TY - JOUR A1 - Uhler, Johannes A1 - Haase, Peter A1 - Hoffmann, Lara A1 - Hothorn, Torsten A1 - Schmidl, Jürgen A1 - Stoll, Stefan A1 - Welti, Ellen A. R. A1 - Buse, Jörn A1 - Müller, Jörg T1 - A comparison of different Malaise trap types JF - Insect Conservation and Diversity N2 - Recent reports on insect decline have highlighted the need for long‐term data on insect communities towards identifying their trends and drivers. With the launch of many new insect monitoring schemes to investigate insect communities over large spatial and temporal scales, Malaise traps have become one of the most important tools due to the broad spectrum of species collected and reduced capture bias through passive sampling of insects day and night. However, Malaise traps can vary in size, shape, and colour, and it is unknown how these differences affect biomass, species richness, and composition of trap catch, making it difficult to compare results between studies. We compared five Malaise trap types (three variations of the Townes and two variations of the Bartak Malaise trap) to determine their effects on biomass and species richness as identified by metabarcoding. Insect biomass varied by 20%–55%, not strictly following trap size but varying with trap type. Total species richness was 20%–38% higher in the three Townes trap models compared to the Bartak traps. Bartak traps captured lower richness of highly mobile taxa but increased richness of ground‐dwelling taxa. The white roofed Townes trap captured a higher richness of pollinators. We find that biomass, total richness, and taxa group specific richness are all sensitive to Malaise trap type. Trap type should be carefully considered and aligned to match monitoring and research questions. Additionally, our estimates of trap type effects can be used to adjust results to facilitate comparisons across studies. KW - Bartak KW - biodiversity KW - insect communities KW - insect monitoring KW - Malaise trap KW - Townes KW - trap selectivity Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-293694 VL - 15 IS - 6 SP - 666 EP - 672 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahed, Razieh Rafiei A1 - Kavousi, Mohammad Reza A1 - Farashiani, Mohammad Ebrahim A1 - Sagheb-Talebi, Khosro A1 - Babanezhad, Manoochehr A1 - Courbaud, Benoit A1 - Wirtz, Roland A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Larrieu, Laurent T1 - A comparison of the formation rates and composition of tree-related microhabitats in beech-dominated primeval Carpathian and Hyrcanian forests JF - Forests N2 - Primeval forests in the temperate zone exist only as a few remnants, but theses serve as important reference areas for conservation. As key habitats, tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) are of intense interest to forest ecologists, but little is known about their natural composition and dynamics in different tree species. Beech forms a major part of the temperate forests that extend from Europe, home to European beech Fagus sylvatica L. (Fs), eastward to Iran, where Oriental beech Fagus orientalis Lipsky (Fo) is the dominant species. In this study, we compared TreMs in primeval forests of both species, using data from Fo growing in 25 inventory plots throughout the Hyrcanian forest belt in Iran and from Fs growing in a 9 ha permanent plot in the Uholka Forest of Ukraine. TreMs based on 47 types and 11 subgroups were recorded. Beech trees in the Hyrcanian forest had a higher mean diameter at breast height (dbh) than beech trees in Uholka and contained twice as many TreMs per hectare. Although the mean richness of TreMs per TreM bearing tree was similar in the two species, on the basis of the comparison single trees in two groups (n = 405 vs. 2251), the composition of the TreMs clearly differed, as the proportions of rot holes, root-buttress concavities, and crown deadwood were higher in the Hyrcanian Forest, and those of bark losses, exposed heartwood, and burrs and cankers higher in Uholka Forest. Estimates of TreMs dynamics based on dbh and using Weibull models showed a significantly faster cumulative increase of TreMs in Fo, in which saturation occurred already in trees with a dbh of 70–80 cm. By contrast, the increase in TreMs in Fs was continuous. In both species, the probability density was highest at a dbh of about 30 cm, but was twice as high in Fo. Because of limitations of our study design, the reason behind observed differences of TreM formation and composition between regions remains unclear, as it could be either result of the tree species or the environment, or their interaction. However, the observed differences were more likely the result of differences in the environment than in the two tree species. Nevertheless, our findings demonstrate that the Hyrcanian Forest, recently designated as a natural heritage site in Iran, is unique, not only as a tertiary relict or due