04.12.2024 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Survival Strategies of Tiny Soil Microbes Unravelled
New Nature paper has revealed how soil microbes are impacted by extreme weather events, offering new insights into the risks posed by climate change.
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19.11.2024 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS, Unkategorisiert
Soil ecosystem more resilient when land managed extensively
Researchers studied the effects of intensive and extensive land use on soil biodiversity in cropland and grassland
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27.08.2024 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Environmental stressors weaken ecosystem resistance to change
The higher the environmental stress, the lower the resistance to global change.
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17.06.2024 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Soil fauna has the potential to fundamentally alter carbon storage in soil
Based on a media release of the Czech Academy of Sciences The life strategies of a multitude of soil faunal taxa can strongly affect the formation of labile and stabilized organic matter in soil, with potential consequences for how soils are managed as carbon sinks, nutrient stores, or providers of food. This is the main conclusion of a review led by a team of researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL), and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. Based on a review of more than 180 scientific articles, the authors highlight major pathways by which soil fauna can influence soil organic matter stability, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest future research directions. The study has recently been published in Nature Communications.
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13.06.2024 | Biodiversity Economics, Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, Physiological Diversity, TOP NEWS
Land management and climate change affect ecosystems’ ability to provide multiple services simultaneously
A novel study published in Nature Communications found that agroecosystems in Central Germany, specifically grasslands and croplands, may have an enhanced capacity to provide multiple goods and services simultaneously when land management reduces the use of pesticides and mineral nitrogen fertiliser.
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18.04.2024 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, TOP NEWS
iDiv’s Nico Eisenhauer becomes member of the Leopoldina Academy
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13.12.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
How forests smell – a risk for the climate?
Based on a media release of Leipzig University Plants emit odours for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with each other, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Leipzig University, the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) carried out a study to investigate how biodiversity influences the emission of these substances. For the first time, they were able to show that species-rich forests emit less of these gases into the atmosphere than monocultures. In the past, it was assumed that forests with more species would release more emissions. Experiments by the Leipzig team have now disproved this assumption. Their study has been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
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06.12.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Deciphering nature’s climate shield: Plant diversity stabilises soil temperature
Based on a media release of Leipzig University A new study has revealed a natural solution to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events. Researchers from Leipzig University, the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and other research institutions have discovered that high plant diversity acts as a buffer against fluctuations in soil temperature. This buffer can then be of vital importance to ecosystem processes. They have just published their new findings in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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30.10.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, Theory in Biodiversity Science, TOP NEWS
Even low levels of artificial light disrupt ecosystems
Leipzig, Jena. A new collection of papers on artificial light at night show the impact of light pollution to be surprisingly far-reaching, with even low levels of artificial light disrupting species communities and entire ecosystems. Published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, the special theme issue, which includes 16 scientific papers, looks at the effects of light pollution in complex ecological systems, including soil, grassland, and insect communities. Led by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the collection notes the increasing ubiquity of light pollution, while emphasising the domino effect light pollution has on ecosystem function and stability.
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10.10.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Funding new research in the Jena Experiment – focus on ecosystem stability
Joint media release from iDiv, Leipzig University and Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena/Leipzig. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is to fund a Research Unit in the Jena Experiment for a further four years with around five million euros. The scientists, led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, will focus in particular on the stabilising effect of biodiversity against extreme climate events such as drought, heat and frost.
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09.10.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Mixed forests are more productive when they are structurally complex
Dresden, Halle, Leipzig. Tree species richness increases forest productivity by enhancing aboveground structural complexity. This is the key result of a joint study by TUD Dresden University of Technology, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leuphana University Lüneburg, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Leipzig University, and the University of Montpellier. The results have been published in the journal Science Advances.
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26.09.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Invertebrate decline reduces natural pest control and decomposition of organic matter
Leipzig. The decline in invertebrates also affects the functioning of ecosystems, including two critical ecosystem services: aboveground pest control and belowground decomposition of organic material, according to a new study published in Current Biology and led by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University. The study provides evidence that loss of invertebrates leads to a reduction in important ecosystem services and to the decoupling of ecosystem processes, making immediate protection measures necessary.
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15.06.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Holistic management is key to increase carbon sequestration in soils
Report by Dr Gerrit Angst, postdoctoral researcher of the Experimental Interaction Ecology at iDiv, Leipzig University, and the Czech Academy of Sciences and first author: Leipzig/Budweis/Copenhagen. Increased carbon sequestration in soil to help mitigate climate change can only be achieved by a more holistic management. This is the conclusion from our opinion paper conceptualized together with colleagues from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the University of Copenhagen. We developed a novel framework that can guide informed and effective management of soils as carbon sinks. The study has recently been published in Nature Communications.
