Institution
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ
Facility•Leipzig, Germany•
About: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ is a facility organization based out in Leipzig, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Species richness. The organization has 3230 authors who have published 9880 publications receiving 394385 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: It is shown that, apart from valuing the rarity and richness aspect, commonly quoted justifications based on the usage of phylogenetic diversity as a proxy for functional diversity or evolutionary potential are still based on uncertainties.
Abstract: To date, there is little evidence that phylogenetic diversity has contributed to nature conservation. Here, we discuss the scientific justification of using phylogenetic diversity in conservation and the reasons for its neglect. We show that, apart from valuing the rarity and richness aspect, commonly quoted justifications based on the usage of phylogenetic diversity as a proxy for functional diversity or evolutionary potential are still based on uncertainties. We discuss how a missing guideline through the variety of phylogenetic diversity metrics and their relevance for conservation might be responsible for the hesitation to include phylogenetic diversity in conservation practice. We outline research routes that can help to ease uncertainties and bridge gaps between research and conservation with respect to phylogenetic diversity.
443 citations
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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory1, University of Colorado Boulder2, United States Department of Energy3, University of Saskatchewan4, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ5, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign6, University of California, Merced7, Flinders University8, Institut national de la recherche agronomique9, University of Aberdeen10, Spanish National Research Council11, Bangor University12, University of Vienna13, HAMK University of Applied Sciences14, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee15, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology16, University of Sydney17, University of Münster18, University of Eastern Finland19, Dresden University of Technology20, University of Girona21, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation22, University of Texas at Tyler23, University of Montana24, College of William & Mary25, North Dakota State University26, University of Porto27, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project28, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences29, Virginia Tech30, Yonsei University31, University of Tokyo32, University of Cádiz33, Uppsala University34, Laurentian University35, Duke University36
TL;DR: In this article, a statistical analysis investigating the value of environmental data and microbial community structure independently and in combination for explaining rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes within 82 global datasets is presented.
Abstract: Microorganisms are vital in mediating the earth's biogeochemical cycles; yet, despite our rapidly increasing ability to explore complex environmental microbial communities, the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Here, we address a fundamental and unanswered question in microbial ecology: 'When do we need to understand microbial community structure to accurately predict function?' We present a statistical analysis investigating the value of environmental data and microbial community structure independently and in combination for explaining rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes within 82 global datasets. Environmental variables were the strongest predictors of process rates but left 44% of variation unexplained on average, suggesting the potential for microbial data to increase model accuracy. Although only 29% of our datasets were significantly improved by adding information on microbial community structure, we observed improvement in models of processes mediated by narrow phylogenetic guilds via functional gene data, and conversely, improvement in models of facultative microbial processes via community diversity metrics. Our results also suggest that microbial diversity can strengthen predictions of respiration rates beyond microbial biomass parameters, as 53% of models were improved by incorporating both sets of predictors compared to 35% by microbial biomass alone. Our analysis represents the first comprehensive analysis of research examining links between microbial community structure and ecosystem function. Taken together, our results indicate that a greater understanding of microbial communities informed by ecological principles may enhance our ability to predict ecosystem process rates relative to assessments based on environmental variables and microbial physiology.
436 citations
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TL;DR: The results showed that DOM is of minor importance on the mobilization of heavy metals in soils with a low soil pH (< 4.5) and the translocation ofheavy metals from the highly contaminated topsoil into deeper soil horizons and into the groundwater and the influence of DOM as revealed with the percolation experiment.
434 citations
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TL;DR: The Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO) as mentioned in this paper is an interdisciplinary research program that aims to observe and explore the long-term ecological, social, and economic impacts of global change at the regional level.
Abstract: Multicompartment and multiscale long-term observation and research are important prerequisites to tackling the scientific challenges resulting from climate and global change. Long-term monitoring programs are cost intensive and require high analytical standards, however, and the gain of knowledge often requires longer observation times. Nevertheless, several environmental research networks have been established in recent years, focusing on the impact of climate and land use change on terrestrial ecosystems. From 2008 onward, a network of Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO) has been established in Germany as an interdisciplinary research program that aims to observe and explore the long-term ecological, social, and economic impacts of global change at the regional level. State-of-the-art methods from the field of environmental monitoring, geophysics, and remote sensing will be used to record and analyze states and fluxes for different environmental compartments from groundwater through the vadose zone, surface water, and biosphere, up to the lower atmosphere.
434 citations
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TL;DR: The effects of different fertilization regimes (mineral, organic and combined mineral and organic fertilization), carried out for more than a century, on the structure and activity of the soil microbiome are reported.
Abstract: Soil management is fundamental to all agricultural systems and fertilization practices have contributed substantially to the impressive increases in food production. Despite the pivotal role of soil microorganisms in agro-ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding of the complex response of the soil microbiota to organic and mineral fertilization in the very long-term. Here we report the effects of different fertilization regimes (mineral, organic and combined mineral and organic fertilization), carried out for more than a century, on the structure and activity of the soil microbiome. Organic matter content, nutrient concentrations and microbial biomass carbon were significantly increased by mineral, and even more strongly by organic fertilization. Pyrosequencing revealed significant differences between the structures of bacterial and fungal soil communities associated to each fertilization regime. Organic fertilization increased bacterial diversity, and stimulated microbial groups (Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Zygomycota) that are known to prefer nutrient-rich environments, and that are involved in the degradation of complex organic compounds. In contrast, soils not receiving manure harbored distinct microbial communities enriched in oligotrophic organisms adapted to nutrient-limited environments, as Acidobacteria. The fertilization regime also affected the relative abundances of plant beneficial and detrimental microbial taxa, which may influence productivity and stability of the agroecosystem. As expected, the activity of microbial exoenzymes involved in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous mineralization were enhanced by both types of fertilization. However, in contrast to comparable studies, the highest chitinase and phosphatase activities were observed in the solely mineral fertilized soil. Interestingly, these two enzymes showed also a particular high biomass-specific activities and a strong negative relation with soil pH. As many soil parameters are known to change slowly, the particularity of unchanged fertilization treatments since 1902 allows a profound assessment of linkages between management and abiotic as well as biotic soil parameters. Our study revealed that pH and TOC were the majors, while nitrogen and phosphorous pools were minors, drivers for structure and activity of the soil microbial community. Due to the long-term treatments studied, our findings likely represent permanent and stable, rather than transient, responses of soil microbial communities to fertilization.
430 citations
Authors
Showing all 3363 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Debbie A Lawlor | 147 | 1114 | 101123 |
Sandra Lavorel | 101 | 321 | 58963 |
Stephen P. Hubbell | 101 | 249 | 41904 |
Henri Weimerskirch | 100 | 413 | 29338 |
Alfons J. M. Stams | 93 | 464 | 30395 |
Andrew K. Skidmore | 84 | 529 | 29944 |
Richard Condit | 82 | 228 | 26685 |
Wolfgang W. Weisser | 80 | 392 | 22569 |
Ingolf Kühn | 76 | 222 | 25573 |
Beate I. Escher | 74 | 294 | 18425 |
Jörg Kärger | 73 | 604 | 20918 |
Dagmar Haase | 72 | 276 | 15961 |
Josef Settele | 68 | 295 | 24919 |
Nico Eisenhauer | 66 | 400 | 15746 |
Josef Cyrys | 65 | 214 | 15064 |