to its endemic trees, herbs and arthropods, but also because of its TreMs, which form a distinct and rich habitat for associated taxa, including endemic saproxylic species. KW - TreMs KW - Fagus orientalis KW - Fagus sylvatica KW - primeval forest Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200849 SN - 1999-4907 VL - 11 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Latifi, Hooman A1 - Holzwarth, Stefanie A1 - Skidmore, Andrew A1 - Brůna, Josef A1 - Červenka, Jaroslav A1 - Darvishzadeh, Roshanak A1 - Hais, Martin A1 - Heiden, Uta A1 - Homolová, Lucie A1 - Krzystek, Peter A1 - Schneider, Thomas A1 - Starý, Martin A1 - Wang, Tiejun A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Heurich, Marco T1 - A laboratory for conceiving Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs)—The ‘Data pool initiative for the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem’ JF - Methods in Ecology and Evolution N2 - Effects of climate change‐induced events on forest ecosystem dynamics of composition, function and structure call for increased long‐term, interdisciplinary and integrated research on biodiversity indicators, in particular within strictly protected areas with extensive non‐intervention zones. The long‐established concept of forest supersites generally relies on long‐term funds from national agencies and goes beyond the logistic and financial capabilities of state‐ or region‐wide protected area administrations, universities and research institutes. We introduce the concept of data pools as a smaller‐scale, user‐driven and reasonable alternative to co‐develop remote sensing and forest ecosystem science to validated products, biodiversity indicators and management plans. We demonstrate this concept with the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem Data Pool, which has been established as an interdisciplinary, international data pool within the strictly protected Bavarian Forest and Šumava National Parks and currently comprises 10 active partners. We demonstrate how the structure and impact of the data pool differs from comparable cases. We assessed the international influence and visibility of the data pool with the help of a systematic literature search and a brief analysis of the results. Results primarily suggest an increase in the impact and visibility of published material during the life span of the data pool, with highest visibilities achieved by research conducted on leaf traits, vegetation phenology and 3D‐based forest inventory. We conclude that the data pool results in an efficient contribution to the concept of global biodiversity observatory by evolving towards a training platform, functioning as a pool of data and algorithms, directly communicating with management for implementation and providing test fields for feasibility studies on earth observation missions. KW - bohemian forest ecosystem KW - data pool KW - forest ecosystem science KW - remote sensing KW - remote sensing‐enabled essential biodiversity variables Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262743 VL - 12 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vogel, Sebastian A1 - Prinzing, Andreas A1 - Bußler, Heinz A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Schmidt, Stefan A1 - Thorn, Simon T1 - Abundance, not diversity, of host beetle communities determines abundance and diversity of parasitoids in deadwood JF - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Most parasites and parasitoids are adapted to overcome defense mechanisms of their specific hosts and hence colonize a narrow range of host species. Accordingly, an increase in host functional or phylogenetic dissimilarity is expected to increase the species diversity of parasitoids. However, the local diversity of parasitoids may be driven by the accessibility and detectability of hosts, both increasing with increasing host abundance. Yet, the relative importance of these two mechanisms remains unclear. We parallelly reared communities of saproxylic beetle as potential hosts and associated parasitoid Hymenoptera from experimentally felled trees. The dissimilarity of beetle communities was inferred from distances in seven functional traits and from their evolutionary ancestry. We tested the effect of host abundance, species richness, functional, and phylogenetic dissimilarities on the abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of parasitoids. Our results showed an increase of abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of parasitoids with increasing beetle abundance. Additionally, abundance of parasitoids increased with increasing species richness of beetles. However, functional and phylogenetic dissimilarity showed no effect on the diversity of parasitoids. Our results suggest that the local diversity of parasitoids, of ephemeral and hidden resources like saproxylic beetles, is highest when resources