree species for biomass production in shortrotation plantations in East Germany, especially on marginal land where insufficient water and nutrients are a limiting factor for tree growth. Our study aims to clarify the spatial and temporal variability of the black locust growth through the analysis of the plant water status, and to evaluate the effect of adverse edaphic conditions on growth performances, amplified by periods of summer drought. The study was carried out at two sites presenting comparable climatic but different edaphic conditions: (i) fertile agricultural soil; and (ii) heterogeneous unstructured soil from a reclaimed post-mining area. During the vegetation period, the growth rate decreased in both sites following the plant water status in terms of pre-dawn leaf water potential. Particularly in the post-mining area, due to the adverse edaphic conditions, below the critical pre-dawn water potential value of -0.5 MPa, the stem growth was drastically reduced during a period of summer drought. However, the trees could cope with the extreme soil and weather conditions in the post-mining site without perishing. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1299-008 SN - 1971-7458 VL - 8 SP - 743 EP - 747 ER -