@article{SundeColletNowaketal.2021, author = {Sunde, Peter and Collet, Sebastian and Nowak, Carsten and Thomsen, Philip Francis and M{\o}ller Hansen, Michael and Schulz, Bj{\"o}rn and Matzen, Jens and Michler, Frank-Uwe and Vedel-Smith, Christina and Olsen, Kent}, title = {Where have all the young wolves gone? Traffic and cryptic mortality create a wolf population sink in Denmark and northernmost Germany}, series = {Conservation Letters}, volume = {14}, journal = {Conservation Letters}, number = {5}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {1755-263X}, doi = {10.1111/conl.12812}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2565}, pages = {10}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Large carnivores are currently recolonizing Europe following legal protection, but increased mortality in landscapes highly impacted by humans may limit further population expansion. We analyzed mortality and disappearance rates of 35 wolves (of which three emigrated, nine died and 14 disappeared by 1 January 2020) by genetic monitoring in the heavily cultivated and densely populated Jutland peninsula (Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). Annual traffic kill rate estimates ranged from 0.37 (95\% CI: 0.11-0.85) to 0.78 (0.51-0.96) in the German part, equivalent to 0.08 (0.02-0.29)-0.25 (0.13-0.46) for the entire region, in the absence of any registered Danish roadkills. In Denmark, annual mortality rate estimates ranged from 0.46 (0.29-0.67) to 0.52 (0.35-0.71), predominantly from cryptic mortality. Despite successful reproductions, we conclude the region is a wolf population sink, primarily driven by cryptic mortality, most likely illegal killing. We hypothesize that frequent encounters between wolves and wolf-averse persecutors in cultivated landscapes may cause unsustainably high mortality rates despite the majority of hunters respecting protection laws.}, language = {en} } @article{HalwaniRecklingEgamberdievaetal.2021, author = {Halwani, Mosab and Reckling, Moritz and Egamberdieva, Dilfuza and Omari, Richard Ansong and Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko Dorothea and Bachinger, Johann and Bloch, Ralf}, title = {Soybean Nodulation Response to Cropping Interval and Inoculation in European Cropping Systems}, series = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.}, issn = {1664-462X}, doi = {10.3389/fpls.2021.638452}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2576}, pages = {9}, year = {2021}, abstract = {To support the adaption of soybean [Glycine max (L) Merrill] cultivation across Central Europe, the availability of compatible soybean nodulating Bradyrhizobia (SNB) is essential. Little is known about the symbiotic potential of indigenous SNB in Central Europe and the interaction with an SNB inoculum from commercial products. The objective of this study was to quantify the capacity of indigenous and inoculated SNB strains on the symbiotic performance of soybean in a pot experiment, using soils with and without soybean history. Under controlled conditions in a growth chamber, the study focused on two main factors: a soybean cropping interval (time since the last soybean cultivation; SCI) and inoculation with commercial Bradyrhizobia strains. Comparing the two types of soil, without soybean history and with 1-4 years SCI, we found out that plants grown in soil with soybean history and without inoculation had significantly more root nodules and higher nitrogen content in the plant tissue. These parameters, along with the leghemoglobin content, were found to be a variable among soils with 1-4 years SCI and did not show a trend over the years. Inoculation in soil without soybean history showed a significant increase in a nodulation rate, leghemoglobin content, and soybean tissue nitrogen concentration. The study found that response to inoculation varied significantly as per locations in soil with previous soybean cultivation history. An inoculated soybean grown on loamy sandy soils from the location M{\"u}ncheberg had significantly more nodules as well as higher green tissue nitrogen concentration compared with non-inoculated plants. No significant improvement in a nodulation rate and tissue nitrogen concentration was observed for an inoculated soybean grown on loamy sandy soils from the location Fehrow. These results suggest that introduced SNB strains remained viable in the soil and were still symbiotically competent for up to 4 years after soybean cultivation. However, the symbiotic performance of the SNB remaining in the soils was not sufficient in all cases and makes inoculation with commercial products necessary. The SNB strains found in the soil of Central Europe could also be promising candidates for the development of inoculants and already represent a contribution to the successful cultivation of soybeans in Central Europe.}, language = {en} } @article{NosenkoHankeUheHeineetal.2021, author = {Nosenko, Tetyana and Hanke-Uhe, Manuel and Heine, Philip Alexander and Shahid, Afsheen and D{\"u}bel, Stefan and Rennenberg, Heinz and Schumacher, J{\"o}rg and Winkler, Jana Barbro and Schnitzler, J{\"o}rg-Peter and H{\"a}nsch, Robert and Kaufholdt, David}, title = {Plant Defense Proteins as Potential Markers for Early Detection of Forest Damage and Diseases}, series = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, publisher = {Frontiers}, issn = {2624-893X}, doi = {10.3389/ffgc.2021.654032}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2587}, pages = {5}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Over the last two decades, European forest ecosystems have been exposed to increasing stress associated with an increasing number, duration and severity of extreme events triggered by climate change (Dyderski et al., 2018). For forest plants, the concomitant stresses are not limited to direct detrimental effects of rising temperatures, drought and heavy rainfall, but also include enhanced virulence of native plant pathogens and herbivores and the introduction of new pests (Stenlid and Oliva, 2016). The detection of forest diseases at an early stage, when visible symptoms cannot yet be observed, is a crucial prerequisite to counteract regional spreading of pathogens. However, the effective monitoring of forest damage and diseases requires reliable and easy-to-use portable test systems.