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A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification
(2024)
AbstractOrganismal functional strategies form a continuum from slow- to fast-growing organisms, in response to common drivers such as resource availability and disturbance. However, whether there is synchronisation of these strategies at the entire community level is unclear. Here, we combine trait data for 2800 above- and belowground taxa from 14 trophic guilds spanning a disturbance and resource availability gradient in German grasslands. The results indicate that most guilds consistently respond to these drivers through both direct and trophically mediated effects, resulting in a ‘slow-fast’ axis at the level of the entire community. Using 15 indicators of carbon and nutrient fluxes, biomass production and decomposition, we also show that fast trait communities are associated with faster rates of ecosystem functioning. These findings demonstrate that ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ strategies can be manifested at the level of whole communities, opening new avenues of ecosystem-level functional classification.
The accessibility to accurate, real-time information is vital in times of flooding. The availability of such information is important not only to mitigate the losses due to flood damage but more importantly, the saving of human lives as well. This paper presents the results of an engineering study on flood inundation, with the aim of providing (i) accurate information (for e.g. escape routes, flood arrival times etc.); and (ii) accessibility to this information via the internet. A case study was carried out for the Polder Mehrum area, which is situated along the River Rhine in Germany. The study investigates the inundation process resulting from a dyke breach. Inundation is first simulated using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, solving the shallow water equations using the finite element method.Next, the computed results from the hydrodynamic model and other essential information including infrastructure, land-use etc. are combined in a GIS-based digital terrain model, using a commercially available GIS software, ArcGIS.This information is then put on a web server and the data made available via the internet. We use the ArcIMS software for distributing the GIS data and applications over the internet. ArcIMS supports both HTML and Java client viewers which greatly enhances the performance of many operations. In addition, advantage can also be taken of new wireless technology, like hand held P.C.s, which would greatly increase the mobility of users while at the same time, maintaining the same level of access to information. It is envisaged that this methodology would allow the relevant authorities better real-time access to vital information which would aid in developing emergency and evacuation plans. On a local level, such information can also be used as an educational tool for citizens. This study forms part of a wider project investigating flood management in the polder areas along the Rhine.
Semantics in databases
(2003)
Assessing spider diversity on the forest floor: expert knowledge beats a regular sampling design
(2014)
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.
Agricultural landscapes
(2004)
Urban and agricultural soils: conflicts and trade-offs in the optimization of ecosystem services
(2014)
The chemical and electronic properties of a-
Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al and μc-Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al thin-film solar cell structures
are studied by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES).
Using a combination of different X-ray excitation energies
and deliberate sample design, we were able to select the probed
volume, i.e., the silicon capping layer only or the silicon and zinc
oxide layer (including the buried interface). For the a-Si:H(B) material,
we find a higher deposition rate and a smaller value for the
modified Auger parameter than for μc-Si:H(B). In addition, we
find indications of a pronounced band bending limited to the very
surface of the a-Si:H(B) and the μc-Si:H(B) layers, which is more
distinct in the latter case.
The electronic structure of the interface between the boron-doped oxygenated amorphous silicon “window layer” (a-SiOx:H(B)) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) was investigated using hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and compared to that of the boron-doped microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H(B))/ZnO:Al interface. The corresponding valence band offsets have been determined to be (−2.87 ± 0.27) eV and (−3.37 ± 0.27) eV, respectively. A lower tunnel junction barrier height at the μc-Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al interface compared to that at the a-SiOx:H(B)/ZnO:Al interface is found and linked to the higher device performances in cells where a μc-Si:H(B) buffer between the a-Si:H p-i-n absorber stack and the ZnO:Al contact is employed.