are abundant and thereby detectable and accessible. Hence, in some cases, resources do not need to be diverse to promote parasitoid diversity. KW - barcoding KW - deadwood KW - experiment KW - host–parasitoid interaction KW - natural enemy KW - specialization Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238892 VL - 11 IS - 11 SP - 6881 EP - 6888 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael A1 - Ammer, Christian A1 - Eisenhauer, Nico A1 - Seidel, Dominik A1 - Schuldt, Bernhard A1 - Biedermann, Peter A1 - Schmitt, Thomas A1 - Künzer, Claudia A1 - Wegmann, Martin A1 - Cesarz, Simone A1 - Peters, Marcell A1 - Feldhaar, Heike A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Claßen, Alice A1 - Bässler, Claus A1 - von Oheimb, Goddert A1 - Fichtner, Andreas A1 - Thorn, Simon A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang T1 - BETA-FOR: Erhöhung der strukturellen Diversität zwischen Waldbeständen zur Erhöhung der Multidiversität und Multifunktionalität in Produktionswäldern. Antragstext für die DFG Forschungsgruppe FOR 5375 T1 - BETA-FOR: Enhancing the structural diversity between patches for improving multidiversity and multifunctionality in production forests. Proposal for DFG Research Unit FOR 5375 BT - β\(_4\) : Proposal for the 1st phase (2022-2026) of the DFG Research Unit FOR 5375/1 (DFG Forschergruppe FOR 5375/1 – BETA-FOR), Fabrikschleichach, October 2021 N2 - Der in jüngster Zeit beobachtete kontinuierliche Verlust der β-Diversität in Ökosystemen deutet auf homogene Gemeinschaften auf Landschaftsebene hin, was hauptsächlich auf die steigende Landnutzungsintensität zurückgeführt wird. Biologische Vielfalt ist mit zahlreichen Funktionen und der Stabilität von Ökosystemen verknüpft. Es ist daher zu erwarten, dass eine abnehmende β-Diversität auch die Multifunktionalität verringert. Wir kombinieren hier Fachwissen aus der Forstwissenschaft, der Ökologie, der Fernerkundung, der chemischen Ökologie und der Statistik in einem gemeinschaftlichen und experimentellen β-Diversitätsdesign, um einerseits die Auswirkungen der Homogenisierung zu bewerten und andererseits Konzepte zu entwickeln, um negative Auswirkungen durch Homogenisierung in Wäldern rückgängig zu machen. Konkret werden wir uns mit der Frage beschäftigen, ob die Verbesserung der strukturellen β-Komplexität (ESBC) in Wäldern durch Waldbau oder natürliche Störungen die Biodiversität und Multifunktionalität in ehemals homogenen Produktionswäldern erhöhen kann. Unser Ansatz wird mögliche Mechanismen hinter den beobachteten Homogenisierungs-Diversitäts-Beziehungen identifizieren und zeigen, wie sich diese auf die Multifunktionalität auswirken. An elf Standorten in ganz Deutschland haben wir dazu zwei Waldbestände als zwei kleine "Waldlandschaften" ausgewählt. In einem dieser beiden Bestände haben wir ESBC (Enhancement of Structural Beta Complexity)-Behandlungen durchgeführt. Im zweiten, dem Kontrollbestand, werden wir die gleich Anzahl 50x50m Parzellen ohne ESBC einrichten. Auf allen Parzellen werden wir 18 taxonomische Artengruppen aller trophischer Ebenen und 21 Ökosystemfunktionen, einschließlich der wichtigsten Funktionen in Wäldern der gemäßigten Zonen, messen. Der statistische Rahmen wird eine umfassende Analyse der Biodiversität ermöglichen, indem verschiedenen Aspekte (taxonomische, funktionelle und phylogenetische Vielfalt) auf verschiedenen Skalenebenen (α-, β-, γ-Diversität) quantifiziert werden. Um die Gesamtdiversität zu kombinieren, werden wir das Konzept der Multidiversität auf die 18 Taxa anwenden. Wir werden neue Ansätze zur Quantifizierung und Aufteilung der Multifunktionalität auf α- und β-Skalen verwenden und entwickeln. Durch die experimentelle Beschreibung des Zusammenhangs zwischen β-Diversität und Multifunktionalität in einer Reallandschaft wird unsere Forschung einen neuen Weg einschlagen. Darüber hinaus werden wir dazu beitragen, verbesserte Leitlinien für waldbauliche Konzepte und für das Management natürlicher Störungen zu entwickeln, um Homogenisierungseffekte der Vergangenheit umzukehren. N2 - The recently observed consistent loss of β-diversity across ecosystems indicates increasingly homogeneous communities in patches of landscapes, mainly caused by increasing land-use intensity. Biodiversity is related to numerous ecosystem functions and stability. Therefore, decreasing β-diversity is also expected to reduce multifunctionality. To assess the impact of homogenization and to develop guidelines to reverse its potentially negative effects, we combine expertise from forest science, ecology, remote sensing, chemical ecology and statistics in a collaborative and experimental β-diversity approach. Specifically, we will address the question whether the Enhancement of Structural Beta Complexity (ESBC) in forests by silviculture or natural disturbances will increase biodiversity and multifunctionality in