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Ernst Detlef Schulze

Other affiliations: University of Idaho, University of Utah, University of Würzburg  ...read more
Bio: Ernst Detlef Schulze is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Biodiversity & Ecosystem. The author has an hindex of 133, co-authored 670 publications receiving 69504 citations. Previous affiliations of Ernst Detlef Schulze include University of Idaho & University of Utah.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the variability of tree-ring width, wood density and 13C/12C in beech tree rings (Fagus sylvatica L.), and analyzed the influence of climatic variables and carbohydrate storage on these parameters.
Abstract: We investigated the variability of tree-ring width, wood density and 13C/12C in beech tree rings (Fagus sylvatica L.), and analyzed the influence of climatic variables and carbohydrate storage on these parameters. Wood cores were taken from dominant beech trees in three stands in Germany and Italy. We used densitometry to obtain density profiles of tree rings and laser-ablation-combustion-GC-IRMS to estimate carbon isotope composition (δ 13C) of wood. The sensitivity of ring width, wood density and δ 13C to climatic variables differed; with tree-ring width responding to environmental conditions (temperature or precipitation) during the first half of a growing season and maximum density correlated with temperatures in the second part of a growing season (July–September). δ 13C variations indicate re-allocation and storage processes and effects of drought during the main growing season. About 20% of inter-annual variation of tree-ring width was explained by the tree-ring width of the previous year. This was confirmed by δ 13C of wood which showed a contribution of stored carbohydrates to growth in spring and a storage effect that competes with growth in autumn. Only mid-season δ 13C of wood was related to concurrent assimilation and climate. The comparison of seasonal changes in tree-ring maximum wood density and isotope composition revealed that an increasing seasonal water deficit changes the relationship between density and 13C composition from a negative relation in years with optimal moisture to a positive relationship in years with strong water deficit. The climate signal, however, is over-ridden by effects of stand density and crown structure (e.g., by forest management). There was an unexpected high variability in mid season δ 13C values of wood between individual trees (−31 to −24‰) which was attributed to competition between dominant trees as indicated by crown area, and microclimatological variations within the canopy. Maximum wood density showed less variation (930–990 g cm−3). The relationship between seasonal changes in tree-ring structure and 13C composition can be used to study carbon storage and re-allocation, which is important for improving models of tree-ring growth and carbon isotope fractionation. About 20–30% of the tree-ring is affected by storage processes. The effects of storage on tree-ring width and the effects of forest structure put an additional uncertainty on using tree rings of broad leaved trees for climate reconstruction.

158 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that managing forests to increase structural heterogeneity, maintain large trees, and canopy gaps would promote the supply of multiple ecosystem services and suggest that a coordinated landscape-scale strategy could help to mitigate trade-offs in human-dominated landscapes.
Abstract: Trade-offs and synergies in the supply of forest ecosystem services are common but the drivers of these relationships are poorly understood. To guide management that seeks to promote multiple services, we investigated the relationships between 12 stand-level forest attributes, including structure, composition, heterogeneity and plant diversity, plus 4 environmental factors, and proxies for 14 ecosystem services in 150 temperate forest plots. Our results show that forest attributes are the best predictors of most ecosystem services and are also good predictors of several synergies and trade-offs between services. Environmental factors also play an important role, mostly in combination with forest attributes. Our study suggests that managing forests to increase structural heterogeneity, maintain large trees, and canopy gaps would promote the supply of multiple ecosystem services. These results highlight the potential for forest management to encourage multifunctional forests and suggest that a coordinated landscape-scale strategy could help to mitigate trade-offs in human-dominated landscapes.

157 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The annualCO2 uptake by evergreen spruce was higher than deciduous beech not because of a long growing season, but because of the longevity of its needles, which during their total life time have a two to three times greater CO2 uptake than a deciduously leaf in one summer season.
Abstract: Growth and CO2 uptake in the crown of a spruce tree is described and the production processes of this evergreen conifer are compared with those of a deciduous beech. Spruce had 60% lower rates of net photosynthesis per dry weight than beech. But, beech had a 30% shorter growing season and a 84% smaller biomass than spruce. The annual CO2 gain was 40% lower in beech than it was in spruce.An analysis shows the following conclusions for this habitat. (1) The effect of a prolonged growing season is small. The annual CO2 gain of spruce would be reduced only by 9% if the growing season was the same length as for beech. (2) The annual CO2 gain would increase 14% if all needles in spruce were deciduous, because the current year needles have a higher average rate of CO2 uptake than 3-year old and older needles, but a lower average rate than 1- and 2-year old ones. However, the carbon balance of the tree shows that spruce could not afford to produce the existing needle biomass (14 t ha-1) each year. (3) If spruce were to produce the same deciduous foliage biomass during the same growing season as beech then total production by spruce would be reduced 67%. (4) The annual CO2 uptake by evergreen spruce was higher than deciduous beech not because of a long growing season, but because of the longevity of its needles, which during their total life time (an average of 5 years) have a two to three times greater CO2 uptake than a deciduous leaf in one summer season. The relatively small investment in current year needles produces an annually low, but long lasting assimilation of CO2.

155 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reconstruct the history of tree growth and quantify the standing biomass along a chronosequence of six Norway spruce stands (Picea abies [L] Karst; 16-142 years old) on acid soils in a mountainous region with high nitrogen deposition.

155 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

14,171 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.
Abstract: Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to global. These changes in components of the Earth's biodiversity cause concern for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but they also have a strong potential to alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity. Ecological experiments, observations, and theoretical developments show that ecosystem properties depend greatly on biodiversity in terms of the functional characteristics of organisms present in the ecosystem and the distribution and abundance of those organisms over space and time. Species effects act in concert with the effects of climate, resource availability, and disturbance regimes in influencing ecosystem properties. Human activities can modify all of the above factors; here we focus on modification of these biotic controls. The scientific community has come to a broad consensus on many aspects of the re- lationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including many points relevant to management of ecosystems. Further progress will require integration of knowledge about biotic and abiotic controls on ecosystem properties, how ecological communities are struc- tured, and the forces driving species extinctions and invasions. To strengthen links to policy and management, we also need to integrate our ecological knowledge with understanding of the social and economic constraints of potential management practices. Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain.

6,891 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
08 Aug 2002-Nature
TL;DR: A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society.
Abstract: A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Agriculturalists are the principal managers of global useable lands and will shape, perhaps irreversibly, the surface of the Earth in the coming decades. New incentives and policies for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services will be crucial if we are to meet the demands of improving yields without compromising environmental integrity or public health.

6,569 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
22 Apr 2004-Nature
TL;DR: Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.
Abstract: Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.

6,360 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this article, the physical and enzymatic bases of carbone isotope discrimination during photosynthesis were discussed, noting how knowledge of discrimination can be used to provide additional insight into photosynthetic metabolism and the environmental influences on that process.
Abstract: We discuss the physical and enzymatic bases of carbone isotope discrimination during photosynthesis, noting how knowledge of discrimination can be used to provide additional insight into photosynthetic metabolism and the environmental influences on that process

6,246 citations