TY - JOUR A1 - Russ, Alexander A1 - Riek, Winfried A1 - Wessolek, Gerd T1 - Three-Dimensional Mapping of Forest Soil Carbon Stocks Using SCORPAN Modelling and Relative Depth Gradients in the North-Eastern Lowlands of Germany JF - Applied Sciences N2 - To cope with the challenges in forest management that are contemporarily caused by climate change, data on current chemical and physical soil properties are more and more necessary. For this purpose, we present a further amalgam of depth functions and SCORPAN modelling to provide data at arbitrary depth layers. In this concept, regionalisation is split up into the modelling of plot totals and the estimation of vertical distributions. The intended benefits by splitting up are: consistency between estimates on plot level and depth layer level, avoidance of artificial depth gradients, straightforward interpretation of covariates in the sense of pedogenetic processes, and circumnavigation of the propagation of uncertainties associated with separation between horizons during field sampling. The methodology was tailored to the circumstances within the north-eastern lowlands and the utilisation of current inventory data of the National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI) in Brandenburg (Germany). Using the regionalisation of soil organic carbon (SOC) as an example, the application is demonstrated and discussed in detail. The depth to groundwater table and terrain parameters related to the catchment area were the main factors in SOC storage. The use of kriging did not improve the model performance. The relative depth gradients of SOC were especially distinguished by tree species composition and stand age. We suppose that interesting fields of application may be found in scenario-based modelling of SOC and when SOC serves as a basis for hydrological modelling. KW - depth functions KW - SCORPAN modelling KW - soil forming factors; KW - forest soils KW - soil organic carbon KW - regionalisation KW - north-eastern lowlands KW - forest site mapping KW - Brandenburg Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3427 SN - 2076-3417 VL - 11 IS - 2 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riek, Winfried A1 - Russ, Alexander A1 - Marx, Marc T1 - Concentrations of Inorganic and Organic Pollutants in Forest Soils as an Archive of Anthropogenic Inputs in the State of Brandenburg, Germany JF - Applied Sciences N2 - An important component of the National Forest Soils Inventory (NFSI) is the investigation of inorganic and organic pollutants. Forests are able to filter out large quantities of these substances from the atmosphere and incorporate them into the soil for a long time. The aim of this study was the integrative evaluation of organic and inorganic pollutant concentrations in forest soils in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. With the help of principle component analysis, the pollutant concentrations can essentially be explained by three significant environmental components, which explain 76% of the total variance of all pollutants examined within the scope of the NFSI. The first component characterizes the extent of the atmospheric pollution caused by flue gases and fly ash from lignite combustion in the 1970s and 1980s and is mainly charged by the organic pollutants HCB and PAH, and the elements arsenic and chromium. This component shows positive relation to both spatially interpolated calcium-deposition data from the 1980s (as an indicator for the dust emission from coal combustion) and crown defoliation data of pine stands from the forest condition survey in the early 1990s. The depositions of zinc and cadmium from industrial sources, vehicle traffic and the use of fertilizers in agriculture mainly characterize the second principle component. The use of the pesticides DDT and lindane in the early 1980s and the associated pollutants input into the forest soils are expressed by the third component. In expanding the term archiving function of soils, the results illustrate their particular importance for the long-term archiving of anthropogenic inputs and the associated potential stress factors for forests. KW - forest soils KW - heavy metals KW - organic pollutants KW - forest soil inventory KW - forest crown condition KW - lignite combustion KW - fly ash deposition KW - principle component analyses KW - Brandenburg Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3430 SN - 2076-3417 VL - 11 IS - 3 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Biland, Mazhar A1 - Zeb, Alam A1 - Ullah, Ayat A1 - Kächele, Harald T1 - Why Do Households Depend on the Forest for Income? Analysis of Factors Influencing Households’ Decision-Making Behaviors JF - Sustainability N2 - Using survey information of 150 randomly selected households across 21 villages of the forest-rich district of Swat, Pakistan, this study assessed households’ decision-making behaviors in depending on income from nearby forested land using socio-economic attributes. The evidence from the study may aid in making the existing policies be better targeted toward families that depend on the forest