formerly homogeneously structured production forests. Our approach will identify potential mechanisms behind observed homogenization-diversity-relationships and show how these translate into effects on multifunctionality. At eleven forest sites throughout Germany, we selected two districts as two types of small ‘forest landscapes’. In one of these two districts, we established ESBC treatments (nine differently treated 50x50 m patches with a focus on canopy cover and deadwood features). In the second, the control district, we will establish nine patches without ESBC. By a comprehensive sampling, we will monitor 18 taxonomic groups and measure 21 ecosystem functions, including key functions in temperate forests, on all patches. The statistical framework will allow a comprehensive biodiversity assessment by quantifying the different aspects of multitrophic biodiversity (taxonomical, functional and phylogenetic diversity) on different levels of biodiversity (α-, β-, γ-diversity). To combine overall diversity, we will apply the concept of multidiversity across the 18 taxa. We will use and develop new approaches for quantification and partitioning of multifunctionality at α- and β- scales. Overall, our study will herald a new research avenue, namely by experimentally describing the link between β-diversity and multifunctionality. Furthermore, we will help to develop guidelines for improved silvicultural concepts and concepts for management of natural disturbances in temperate forests reversing past homogenization effects. KW - Waldökosystem KW - Biodiversität KW - BETA-Multifunktionalität KW - beta-multifunctionality KW - BETA-Diversität KW - beta diversity KW - Forschungsstation Fabrikschleichach Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290849 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stiegler, Jonas A1 - von Hoermann, Christian A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Benbow, M. Eric A1 - Heurich, Marco T1 - Carcass provisioning for scavenger conservation in a temperate forest ecosystem JF - Ecosphere N2 - Carrion plays an essential role in shaping the structure and functioning of ecosystems and has far‐reaching implications for biodiversity conservation. The change in availability and type of carcasses throughout ecosystems can involve negative effects for scavenging communities. To address this issue, there have been recent conservation management measures of carrion provision in natural systems. However, the optimal conditions under which exposing carcasses to optimize conservation outcomes are still limited. Here, we used camera traps throughout elevational and vegetational gradients to monitor the consumption of 48 deer carcasses over a study period of six years by evaluating 270,279 photographs resulting out of 15,373 trap nights. We detected 17 species visiting carcass deployments, including five endangered species. Our results show that large carcasses, the winter season, and a heterogeneous surrounding habitat enhanced the frequency of carcass visits and the species richness of scavenger assemblages. Contrary to our expectations, carcass species, condition (fresh/frozen), and provision schedule (continuous vs single exposure) did not influence scavenging frequency or diversity. The carcass visitation frequency increased with carcass mass and lower temperatures. The effect of large carcasses was especially pronounced for mesopredators and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Lynx were not too influenced in its carrion acquisition by the season, but exclusively preferred remote habitats containing higher forest cover. Birds of prey, mesopredators, and top predators were also positively influenced by the visiting rate of ravens (Corvus corax), whereas no biotic or abiotic preferences were found for wild boars (Sus scrofa). This study provides evidence that any ungulate species of carrion, either in a fresh or in previously frozen condition, attracts a high diversity of scavengers especially during winter, thereby supporting earlier work that carcass provisions may support scavenger communities and endangered species. KW - anthropogenic food subsidies KW - carrion ecology KW - diversity KW - nature conservation KW - necrobiome KW - vertebrate scavenger KW - wildlife management Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218054 VL - 11 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Roth, Nicolas A1 - Doerfler, Inken A1 - Bässler, Claus A1 - Blaschke, Markus A1 - Bussler, Heinz A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Heideroth, Antje A1 - Thorn, Simon A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Müller, Jörg T1 - Decadal effects of landscape-wide enrichment of dead wood on saproxylic organisms in beech forests of different historic management intensity JF - Diversity and Distributions N2 - Aim: European temperate forests have lost dead