}, language = {en} } @article{PrimmerVarumoKrauseetal.2020, author = {Primmer, Eeva and Varumo, Liisa and Krause, Torsten and Orsi, Francesco and Geneletti, Davide and Brogaard, Sara and Aukes, Ewert and Ciolli, Marco and Grossmann, Carol and Hern{\´a}ndez-Morcillo, M{\´o}nica and Kister, Jutta and Kluv{\´a}nkov{\´a}, Tatiana and Loft, Lasse and Maier, Carolin and Meyer, Claas and Schleyer, Christian and Spacek, Martin and Mann, Carsten}, title = {Mapping Europe's institutional landscape for forest ecosystem service provision, innovations and governance}, series = {Ecosystem Services}, volume = {47}, journal = {Ecosystem Services}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {2212-0416}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101225}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2597}, pages = {11}, year = {2020}, abstract = {There has been a strong quest for mapping and assessing ecosystem services (ES) to support governance. Yet, the institutional landscape that governs ES provision across multiple contexts has received less attention. We fill this research gap by developing and operationalising a framework for the analysis of policy documents that address European forest ES provision. By coding and analysing references to forest ES as well as innovations and governance mechanisms addressing these ES in national strategies on forest, biodiversity and bioeconomy, we map the institutional landscape of forest ES provision in Europe. We further analyse how biophysical supply of forest ES is connected to policies paying attention to ES and identifying innovations and governance for their provision. Innovations identified in policies centre around value chains of wood and bioenergy or biodiversity conservation, while non-wood forest products, cultural heritage, and recreation receive little attention. Biophysical supply of provisioning ES is connected to policies emphasising many innovations, while little supply of regulating ES could trigger service innovations and several new governance mechanisms. As forest ecosystems have received much attention in global, European and national sustainability policies, our institutional mapping illustrates that there is room for more use of innovations in promoting ES provision.}, language = {en} } @article{BoseScherrerCamareroetal.2021, author = {Bose, Arun K. and Scherrer, Daniel and Camarero, j. Julio and Ziche, Daniel and Babst, Flurin and Bigler, Christof and Bolte, Andreas and Dorado-Li{\~n}{\´a}n, Isabel and Etzold, Sophia and Fonti, Patrick and Forrester, David I. and Gavinet, Jordane and Gazol, Antonio and Gonz{\´a}lez de Andr{\´e}s, Ester and Karger, Dirk Nikolaus and Lebourgeois, Francois and L{\´e}vesque, Mathieu and Mart{\´i}nez-Sancho, Elisabet and Menzel, Annette and Neuwirth, Burkhard and Nicolas, Manuel and Sanders, Tanja G. M. and Scharnweber, Tobias and Schr{\"o}der, Jens and Zweifel, Roman and Gessler, Arthur and Rigling, Andreas}, title = {Climate sensitivity and drought seasonality determine post-drought growth recovery of Quercus petraea and Quercus robur in Europe}, series = {Science of The Total Environment}, volume = {784}, journal = {Science of The Total Environment}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1879-1026}, doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147222}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2609}, pages = {13}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Recent studies have identified strong relationships between delayed recovery of tree growth after drought and tree mortality caused by subsequent droughts. These observations raise concerns about forest ecosystem services and post-drought growth recovery given the projected increase in drought frequency and extremes. For quantifying the impact of extreme droughts on tree radial growth, we used a network of tree-ring width data of 1689 trees from 100 sites representing most of the distribution of two drought tolerant, deciduous oak species (Quercus petraea and Quercus robur). We first examined which climatic factors and seasons control growth of the two species and if there is any latitudinal, longitudinal or elevational trend. We then quantified the relative departure from pre-drought growth during droughts, and how fast trees were able to recover the pre-drought growth level. Our results showed that growth was more related to precipitation and climatic water balance (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) than to temperature. However, we did not detect any clear latitudinal, longitudinal or elevational trends except a decreasing influence of summer water balance on growth of Q. petraea with latitude. Neither species was able to maintain the pre-drought growth level during droughts. However, both species showed rapid recovery or even growth compensation after summer droughts but displayed slow recovery in response to spring droughts where none of the two species was able to fully recover the pre-drought growth-level over the three post-drought years. Collectively, our results indicate that oaks which are considered resilient to extreme droughts have also shown vulnerability when droughts occurred in spring especially at sites where long-term growth is not significantly correlated with climatic factors. This improved understanding of the role of drought seasonality and climate sensitivity of sites is key to better predict trajectories of post-drought growth recovery in response to the drier climate projected for Europe.