for income. Descriptive statistics and econometric techniques such as logit and tobit were used to analyze the data. Respondent households obtained the highest share of their income from off-farm activities (37%) and least from forest activities (16%). Fuelwood constitutes the biggest share (66%) of forest income, followed by medical plants (20%) and fodder (13%). We found that households with more physical assets, more family members working in off-farm jobs, and households earning more income from off-farm jobs were significantly and negatively associated with households’ decision to depend on forest income and total income obtained. We also found that households with less distance to the market and membership to joint forest management committees (JFMCs) were significantly and negatively associated with households’ total income obtained. However, household size was significantly and positively related to households’ decision of forest dependency. The study recommends the creation of off-farm opportunities and inclusion of local people in the management of forests through establishment of JFMCs, particularly for large and poor families. KW - decision-making behavior KW - socio-economic attributes KW - forest income dependency KW - total income obtained Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3441 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 13 IS - 16 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roque, Dionísio A1 - Göttert, Thomas A1 - Macandza, Valério António A1 - Zeller, Ulrich T1 - Assessing Distribution Patterns and the Relative Abundance of Reintroduced Large Herbivores in the Limpopo National Park, Mozambique JF - Diversity N2 - This study is the first systematic assessment of large herbivore (LH) communities in Limpopo National Park (LNP) in Mozambique, an area where most LH species were extinct until the early 2000s. We investigate whether LH community parameters are linked with the availability of habitat types or the distance between sampling sites and the origin of LH resettlement. We placed camera traps in five habitat types in resettled and not-resettled areas to compare species richness, relative abundance index, grazers–browsers–mixed feeder and naïve occupancy of 15 LH species. While the richness decreased along the distance gradient of LH resettlement, relative abundance index strongly responded to habitat features. The grazer–browser–mixed feeder ratio oscillated, while from resettled to not-resettled areas, the ratio increased. Most species show a wide distribution range. The associations of most LH community parameters with habitat types rather than distance to initial release, together with the species-specific and guild-specific response patterns of LH, suggest LNP to already be in an intermediate stage of restoration. Our results highlight the importance of post-release monitoring of reintroduced wildlife as a tool to assess the success of ecological restoration initiatives in transboundary conservation areas. KW - camera trap KW - colonization KW - distribution patterns KW - relative abundance KW - ecological parameters KW - habitat types KW - large herbivores reintroduction KW - Limpopo National Park KW - Old Sanctuary Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3454 SN - 1424-2818 VL - 13 IS - 10 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Starik, Nicole A1 - Göttert, Thomas A1 - Zeller, Ulrich T1 - Spatial Behavior and Habitat Use of Two Sympatric Bat Species JF - Animals N2 - Movement behavior and habitat use of the long-eared bat species Plecotus auritus and Plecotus austriacus were studied in the Havelland region in Brandenburg (Germany). Data collection included mist-netting, radiotelemetry, reconstruction of prey items, and monitoring of roosting sites. Body measurements confirm a high degree of phenotypic similarity between the two species. Total activity areas (100% Minimum Convex Polygons, MCPS) of Plecotus austriacus (2828.3 ± 1269.43 ha) were up to five-fold larger compared to Plecotus auritus (544.54 ± 295.89 ha). The activity areas of Plecotus austriacus contained up to 11 distinct core areas, and their mean total size (149.7 ± 0.07 ha) was approximately three-fold larger compared to core areas of Plecotus auritus (49.2 ± 25.6 ha). The mean distance between consecutive fixes per night was 12.72 ± 3.7 km for Plecotus austriacus and 4.23 ± 2.8 km for Plecotus auritus. While Plecotus austriacus was located most frequently over pastures (>40%) and meadows (>20%), P. auritus was located mostly within deciduous (>50%) and mixed forests (>30%) in close vicinity to its roosts. Roost site monitoring indicates that the activity of P. austriacus is delayed relative to P. auritus in spring and declined earlier in autumn. These phenological differences are probably related to the species’ respective diets. Levins’ measure of trophic niche breadth suggests that the prey spectrum for P. auritus is more diverse during spring (B = 2.86) and autumn (B = 2.82) compared to P. austriacus (spring: B = 1.7; autumn: B = 2.1). Our results give reason to consider these interspecific