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13.01.2023 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Grassland ecosystems become more resilient with age
Based on a media release of the University of Zurich Zurich/Leipzig. Recent experiments have shown that the loss of species from a plant community can reduce ecosystem functions and services such as productivity, carbon storage and soil health. With the loss of functioning the ecosystem may also become destabilized in its ability to maintain ecosystem functions and services in the long-term. However, assessing this is only possible if experiments can be maintained for a sufficient length of time.
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12.10.2022 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Global study: Few of the ecologically most valuable soils are protected
Halle, Leipzig, Seville. Current protected areas only poorly cover the places most relevant for conserving soil ecological values. This is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Nature. To assess global hotspots for preserving soil ecological values, an international team of scientists measured different dimensions of soil biodiversity (local species richness and uniqueness) and ecosystem services (like water regulation or carbon storage). They found that these dimensions peaked in contrasting regions of the world. For instance, temperate ecosystems showed higher local soil biodiversity (species richness), while colder ecosystems were identified as hotspots of soil ecosystem services. In addition, the results suggest that tropical and arid ecosystems hold the most unique communities of soil organisms. Soil ecological values are often overlooked in nature conservation management and policy decisions; the new study, published in Nature, demonstrates where efforts to protect them are needed most.
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18.07.2022 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release
More species could be threatened with extinction than previously thought
Based on a media release by the University of Minnesota Saint Paul/Leipzig. On average, 30 per cent of all species worldwide might be threatened with extinction or have already become extinct over the last 500 years. This was the result of estimates by 3,331 experts working on biodiversity in 187 countries. This large and diverse group of experts was asked in a survey, led by researchers from the University of Minnesota and with the participation of iDiv and the University of Leipzig, to provide assessments of the change in the species they study. The results are expected to reduce knowledge gaps in existing scientific assessments of global biodiversity and thus improve the knowledge base for policy decisions. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
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09.06.2022 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Based on a media release by the University of Zurich Zurich, Leipzig. The exposure to drought during previous generations in the field increases complementarity between offspring of different grassland species and thus makes them more resilient to subsequent drought. An international research team led by the University of Zurich and with the participation of the German Centre for integrative Biodiversity research and Leipzig University has revealed this transgenerational effect with about 1000 experimental plant communities in pots. The results, published in Nature Communications, suggest that if past extreme climatic events do not completely exclude species, they may enhance the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a future with more frequent extreme events.
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11.05.2022 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Research, TOP NEWS
Earthworms increase the stability of soil organic carbon
Report by Dr Gerrit Angst, postdoctoral researcher of the Experimental Interaction Ecology at iDiv and Leipzig University and first author: Leipzig/Budweis/Munich. Earthworm activity stimulates microorganisms to accelerate the production of more stabilised soil organic carbon. This is the conclusion from a synthesis of recent literature collated by a team led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the Technical University of Munich. Based on this synthesis, the authors developed a novel concept of the role of earthworms in soil organic carbon dynamics that aids management of soils as a carbon sink. The study has recently been published in Global Change Biology.
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30.03.2022 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
European earthworms reduce insect populations in North American forests
Leipzig/Calgary. Earthworms introduced into northern North America have a negative impact on the insect fauna above ground. Soil ecologists, led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University describe this observation in the journal Biology Letters. The researchers found this impact for abundance as well as for biomass and species richness of insects. Their results indicate that changes in insect communities can have causes that have previously received little attention. These should be given greater consideration in nature conservation.
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10.06.2021 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Climate change, biodiversity loss and social justice – these challenges can only be overcome together
Based on a media release by Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) Kiel/Leipzig. The fight against global warming and for sustainable development can only succeed if, from now on, humankind considers the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and social justice together, and takes them into account equally in all political decisions – globally, nationally and regionally – as well as their interactions. According to the German co-authors, this is the most important takeaway from a new workshop report on biodiversity and climate change, the first to be jointly prepared by experts from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report to which scientists from AWI, UFZ, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and other institutions contributed, shows why especially phasing out fossil fuels is important for limiting global warming and for conserving nature. In addition, they demonstrate how healthy ecosystems can make long-term contributions to climate.
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12.04.2021 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Nadia Soudzilovskaia wins prestigous German research prize for international fungi research
Based on a media release of Universiteit Leiden. Environmental scientist Nadia Soudzilovskaia has been awarded the prestigious, international Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This German award is issued to outstanding foreign mid-career scientists that collaborate with German researchers. ‘The combination of different skills and approaches makes her research highly relevant and innovative!’