}, language = {en} } @misc{CareBernsteinChapmanetal.2021, author = {Care, O. and Bernstein, M. J. and Chapman, M. and Diaz Reviriego, I. and Dressler, G. and Felipe-Lucia, M. R. and Friis, C. and Graham, S. and Haenke, H. and Haider, L. J. and Hern{\´a}ndez-Morcillo, M{\´o}nica and Hoffmann, H. and Kernecker, M. and Nicol, P. and Pi{\~n}eiro, C. and Pitt, H. and Schill, C. and Seufert, V. and Shu, K. and Valencia, V. and Zaehringer, J. G.}, title = {Creating leadership collectives for sustainability transformations}, series = {Sustainability Science}, volume = {16}, journal = {Sustainability Science}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, doi = {10.1007/s11625-021-00909-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2615}, pages = {703 -- 708}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Enduring sustainability challenges requires a new model of collective leadership that embraces critical reflection, inclusivity and care. Leadership collectives can support a move in academia from metrics to merits, from a focus on career to care, and enact a shift from disciplinary to inter- and trans-disciplinary research. Academic organisations need to reorient their training programs, work ethics and reward systems to encourage collective excellence and to allow space for future leaders to develop and enact a radically re-imagined vision of how to lead as a collective with care for people and the planet.}, language = {en} } @article{HentschelMoellerWenningetal.2018, author = {Hentschel, Rainer and M{\"o}ller, Katrin and Wenning, Aline and Degenhardt, Annett and Schr{\"o}der, Jens}, title = {Importance of Ecological Variables in Explaining Population Dynamics of Three Important Pine Pest Insects}, series = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science}, number = {9}, publisher = {Frontiers Media S.A.}, issn = {1664-462X}, doi = {10.3389/fpls.2018.01667}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3285}, pages = {17}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Climate change challenges forest vitality both directly by increasing drought and heat periods and indirectly, e.g., by creating favorable conditions for mass outbreaks of phyllophagous insects. The large forests dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) that cover the lowland regions in northeast Germany have already been affected regularly by cyclic mass propagations of defoliating insect species in the past with climate projections implying an even more advantageous environment for devastating outbreaks in the future. To improve predictive and responsive capacities we have investigated a wide range of ecological parameters to identify those most strongly related to past outbreak waves of three central species. In total, we analyzed 3,748 variables covering stand and neighborhood properties, site quality, and climatic conditions for an area of roughly 750,000 ha of pine forests in the period 2002-2016. To reflect sensitivity against varying climate, we computed "floating windows" in relation to critical phenological phases of the respective insects. The parameters with the highest explanatory power resulted from the variable importance measures of the Random Forest (RF) methodology and have been evaluated by a 10-fold cross-validation process. Our findings closely reflect the known specific gradation patterns and show that relative variable importance varies with species. While Lymantria monacha L. feeding was mainly dependent on the surroundings of the respective stand, Diprion pini L. proved to be almost exclusively susceptible to climatic effects in its population dynamics. Dendrolimus pini L. exhibited a mixed pattern of variable importance involving both climatic and forest structure parameters. In many cases the obtained statistical results support well-known ecological cause-effect relations and long-term population change dynamics. The RF delivered very high levels of sensitivity and specificity in the developed classifications and proved to be an excellent tool to handle the large amounts of data utilized for this study. While the presented classification approach may already support a better prognosis of the amplitude during the outbreak culmination, the obtained (most important) variables are proposed as preferable covariates for modeling population dynamics of the investigated insect species.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelGebbersOerteletal.2019, author = {Vogel, Sebastian and Gebbers, Robin and Oertel, Marcel and Kramer, Eckart}, title = {Evaluating Soil-Borne Causes of Biomass Variability in Grassland by Remote and Proximal Sensing}, series = {Sensors}, volume = {19}, journal = {Sensors}, number = {20}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {1424-8220}, doi = {10.3390/s19204593}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3294}, pages = {16}, year = {2019}, abstract = {On a grassland field with sandy soils in Northeast Germany (Brandenburg), vegetation indices from multi-spectral UAV-based remote sensing were used to predict grassland biomass productivity. These data were combined with soil pH value and apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) from on-the-go proximal sensing serving as indicators for soil-borne causes of grassland biomass variation. The field internal magnitude of spatial variability and hidden correlations between the variables of investigation were analyzed by means of geostatistics and boundary-line analysis to elucidate the influence of soil pH and ECa on the spatial distribution of biomass. Biomass and pH showed high spatial variability, which necessitates high resolution data acquisition of soil and plant properties. Moreover, boundary-line analysis showed grassland biomass maxima at pH values between 5.3 and 7.2 and ECa values between 3.5 and 17.5 mS m-1. After calibrating ECa to soil moisture, the ECa optimum was translated to a range of optimum soil moisture from 7\% to 13\%. This matches well with to the plant-available water content of the predominantly sandy soil as derived from its water retention curve. These results can be used in site-specific management decisions to improve grassland biomass productivity in low-yield regions of the field due to soil acidity or texture-related water scarcity.