ecological variations and species-specific requirements of P. auritus and P. austriacus to develop adapted and improved conservation measures. KW - Plecotus KW - resource partitioning KW - radio-tracking KW - activity areas KW - fecal analysis Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3465 SN - 2076-2615 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI ER - TY - GEN A1 - Franzke, Christian L E A1 - Ciullo, Alessio A1 - Gilmore, Elisabeth A A1 - Matias, Denise Margaret A1 - Nagabhatla, Nidhi A1 - Orlov, Anton A1 - Paterson, Shona K A1 - Scheffran, Jürgen A1 - Sillmann, Jana T1 - Perspectives on tipping points in integrated models of the natural and human Earth system: cascading effects and telecoupling T2 - Environmental Research Letters N2 - The Earth system and the human system are intrinsically linked. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have led to the climate crisis, which is causing unprecedented extreme events and could trigger Earth system tipping elements. Physical and social forces can lead to tipping points and cascading effects via feedbacks and telecoupling, but the current generation of climate-economy models do not generally take account of these interactions and feedbacks. Here, we show the importance of the interplay between human societies and Earth systems in creating tipping points and cascading effects and the way they in turn affect sustainability and security. The lack of modeling of these links can lead to an underestimation of climate and societal risks as well as how societal tipping points can be harnessed to moderate physical impacts. This calls for the systematic development of models for a better integration and understanding of Earth and human systems at different spatial and temporal scales, specifically those that enable decision-making to reduce the likelihood of crossing local or global tipping points. KW - tipping points KW - cascading effects KW - coupling of natural and human Earth systems KW - telecoupling KW - extreme events Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3476 SN - 1748-9326 VL - 17 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publishing Ltd ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Loebjinski, Maria A1 - Rug, Wolfgang A1 - Pasternak, Hartmut T1 - The Influence of Improved Strength Grading In Situ on Modelling Timber Strength Properties JF - Buildings N2 - The management and preservation of structures in our built environment are central and challenging tasks for practicing engineers. Within the CEN member states (European Committee for Standardization), the so-called Eurocodes form the basis of the design and verification of the load-bearing capacity of structures. Current Eurocodes do not contain special recommendations for existing structures, meaning that the principles for new structures are applied. This can lead to an incorrect estimation of the load-bearing capacity within the semi-probabilistic safety concept. A central task within the investigation and evaluation of existing structures is the strength grading of the material in situ using non-/semi-destructive technical devices. Studies show the potential of the ultrasonic time-of-flight measurement in combination with visual evaluation for an improved grading. The information on the material from an improved grading technique can be used to update the material parameters as a target variable using a measured reference variable. In this contribution, test data from a partner project (spruce, pine, and oak) are analyzed, applying the stochastic grading model of Pöhlmann and Rackwitz. It can be shown that different grading techniques influence the updated distribution function of the material strength within the grade. The results depend on the timber species. Perspectives to develop updated models dependent on the knowledge available are shown and discussed. KW - timber KW - existing structures KW - modelling material properties KW - code calibration KW - evaluation procedure Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2736 SN - 2075-5309 VL - 10 IS - 2 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eriksen, Ane A1 - Versluijs, Erik A1 - Fuchs, Boris A1 - Zimmermann, Barbara A1 - Wabakken, Petter A1 - Ordiz, Andrés A1 - Sunde, Peter A1 - Wikenros, Camilla A1 - Sand, Håkan A1 - Gillich, Benjamin A1 - Michler, Frank A1 - Nordli, Kristoffer A1 - Carricondo-Sanchez, David A1 - Gorini, Lucrezia A1 - Rieger, Siegfried T1 - A Standardized Method for Experimental Human Approach Trials on Wild Wolves JF - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution N2 - As wolves recolonize areas of Europe ranging from moderate to high anthropogenic impact, fear of wolves is a recurring source of conflict. Shared tools for evaluating wolf responses to humans, and comparing such responses across their range, can be valuable. Experiments in which humans approach wild wolves can increase our understanding of how wolves respond to humans, facilitating human-wolf coexistence. We have developed the first standardized protocol for evaluating wolf responses to approaching humans