wood and the associated biodiversity owing to intensive management over centuries. Nowadays, some of these forests are being restored by enrichment with dead wood, but mostly only at stand scales. Here, we investigated effects of a seminal dead-wood enrichment strategy on saproxylic organisms at the landscape scale. Location: Temperate European beech forest in southern Germany. Methods: In a before-after control-impact design, we compared assemblages and gamma diversities of saproxylic organisms in strictly protected old-growth forest areas (reserves) and historically moderately and intensively managed forest areas before and a decade after starting a landscape-wide strategy of dead-wood enrichment. Results: Before enrichment with dead wood, the gamma diversity of saproxylic organisms in historically intensively managed forest stands was significantly lower than in reserves and historically moderately managed forest stands; this difference disappeared after 10 years of dead-wood enrichment. The species composition of beetles in forest stands of the three historical management intensities differed before the enrichment strategy, but a decade thereafter, the species compositions of previously intensively logged and forest reserve plots were similar. However, the differences in fungal species composition between historical management categories before and after 10 years of enrichment persisted. Main conclusions: Our results demonstrate that intentional enrichment of dead wood at the landscape scale is a powerful tool for rapidly restoring saproxylic beetle communities and for restoring wood-inhabiting fungal communities, which need longer than a decade for complete restoration. We propose that a strategy of area-wide active restoration combined with some permanent strict refuges is a promising means of promoting the biodiversity of age-long intensively managed Central European beech forests. KW - dead-wood enrichment KW - integrative management strategy KW - land sharing KW - lowland beech forests KW - saproxylic organisms Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227061 VL - 25 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Redlich, Sarah A1 - Zhang, Jie A1 - Benjamin, Caryl A1 - Dhillon, Maninder Singh A1 - Englmeier, Jana A1 - Ewald, Jörg A1 - Fricke, Ute A1 - Ganuza, Cristina A1 - Haensel, Maria A1 - Hovestadt, Thomas A1 - Kollmann, Johannes A1 - Koellner, Thomas A1 - Kübert‐Flock, Carina A1 - Kunstmann, Harald A1 - Menzel, Annette A1 - Moning, Christoph A1 - Peters, Wibke A1 - Riebl, Rebekka A1 - Rummler, Thomas A1 - Rojas‐Botero, Sandra A1 - Tobisch, Cynthia A1 - Uhler, Johannes A1 - Uphus, Lars A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Steffan‐Dewenter, Ingolf T1 - Disentangling effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services—A multi‐scale experimental design JF - Methods in Ecology and Evolution N2 - Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients. Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration (i.e. using a Geographic information system) and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximise the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales. Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones (reference period 1981–2010) and three prevailing land-use types, that is, near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions (5.8 × 5.8 km quadrants) covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6–9.8°C and a spatial extent of ~310 × 310 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, that is, forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5–10°C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤ 0.33| and |r ≤ 0.29| respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements. The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs. KW - study design KW - biodiversity KW - climate change KW - ecosystem functioning KW - insect monitoring KW - land use KW - space-for-time approach KW - spatial scales Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258270 VL - 13 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bae, Soyeon A1 - Heidrich, Lea A1 - Levick, Shaun R. A1 - Gossner, Martin M. A1 - Seibold, Sebastian A1 - Weisser, Wolfgang W. A1 - Magdon, Paul A1 - Serebryanyk, Alla A1 - Bässler, Claus A1 - Schäfer, Deborah A1 - Schulze, Ernst-Detlef A1 - Doerfler, Inken A1 - Müller, Jörg A1 - Jung, Kirsten A1 - Heurich, Marco A1 - Fischer, Markus A1 - Roth, Nicolas A1 - Schall, Peter A1 - Boch, Steffen A1 - Wöllauer, Stephan A1 - Renner, Swen C. A1 - Müller, Jörg T1 - Dispersal ability, trophic position and body size mediate species turnover processes: Insights from a multi-taxa and multi-scale approach JF - Diversity and Distribution N2 - Aim: Despite increasing interest in β-diversity, that is the spatial and temporal turnover of species, the mechanisms underlying species turnover at