}, language = {en} } @article{HalwaniRecklingSchuleretal.2019, author = {Halwani, Mosab and Reckling, Moritz and Schuler, Johannes and Bloch, Ralf and Bachinger, Johann}, title = {Soybean in No-Till Cover-Crop Systems}, series = {Agronomy}, volume = {9}, journal = {Agronomy}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2073-4395}, doi = {10.3390/agronomy9120883}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3314}, pages = {17}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Introducing agro-ecological techniques such as no-tillage systems with cover crops in rotations with soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) could provide more resilience to changing climatic conditions and, at the same time, reduce soil erosion, nitrate leaching, and weed density in the main crop. However, there are challenges in introducing no-tillage techniques in crop systems in Europe as there is little quantitative knowledge about the agro-economic impact. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agronomic and economic impacts of three soybean cropping systems involving a rye (Secale cereal L.) cover crop prior to soybean, i.e., two no-tillage systems; either herbicide-free with crimping the rye or herbicide-based without rye crimping and one plough-based in which rye was cut as green silage. The impacts of these cropping strategies were compared in a three-year cropping system experiment at a research station in north-eastern Germany with and without irrigation. The following parameters were measured: (1) cover crop biomass; (2) weed biomass; (3) soybean plant density; (4) soybean grain yield; and (5) gross margin of the cropping system. The results showed that all three soybean cropping systems can effectively suppress weeds. System (C), the no-tillage herbicide-based system, produced the lowest rye biomass and highest soybean yield; system (B), the no-tillage herbicide-free/crimped rye system, produced the highest rye biomass and lowest soybean yield compared to system (A), the standard cutting/plough-based system. The differences in rye biomass and soybean yield observed between the three systems could be mainly attributed to the timing of the cover crop termination and the soybean sowing date. The gross margin was highest in system (C), due to the high soybean grain yield. The low soybean grain yield in system (B) resulted in lower revenues and gross margins compared to systems (A) and (C), although system (B) could be economically attractive in organic farming with higher prices for organic soybean. In the particularly dry year 2016, gross margins were higher when soybean was irrigated compared to the rainfed cultivation, due to significantly higher grain yields. Before recommending the application of the no-tillage with cover crop technique for the conditions tested in north-eastern Germany, more investigations on the benefits and risks of this technique are needed. Further research needs to focus on maintaining a high rye biomass as well as on ensuring an early soybean planting date. Optimizing the crimping and drilling equipment is still required in order to develop good management practices for no-tillage herbicide-free systems in European conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{JhaKaecheleSieber2019, author = {Jha, Srijna and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Sieber, Stefan}, title = {Factors Influencing the Adoption of Water Conservation Technologies by Smallholder Farmer Households in Tanzania}, series = {Water}, volume = {11}, journal = {Water}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, issn = {2073-4441}, doi = {10.3390/w11122640}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3320}, pages = {18}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In Tanzania, the increasing population coupled with climate change amplifies issues of food insecurity and negatively impacts the livelihoods of smallholder farmer households. To address these issues a range of water conservation techniques (WCTs) have been useful. However, the adoption of these WCTs in Tanzania has been limited due to many reasons. With the objective to better understand and identify the factors that significantly influence the adoption of WCTs in Tanzania, the study uses survey data from 701 smallholder farmer households and a bivariate logistic regression, to provide, for the first time, a comprehensive model for the adoption of WCTs in Tanzania that includes a range of individual, household, socio-economic, and farmer perception related variables (factors). The evaluation shows that 120 farmers (17.12\%) adopted WCTs and finds the farmer perceptions of rainfall instability, household wealth, and food security to be crucial. The results suggest that policy interventions should encourage conservation behavior (especially when the rainfall is perceived to be uncertain), emphasize the economic and food security-related benefits of adopting WCTs, include strategies that make adoption of WCTs attractive to female-led households, attempt to reach greater number of farmers via social networks and provide better access to public funds for farmers.}, language = {en} }