using high-resolution GPS data, and tested it on wild wolves. We present a field protocol for experimentally approaching GPS-collared wolves, a descriptive comparison of two statistical methods for detecting a measurable flight response, a tutorial for identifying wolf flight initiation and resettling positions, and an evaluation of the method when reducing GPS positioning frequency. The field protocol, a data collection form, and the tutorial with R code for extracting flight parameters are provided. This protocol will facilitate studies of wolf responses to approaching humans, applicable at a local, national, and international level. Data compiled in a standardized way from multiple study areas can be used to quantify the variation in wolf responses to humans within and between populations, and in relation to predictors such as social status, landscape factors, or human population density, and to establish a baseline distribution of wolf response patterns given a number of known predictors. The variation in wolf responses can be used to assess the degree to which results can be generalized to areas where GPS studies are not feasible, e.g., for predicting the range of likely wolf behaviors, assessing the likelihood of wolf-human encounters, and complementing existing tools for evaluating reports of bold wolves. Showing how wolves respond to human encounters should help demystify the behavior of wild wolves toward humans in their shared habitat. KW - carnivores KW - changepoint analysis KW - field experiments KW - flight initiation distance (FID) KW - upper control limit (UCL) KW - wildlife-human interaction Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2788 SN - 2296-701X N1 - The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.793307/full#supplementary-material VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luo, Anran A1 - Zuberi, Mehwish A1 - Liu, Jiayu A1 - Perrone, Miranda A1 - Schnepf, Simone A1 - Leipold, Sina T1 - Why common interests and collective action are not enough for environmental cooperation – Lessons from the China-EU cooperation discourse on circular economy JF - Global Environmental Change N2 - Scholars have argued that circular economy (CE) must be upscaled and globalized to address excessive resource extraction and waste generation. Many CE practitioners consider the first international CE agreement between China and the EU a milestone towards such an effort. This analysis shows why this expectation is premature. European and Chinese stakeholders’ optimistic and depoliticized CE narratives disable communication regarding development disparities, negative competition and distrust, which shape geopolitical rivalry. While skeptical narratives that address political barriers exist, they fall short of suggesting alternatives. Based on 72 stakeholder interviews, 40 documents and participant observation, these results highlight the critical importance of investigating narrative strategies to repoliticize environmental cooperation. Such narrative strategies would support contestation and negotiation on development disparities and open channels for joint conceptualization of implementation scales for environmental strategies, circular or otherwise. We therefore propose using constructivist perspectives of international relations to explore discursive barriers and enablers to global environmental action. KW - Development KW - Trust KW - Circular economy KW - China KW - EU KW - International trade KW - Environmental cooperation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2554 VL - 71 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Halwani, Mosab A1 - Reckling, Moritz A1 - Egamberdieva, Dilfuza A1 - Omari, Richard Ansong A1 - Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko Dorothea A1 - Bachinger, Johann A1 - Bloch, Ralf T1 - Soybean Nodulation Response to Cropping Interval and Inoculation in European Cropping Systems JF - Frontiers in Plant Science N2 - 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 Müncheberg 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. KW - soybean KW - Bradyrhizobia KW - cropping interval KW - inoculation KW - nodulation KW - Central Europe Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2576 SN - 1664-462X VL - 12 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nosenko, Tetyana A1 - Hanke-Uhe, Manuel A1 - Heine, Philip Alexander A1 - Shahid, Afsheen A1 - Dübel, Stefan A1 - Rennenberg, Heinz A1 - Schumacher, Jörg A1 - Winkler, Jana Barbro A1 - Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter A1 - Hänsch, Robert A1 - Kaufholdt, David T1 - Plant Defense Proteins as Potential Markers for Early Detection of Forest Damage and Diseases JF - Frontiers in Forests and Global Change N2 - 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. KW - Forest disease diagnostic KW - Molecular markers KW - Antimicrobial peptides KW - Defensins KW - Plant defense Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2587 SN - 2624-893X VL - 4 PB - Frontiers ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Primmer, Eeva A1 - Varumo, Liisa A1 - Krause, Torsten