different spatial scales are not fully understood, although they likely differ among different functional groups. We investigated the relative importance of dispersal limitations and the environmental filtering caused by vegetation for local, multi-taxa forest communities differing in their dispersal ability, trophic position and body size. Location: Temperate forests in five regions across Germany. Methods: In the inter-region analysis, the independent and shared effects of the regional spatial structure (regional species pool), landscape spatial structure (dispersal limitation) and environmental factors on species turnover were quantified with a 1-ha grain across 11 functional groups in up to 495 plots by variation partitioning. In the intra-region analysis, the relative importance of three environmental factors related to vegetation (herb and tree layer composition and forest physiognomy) and spatial structure for species turnover was determined. Results: In the inter-region analysis, over half of the explained variation in community composition (23% of the total explained 35%) was explained by the shared effects of several factors, indicative of spatially structured environmental filtering. Among the independent effects, environmental factors were the strongest on average over 11 groups, but the importance of landscape spatial structure increased for less dispersive functional groups. In the intra-region analysis, the independent effect of plant species composition had a stronger influence on species turnover than forest physiognomy, but the relative importance of the latter increased with increasing trophic position and body size. Main conclusions: Our study revealed that the mechanisms structuring assemblage composition are associated with the traits of functional groups. Hence, conservation frameworks targeting biodiversity of multiple groups should cover both environmental and biogeographical gradients. Within regions, forest management can enhance β-diversity particularly by diversifying tree species composition and forest physiognomy. KW - body size KW - dispersal ability KW - environmental filtering KW - forest physiognomy KW - neutral processes KW - plant composition KW - regional species pool KW - species turnover KW - trophic position KW - β-diversity Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236117 VL - 27 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Englmeier, Jana A1 - Mitesser, Oliver A1 - Benbow, M. Eric A1 - Hothorn, Torsten A1 - von Hoermann, Christian A1 - Benjamin, Caryl A1 - Fricke, Ute A1 - Ganuza, Cristina A1 - Haensel, Maria A1 - Redlich, Sarah A1 - Riebl, Rebekka A1 - Rojas Botero, Sandra A1 - Rummler, Thomas A1 - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf A1 - Stengel, Elisa A1 - Tobisch, Cynthia A1 - Uhler, Johannes A1 - Uphus, Lars A1 - Zhang, Jie A1 - Müller, Jörg T1 - Diverse effects of climate, land use, and insects on dung and carrion decomposition JF - Ecosystems N2 - Land-use intensification and climate change threaten ecosystem functions. A fundamental, yet often overlooked, function is decomposition of necromass. The direct and indirect anthropogenic effects on decomposition, however, are poorly understood. We measured decomposition of two contrasting types of necromass, rat carrion and bison dung, on 179 study sites in Central Europe across an elevational climate gradient of 168–1122 m a.s.l. and within both local and regional land uses. Local land-use types included forest, grassland, arable fields, and settlements and were embedded in three regional land-use types (near-natural, agricultural, and urban). The effects of insects on decomposition were quantified by experimental exclusion, while controlling for removal by vertebrates. We used generalized additive mixed models to evaluate dung weight loss and carrion decay rate along elevation and across regional and local land-use types. We observed a unimodal relationship of dung decomposition with elevation, where greatest weight loss occurred between 600 and 700 m, but no effects of local temperature, land use, or insects. In contrast to dung, carrion decomposition was continuously faster with both increasing elevation and local temperature. Carrion reached the final decomposition stage six days earlier when insect access was allowed, and this did not depend on land-use effect. Our experiment identified different major drivers of decomposition on each necromass form. The results show that dung and carrion decomposition are rather robust to local and regional land use, but future climate change and decline of insects could alter decomposition processes and the self-regulation of ecosystems. KW - decay KW - ecosystem function KW - global change KW - land-use intensification KW - necrobiome KW - urbanization Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325064 SN - 1432-9840 VL - 26 IS - 2 ER -