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24.02.2021 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Belowground biodiversity in motion
Based on a press release by the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences Global change is expected to increase the diversity of bacteria at the local level, while their composition will become more uniform at the global level. This is the finding of a team of researchers led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the University of Leipzig (UL) and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MiS). The researchers have – for the first time – holistically assessed how climate and land-use changes affect bacterial communities in soil. The study, published in Global Ecology and Biogeography, can help make reliable predictions about changes in the global distribution of these belowground communities.
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14.01.2021 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Measuring the belowground world
Leipzig/Halle/Fort Collins. A quarter of all known species live in the soil. Life above ground depends on the soil and its countless inhabitants. Yet, global strategies to protect biodiversity have so far paid little attention to this habitat. In the journal Science, an international team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), Leipzig University (UL) and Colorado State University calls for greater consideration of soils in the renegotiation of international biodiversity strategies. Their relevance must be recognised far beyond agriculture. In order to make the status and performance of soils more visible, the researchers explain their plan for systematic recording based on common global standards.
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10.12.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Leipzig biodiversity researcher receives 2021 Leibniz Prize
Leipzig. Today, the Joint Committee of the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) awarded the 2021 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize to four female and six male researchers. One of them is Nico Eisenhauer, research group head at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Professor at Leipzig University since 2014 . The awards are endowed with 2.5 million euros each.
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06.11.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Theory in Biodiversity Science, TOP NEWS
More plant diversity, less pesticides
Leipzig/Jena/Minnesota. Increasing plant diversity enhances the natural control of insect herbivory in grasslands. Species-rich plant communities support natural predators and simultaneously provide less valuable food for herbivores. This was found by a team of researchers led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), who conducted two analogous experiments in Germany and the USA. Their results were published in Science Advances and show that increasing plant biodiversity could help reduce pesticide inputs in agricultural systems by enhancing natural biological control.
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26.10.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, iDiv Members, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Shifts in flowering phases of plants due to reduced insect density
Based on a media release by the Friedrich Schiller University Jena Leipzig/Jena. It still sounds unlikely today, but declines in insect numbers could well make it a frequent occurrence in the future: fields full of flowers, but not a bee in sight. A research group of the University of Jena and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) has discovered that insects have a decisive influence on the biodiversity and flowering phases of plants. If there is a lack of insects where the plants are growing, their flowering behaviour changes. This can result in the lifecycles of the insects and the flowering periods of the plants no longer coinciding. If the insects seek nectar at the wrong time, some plants will no longer be pollinated.
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07.10.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Long-term consequences of global change difficult to predict
Based on a media release by Leipzig University In a longitudinal study, an international research team led by Leipzig University (UL) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) has investigated the consequences of changes in plant biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems. The scientists found that the relationships between plant traits and ecosystem functions change from year to year. This makes predicting the long-term consequences of biodiversity change extremely difficult, they write in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
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24.08.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, iDiv Members, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Ecologists put biodiversity experiments to the test
Based on a media release of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Leipzig/Frankfurt/Bern. Much of our knowledge of how biodiversity benefits ecosystems comes from experimental sites. These sites contain combinations of species that are not found in the real world, which has led some ecologists to question the findings from biodiversity experiments. But the positive effects of biodiversity for the functioning of ecosystems are more than an artefact of experimental design. This is the result of a new study led by an international team of researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL), the University of Bern and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre. For their study, they removed ‘unrealistic’ communities from the analysis of data from two large-scale experiments. The results that have now been published in Nature Ecology & Evolution show that previous findings are, indeed, reliable.
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04.08.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Chemicals inhibit decomposition processes – by damaging biodiversity
Leipzig, Namur. Declines in the diversity and abundance of decomposers explain reductions in plant decay rates under the influence of chemical stressors, but not added nutrients. These are the new insights of a study published in the open access journal eLife. The global meta-analysis conducted by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL) and the University of Namur in Belgium highlights the main anthropogenic effects on the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems, and thus helps predicting the fate of different ecosystems around the world.
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03.08.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, MLU News, Research, TOP NEWS
Identifying the blind spots of soil biodiversity
Leipzig/Halle. Soils harbour a substantial part of the world’s biodiversity, yet data on the patterns and processes taking place below ground does not represent all relevant ecosystems and taxa. For example, tropical and subtropical regions largely remain a blind spot when it comes to soil biodiversity. This is one of the results of a new study published in Nature Communications and led by scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and Leipzig University.