A1 - Orsi, Francesco A1 - Geneletti, Davide A1 - Brogaard, Sara A1 - Aukes, Ewert A1 - Ciolli, Marco A1 - Grossmann, Carol A1 - Hernández-Morcillo, Mónica A1 - Kister, Jutta A1 - Kluvánková, Tatiana A1 - Loft, Lasse A1 - Maier, Carolin A1 - Meyer, Claas A1 - Schleyer, Christian A1 - Spacek, Martin A1 - Mann, Carsten T1 - Mapping Europe’s institutional landscape for forest ecosystem service provision, innovations and governance JF - Ecosystem Services N2 - 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. KW - Institutional landscape KW - Forest ecosystem services KW - Ecosystem services governance KW - Document analysis KW - Innovations KW - Policy analysis Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2597 SN - 2212-0416 VL - 47 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bose, Arun K. A1 - Scherrer, Daniel A1 - Camarero, j. Julio A1 - Ziche, Daniel A1 - Babst, Flurin A1 - Bigler, Christof A1 - Bolte, Andreas A1 - Dorado-Liñán, Isabel A1 - Etzold, Sophia A1 - Fonti, Patrick A1 - Forrester, David I. A1 - Gavinet, Jordane A1 - Gazol, Antonio A1 - González de Andrés, Ester A1 - Karger, Dirk Nikolaus A1 - Lebourgeois, Francois A1 - Lévesque, Mathieu A1 - Martínez-Sancho, Elisabet A1 - Menzel, Annette A1 - Neuwirth, Burkhard A1 - Nicolas, Manuel A1 - Sanders, Tanja G. M. A1 - Scharnweber, Tobias A1 - Schröder, Jens A1 - Zweifel, Roman A1 - Gessler, Arthur A1 - Rigling, Andreas T1 - Climate sensitivity and drought seasonality determine post-drought growth recovery of Quercus petraea and Quercus robur in Europe JF - Science of The Total Environment N2 - 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. KW - Climate change KW - Warming KW - Drought KW - Legacy effects KW - Acclimation KW - Tree rings Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2609 SN - 1879-1026 VL - 784 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hentschel, Rainer A1 - Möller, Katrin A1 - Wenning, Aline A1 - Degenhardt, Annett A1 - Schröder, Jens T1 - Importance of Ecological Variables in Explaining Population Dynamics of Three Important Pine Pest Insects JF - Frontiers in Plant Science N2 - 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. KW - ecological modeling KW - Random Forest KW - mass outbreak KW - Pinus sylvestris KW - Lymantria monacha KW - Dendrolimus pini KW - Diprion pini Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3285 SN - 1664-462X IS - 9 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Sebastian A1 - Gebbers, Robin A1 - Oertel, Marcel A1 - Kramer, Eckart T1 - Evaluating Soil-Borne Causes of Biomass Variability in Grassland by Remote and Proximal Sensing JF - Sensors N2 - 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. KW - apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) KW - pH KW - UAV KW - boundary-line KW - quantile regression KW - law of minimum Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3294 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 19 IS - 20 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Halwani, Mosab A1 - Reckling, Moritz A1 - Schuler, Johannes A1 - Bloch, Ralf A1 - Bachinger, Johann T1 - Soybean in No-Till Cover-Crop Systems JF - Agronomy N2 - 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. KW - no-tillage KW - cover crop KW - irrigation KW - weed suppression KW - gross margin Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3314 SN - 2073-4395 VL - 9 IS - 12 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jha, Srijna A1 - Kächele, Harald A1 - Sieber, Stefan T1 - Factors Influencing the Adoption of Water Conservation Technologies by Smallholder Farmer Households in Tanzania JF - Water N2 - 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. KW - decision-making KW - logit regression KW - farmer perceptions KW - social networks KW - public funds KW - water conservation adoption Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3320 SN - 2073-4441 VL - 11 IS - 12 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mahmood, Nasir A1 - Arshad, Muhammad A1 - Kächele, Harald A1 - Shahzad, Muhammad Faisal A1 - Ullah, Ayat A1 - Mueller, Klaus T1 - Fatalism, Climate Resiliency Training and Farmers’ Adaptation Responses: Implications for Sustainable Rainfed-Wheat Production in Pakistan JF - Sustainability N2 - Climate change is a severe threat to the agricultural sector in general and to rainfed farming in particular. