Research

After setting up the experiment, we conducted a baseline soil sampling campaign (biological, chemical, and physical soil variables) and tree measurements after the first growing season (Ferlian et al., 2018). Subsequently, most soil and tree measurements have been and will be repeated annually to create time-series data that will allow us to assess whether temporal dynamics of ecosystem functions are affected by the experimental treatments (Eisenhauer et al., 2012; Reich et al., 2012). Additionally, in the first growing season, soil cores of 1 m depth were taken from all plots and subdivided into eight layers (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, and 60-100 cm depth) and archived for future purposes, such as soil carbon dynamics and storage. The MyDiv Experiment is equipped with three climate stations spread across the site with each of them measuring air temperature and humidity as well as soil temperature and moisture at three depths in intervals of 30 minutes.

The MyDiv Experiment is run as an open experimental platform and invites all interested researchers from iDiv’s research consortium and outside of iDiv to collaborate (see Collaboration Guidelines, button below). Since the setup of the experiment, we have collaborated with researchers spanning a wide range of expertise in ecology, plant physiology, molecular biology, and genetics. The MyDiv Experiment also supports young scientists providing a platform for internships as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s theses (see Jobs & Theses).

The MyDiv Experiment is further a member of the global collaborative network of tree diversity experiments called TreeDivNet. Experimental designs within this network share important characteristics, such as the manipulation of tree diversity in the field, separation of tree diversity from identity effects, a diversity gradient of at least three levels, and the assessment of multiple ecosystem functions (Ferlian et al., 2018). The network currently consists of more than thirty experiments comprised of more than 1 Million trees across four biomes (Paquette et al. 2018). Within TreeDivNet, several global synthesis studies have evolved where the MyDiv Experiment contributed to, such as a global litter decomposition study using the Tea Bag Index (Ika Djukic, Umweltbundesamt Austria) and a global study on the effects of tree diversity on leaf herbivory in birch (Bastien Castagneyrol, Hervé Jactel, INRA, Bordeaux).