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28.07.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, TOP NEWS, UFZ-News
Shrinking dwarves
Based on a press release by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) Nowadays, life in the soil must contend with several problems at once. The biomass of small animals that decompose plants in the soil and thus maintain its fertility is declining both as a result of climate change and over-intensive cultivation. To their surprise, however, scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University have discovered that this effect occurs in two different ways: while the changing climate reduces the body size of the organisms, cultivation reduces their frequency. Even by farming organically, it is not possible to counteract all negative consequences of climate change, the researchers warn in the trade journal eLife.
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11.05.2020 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, sDiv, TOP NEWS
More soil-borne plant pathogens in a warmer world
Based on a media release by Pablo de Olavide University Sevilla Sevilla / Leipzig / Halle. Global warming will increase the proportion of plant pathogens in soils across the globe. Many of these plant pathogens also affect important food and medicinal plants, which is likely to have a long-term impact on the world population’s food security. This is the result of an experimental study published in the journal Nature Climate Change with significant contribution by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University (UL) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).
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24.10.2019 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, sDiv, TOP NEWS
Higher local earthworm diversity in Europe than in the tropics
Leipzig. In any single location, there are typically more earthworms and more earthworm species found in temperate regions than in the tropics. Global climate change could lead to significant shifts in earthworm communities worldwide, threatening the many functions they provide. These are the two main results of a new study published in Science. The research was led by scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University. They brought together 140 researchers from across the globe to compile the largest earthworm dataset worldwide, encompassing 6928 sites in 57 countries.
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30.09.2019 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv, Media Release, Research, TOP NEWS
Building bridges in Central Germany
Joint media release of iDiv, the University of Leipzig and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena/Leipzig. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) funds a new research unit at the Jena Experiment with a total of 5 million euros for five years. The research will be lead by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the University of Leipzig and the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and will investigate the mechanisms underlying the relation between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. For this purpose, the new research unit will also make use of other research platforms.
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13.03.2019 | Biodiversity Conservation, Experimental Interaction Ecology, iDiv Members, Media Release, sDiv, TOP NEWS
Mismatches between above- and belowground biodiversity
Leipzig. After conducting comprehensive studies, an international team of researchers led by Leipzig University and the iDiv research centre has gained important new insights into biodiversity above and below the earth’s surface: they discovered that, on about 30 per cent of our planet’s terrestrial surface, there is great diversity of flora and fauna in the soil compared to considerably fewer species above the ground, or vice versa, biodiversity is much greater above than below ground. These differences in biodiversity were not detectable in the remaining 70 per cent of the earth’s terrestrial surface. Here there were hot and cold spots that displayed either high or low overall levels of biodiversity. The researchers have published the results of their study in the journal Conservation Biology.
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21.01.2019 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, sDiv, TOP NEWS
Courage to aim for less cleanliness?
Leipzig, Raleigh. Do the same laws of biodiversity which apply in nature also apply to our own bodies and homes? If so, current hygiene measures to combat aggressive germs could be, to some extent, counterproductive. So writes an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University and North Carolina State University in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. They propose that examination of the role diversity of microorganisms plays in the ecosystems of our bodies and homes should be intensified. The findings could challenge existing strategies for fighting infectious diseases and resistant germs.
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04.07.2018 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Slug shuttle-service for mites
Leipzig. On the menu for slugs are not only mosses, lichens and garden vegetables, but also miniscule oribatid mites, which they unavoidably take in with their food. Astonishingly, most of these tiny arachnids survive the voyage through the slug’s digestive system without harm and are excreted, alive, elsewhere in the ecosystem. Scientists led by Dr Manfred Türke from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University have, for the first time, discovered this dispersal strategy, used predominantly by plants and known in the scientific community as endozoochory (dispersal by ingestion), also being used by mites. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Oecologia.
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21.12.2017 | Experimental Interaction Ecology, Media Release, TOP NEWS
Climate change: Self-enhancing effect cannot be explained by soil animals
Leipzig. When the soil warms up, it releases more carbon dioxide (CO2) – an effect that further fuels climate change. Until now, it had been assumed that the reason for this was mainly due to the presence of small soil animals and microorganisms that would eat and breathe more in warmer temperatures. However, a new study in Nature Climate Change has shown that this is not the case. Quite the contrary: If warmth is accompanied by drought, the soil animals eat even less. In order to improve the predictive power of climate models, it is now crucial to understand the biological processes in the soil better, say the scientists.
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