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that can potentially affect the adaptation process against climate change. This study focused on wheat farmers and farming systems in the rainfed agroecological zone of Pakistan. Farmers’ data related to climate change fatalism, the availability of climate-specific extension services, socioeconomic and institutional variables, and farm characteristics were collected. A logit model to assess farmers’ decisions to adopt an adaptation measure and a multinomial logit model to assess their choice of various adaptation measures were used. The results showed that fatalistic farmers were unlikely to implement climate change adaptation measures. The variables related to the climate-specific extension services, including farmers’ participation in training on climate-resilient crop farming and the availability of mobile communication-based advisory services, had highly significant and positive impacts on farmers’ decisions and their choice of adaptation measures. Input market access and tractor ownership also had positive and significant impacts on farmers’ decisions to adapt and their choice of adaptation measures. This study highlights the need to improve rainfed-wheat farmers’ education levels to change their fatalistic attitudes towards climate change. Furthermore, government action is needed to provide climate-specific extension services to ensure sustainable production levels that will ultimately lead to food and livelihood security under a changing climate. KW - fatalism KW - climate-specific extension service KW - climate-resilient farming KW - rainfed farming KW - adaptation Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3338 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 12 IS - 4 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jha, Srijna A1 - Kächele, Harald A1 - Lana, Marcos A1 - Amjath-Babu, T.S A1 - Sieber, Stefan T1 - Exploring Farmers’ Perceptions of Agricultural Technologies: A Case Study from Tanzania JF - Sustainability N2 - The low agricultural productivity of key crops and food insecurity continue to be key issues in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Tanzania. The growing population, depleting resources, and changing climate further amplify these issues. Globally, many agricultural technologies (AgTs) are available as pathways for improved agricultural productivity and food security, however, they have had relatively little success in SSA and Tanzania. This is because the uptake of AgTs is a complex process, which is highly localized, involving multiple actors, stages, and spatial and time dimensions. Smallholder farmers often experience issues of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up throughout the uptake process of AgTs, all of which vary by region. This indicates a need for a systematic and simultaneous understanding of sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of AgTs to better guide agricultural strategy and policy interventions in SSA and Tanzania. Moreover, in order to understand the local settings better, a consideration of the perceptions of the farmers themselves, who are the primary actors in the uptake process of AgTs, is key. Acknowledging this, the study takes on a case study approach, using the scaling-up assessment (ScalA) method and three focus group discussions with a total of 44 smallholder farmers to systematically and simultaneously assess the sustainability, constraints for adoption, and scaling-up of three AgTs (use of fertilizers, improved seeds, and small-scale irrigation) in Tanzania. The study finds that the farmers perceive all three AgTs to be sustainable for the study region. Adoption rates are perceived to be medium for use of fertilizers, high for improved seeds, and low for small-scale irrigation. The most significant constraints for adoption experienced by the farmers are lack of technical physical inputs, marketing facilities, and know-how. Scaling-up is perceived to be well fulfilled for use of fertilizers and improved seeds, but only partially fulfilled for small-scale irrigation, which is the most limited of the three AgTs. The most significant constraints for scaling-up experienced by farmers are a lack of confidence in the added value of the AgTs beyond project activities, marketing facilities, and technical physical inputs. The overall success potential is high for the use of fertilizers and improved seeds, and the average for small-scale irrigation. The farmers’ perceptions partially indicate why the bundle of AgTs is lacking in the study region and provide a basis for discussing targeted agricultural and policy interventions in Tanzania. KW - sustainability KW - adoption KW - scaling-up KW - agricultural technologies KW - farmer perceptions KW - agricultural productivity KW - food security KW - Tanzania Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3340 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 13 IS - 3 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Anees, Mangalasseril Mohammad A1 - Mann, Deepika A1 - Sharma, Mani A1 - Banzhaf, Ellen A1 - Joshi, Pawan K T1 - Assessment of Urban Dynamics to Understand Spatiotemporal Differentiation at Various Scales Using Remote Sensing and Geospatial Tools JF - Remote Sensing N2 - Analysis of urban dynamics is a pivotal step towards understanding landscape changes and developing scientifically sound urban management strategies. Delineating the patterns and processes shaping the evolution of urban regions is an essential part of this step. Utilizing remote-sensing techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, we performed an integrated analysis on urban expansion in Srinagar city and surrounding areas from 1999 to 2017 at multiple scales in order to assist urban planning initiatives. To capture various spatial indicators of