Biodiversity and Global Change (BIOLOG)

Using grasslands in Thuringia as model ecosystems, the project was designed to investigate the relationship between genetic/phenotypic diversity and ecosystem processes such as carbon and nitrogen fluxes.

Objectives

• What determines plant species composition? What determines meadow productivity?
• Are diverse systems more resistant against disturbances?
• What are the relationships between species richness and biogeochemical processes?

Publications

Börstler B, Renker C, Kahmen A, Buscot F (2006) Species composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in two mountain meadows with differing management types and levels of plant biodiversity. Biology and Fertility of Soils 42:286-298

Buchmann N (2007) Biodiversität als Versicherung. Artenreiche Wiesen trotzen dem Klimawandel. Hotspot Biodiversität und Klimawandel vol. 16, 16

Kahmen A (2005) Biodiversity and functioning of selected terrestrial ecosystems: Grasslands. In: Bartlott W, Porembski S, Linsenmair KE (Editors) Biodiversity: Structure and Function. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Developed under the auspices of the UNESCO, external page Eolss Publishers, Oxford, UK

Kahmen A, Buchmann N (2007) Addressing the value of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning using stable isotopes. In: Dawson TE and Siegwolf R (Editors) Isotopes as indicators of ecological change. Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, USA, pp. 347-359

Kahmen A, Perner J, Audorff J, Weisser W, Buchmann N (2005) Effects of plant diversity, community composition and environmental parameters on productivity in semi-natural montane European grasslands. Oecologia 142:606-615

Kahmen A, Perner J, Buchmann N (2005) Diversity dependent productivity in semi-natural grasslands following climate perturbations. Functional Ecology 19:594-601; Highlighted in Nature News and Views by Moore, PD (2005) Roots of stability. Nature 437:959-960

Kahmen A, Renker C, Unsicker SB, Buchmann N (2006) Niche complementarity for nitrogen use - An explanation for the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationship in grasslands? Ecology 87:1244-1255

Kahmen A, Wanek W, Buchmann N (2008) Foliar δ¹⁵N values of 20 different plant species indicate plant and ecosystem nitrogen dynamics along a temperate grassland gradient. Oecologia 156: 861-870

Perner J, Wytrykush C, Kahmen A, Buchmann N, Egerer I, Creutzburg S, Odat N, Audorff V, Weisser W (2005) Effects of plant diversity, plant productivity and habitat parameters on arthropod abundance in montane European grasslands. Ecography 28:429-442

Stein C, Unsicker SB, Kahmen A, Wagner M, Audorff V, Auge H, Prati D, Weisser WW (2010) Impact of invertebrate herbivory in grasslands depends on plant diversity. Ecology (in press)

Tylianakis JM, Rand TA, Kahmen A, Klein AM, Buchmann N, Perner J, Tscharntke T (2008) Resource heterogeneity moderates the biodiversity-function relationship in real world ecosystems. PLoS Biology 6:1-10

Unsicker SB, Baer N, Kahmen A, Wagner M, Buchmann N, Weisser WW (2006) Invertebrate herbivory along a gradient of plant species diversity in extensively managed grasslands. Oecologia 150:233-246

Unsicker SB, Renker C, Kahmen A, Spindler S, Buchmann N, Weisser W (2005) Testing the efficiency of three ¹⁵N-labeled nitrogen compounds for indirect labeling of grasshoppers via plants in the field. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 116:219-226

Wagner M, Kahmen A, Schlumprecht H, Audorff V, Perner J, Buchmann N, Weisser W (2007) Prediction of herbage yield in grassland: How well do Ellenberg N-values perform in comparison with other approaches? Journal of Applied Vegetation Science 10:15-24