expansion, we analysed (i) land use/land cover (LULC) changes, (ii) rate and intensity of changes to built-up areas, (iii) spatial differentiation in landscape metrics (at 500, 1000 and 2000 m cell-size), and (iv) growth type of the urban expansion. Global Moran’s I statistics and local indicators of spatial association (LISA) were also employed to identify hotspots of change in landscape structure. Our methodology utilizes a range of geovisualization tools which are capable of appropriately addressing various elements required for strategic planning in growing cities. The results highlight aggregation and homogenization of the urban core as well as irregularity and fragmentation in its periphery. A combination of spatial metrics and growth type analysis supports the supposition that there is a continuum in the diffusion-coalescence process. This allows us to extend our understanding of urban growth theory and to report deviations from accepted stages of growth. As our results show, each dominating growth phase of the city—both diffusion (1999) and coalescence (2009 and 2017)—is interspersed with features from the other type. An improved understanding of spatial differentiation and the identification of hotspots can serve to make urban planning more tailored to such local conditions. An important insight derived from the results is the applicability of remote-sensing data in urban planning measures and the usefulness of freely available medium resolution data in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of cities. KW - landscape metrics KW - growth type KW - spatio-autocorrelation KW - urban growth theory KW - Srinagar KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3368 SN - 2072-4292 VL - 12 IS - 8 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Sebastian A1 - Bönecke, Eric A1 - Kling, Charlotte A1 - Kramer, Eckart A1 - Lück, Katrin A1 - Nagel, Anne A1 - Philipp, Golo A1 - Rühlmann, Jörg A1 - Schröter, Ingmar A1 - Gebbers, Robin T1 - Base Neutralizing Capacity of Agricultural Soils in a Quaternary Landscape of North-East Germany and Its Relationship to Best Management Practices in Lime Requirement Determination JF - Agronomy N2 - Despite being a natural soil-forming process, soil acidification is a major agronomic challenge under humid climate conditions, as soil acidity influences several yield-relevant soil properties. It can be counterbalanced by the regular application of agricultural lime to maintain or re-establish soil fertility and to optimize plant growth and yield. To avoid underdose as well as overdose, lime rates need to be calculated carefully. The lime rate should be determined by the optimum soil pH (target pH) and the response of the soil to lime, which is described by the base neutralizing capacity (BNC). Several methods exist to determine the lime requirement (LR) to raise the soil pH to its optimum. They range from extremely time-consuming equilibration methods, which mimic the natural processes in the soil, to quick tests, which rely on some approximations and are designed to provide farmers with timely and cost-efficient data. Due to the higher analytical efforts, only limited information is available on the real BNC of particular soils. In the present paper, we report the BNC of 420 topsoil samples from Central Europe (north-east Germany), developed on sediments from the last ice age 10,000 years ago under Holocene conditions. These soils are predominantly sandy and low in humus, but they exhibit a huge spatial variability in soil properties on a small scale. The BNC was determined by adding various concentrations of Ca(OH)2 and fitting an exponential model to derive a titration curve for each sample. The coefficients of the BNC titration curve were well correlated with soil properties affecting soil acidity and pH buffer capacity, i.e., pH, soil texture and soil organic matter (SOM). From the BNC model, the LRs (LRBNC) were derived and compared with LRVDLUFA based on the standard protocol in Germany as established by the Association of German Agricultural Analytic and Research Institutes (VDLUFA). The LRBNC and LRVDLUFA correlated well but the LRVDLUFA were generally by approximately one order of magnitude higher. This is partly due to the VDLUFA concept to recommend a maintenance or conservation liming, even though the pH value is in the optimum range, to keep it there until the next lime application during the following rotation. Furthermore, the VDLUFA method was primarily developed from field experiments where natural soil acidification and management practices depressed the effect of lime treatment. The BNC method, on the other hand, is solely based on laboratory analysis with standardized soil samples. This indicates the demand for further research to develop a sound scientific algorithm that complements LRBNC with realistic values of annual Ca2+ removal and acidification by natural processes and N fertilization. KW - soil acidity KW - pH buffer capacity KW - soil-base titration KW - titration curve Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3370 SN - 2073-4395 VL - 10 IS - 6 PB - MDPI ER -