A six week pilot study campaign of parallel measurements of particulate matter (PM10) and pollen has been carried out during the pollination season of grass pollen in May/June 2011 in the city of Berlin. The measurements run as 24 h daily samplings at three monitoring sites, characterized as inner-city, suburban and traffic locations with different vegetation influences. The results show the highest burden for urban public health at the traffic hot-spot, both for PM10 and grass pollen. Furthermore, for both good correlations were found between the sites. Sound correlations have been determined between concentrations and daily maximum temperature. On several days grass pollen concentration in densely populated parts of the city reached health relevant threshold values that are required to initiate allergenic symptoms. Official statistics identified peak grass pollen burden for Berlin and the Eastern part of Germany during the study campaign.© 2014 Elsevier B.V.
Das Projekt "Plant-pollinator networks in agro-ecosystems" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander König - Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere durchgeführt. Pollination is crucial for maintaining angiosperm biodiversity and represents one of the most important ecosystem services. With the increasing threats of massive insect decline, studying pollination and associated networks has become more important than ever. However, studying plant-pollinator interactions at a species level with morphological methodologies is time-consuming, expensive, and depends on exceptional taxonomic expertise. In this study, we target the plant-pollinator networks of two important crops (caraway and apple) using a combination of traditional methods with DNA barcoding and metabarcoding. With this approach, we can identify potential dipteran and hymenopteran pollinators and - from their pollen load's their associated plant species. This project is a collaboration between the ZFMK and the Agroecology and Organic Farming Group (INRES) at the University of Bonn and part of GBOL II.
Das Projekt "Biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in small vs. large scale agriculture" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Göttingen, Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Abteilung Agrarökologie durchgeführt. Biodiversity conservation cannot rely on protected areas alone, as sustainable conservation requires strategies for managing whole landscapes including agricultural areas. Organic farming in Germany may contribute strongly to the protection of biodiversity and to sustainability of agriculture through enhancing ecosystem services. However, the effectiveness of this agri-environmental management is highly dependent on landscape structure. The main objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of organic cereal management in small vs. large scale agriculture through measure of the diversity of plants and arthropods and associated ecosystem services, such as seed predation, insect predation, aphid parasitism and pollination. Pairs of organic and conventional winter wheat fields will be selected in small vs. large scale agricultural landscapes along the former inner German border, i.e. in West vs. East Germany. This study design enables a unique experiment, where it would be possible to disentangle the effects of landscape composition and configuration heterogeneities in the same study region and to study how these affect the effectiveness of organic management. The detailed analyses of the expected valuable data could provide significant results (published in high ranked, international scientific journals), and contribute to the development of the existing
Das Projekt "Bienen, Wespen und ihre Gegenspieler im Kaffeeanbau auf Sulawesi: Bestaeubungserfolg, Interaktionen, Habitatbewertung" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Göttingen, Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Agrarökologie durchgeführt. Der Einfluss der Landnutzungsintensität auf die Artenvielfalt von Bienen und Wespen und ihren natürlichen Gegenspielern und die damit verbundenen ökologischen Funktionen sollen in Kaffee-Anbausystemen Sulawesis untersucht werden. Dazu erfolgt ein Vergleich von 30 Kaffee-Anbauflächen mit großen Unterschieden in der Nutzung, floristischen Vielfalt (Baumdiversität und prozentuale Baumdeckung) und in abiotischen Parametern (relative Lichtintensität, Temperatur und relative Luftfeuchte). Die Erfassung der Blütenbesucher sowie der solitären Bienen und Wespen in Nisthilfen erlaubt eine Charakterisierung des Artenreichtums. Die relative Bedeutung der solitären und sozialen Bienen für die Blütenbestäubung und den Fruchtansatz beim Kaffee wird durch Experimente geklärt. Weiterhin soll auch die Ausprägung der Interaktionen zwischen den Nisthilfe-Besiedlern und ihren Gegenspielern mit der Landnutzung in Verbindung gebracht werden. Ergänzende Versuche zielen auf die Ressourcennutzung der Bienen (Pollenanalyse), die Ansiedlung sozialer Bienen in Nisthilfen und die Messung der Sammelzeiten von Bienen (Polleneintrag) und Faltenwespen (Eintrag schädlicher Schmetterlinge). Die GIS-gestützte Erfassung der Landschaftsstruktur soll zeigen, ob lokale ökologische Prozesse nicht nur von der Landnutzung, sondern auch von der Struktur der Umgebung, insbesondere von der Entfernung zu angrenzenden Lebensräumen beeinflusst werden.
Das Projekt "Ecological valuation of crop pollination in traditional Indonesian homegardens" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Göttingen, Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Abteilung Agrarökologie durchgeführt. Traditional Indonesian homegardens harbour often high crop diversity, which appears to be an important basis for a sustainable food-first strategy. Crop pollination by insects is a key ecosystem service but threatened by agricultural intensification and land conversion. Gaps in knowledge of actual benefits from pollination services limit effective management planning. Using an integrative and agronomic framework for the assessment of functional pollination services, we will conduct ecological experiments and surveys in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. We propose to study pollination services and net revenues of the locally important crop species cucumber, carrot, and eggplant in traditional homegardens in a forest distance gradient, which is hypothesized to affect bee community structure and diversity. We will assess pollination services and interactions with environmental variables limiting fruit maturation, based on pollination experiments in a split-plot design of the following factors: drought, nutrient deficiency, weed pressure, and herbivory. The overall goal of this project is the development of 'biodiversity-friendly' land-use management, balancing human and ecological needs for local smallholders.
Das Projekt "Community-mediated mechanisms to stabilize pollination of agricultural production highly dependent on shrinking honey bee populations under global change" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Lüneburg, Institut für Ökologie (IE), Professur für Tierökologie durchgeführt. Almond in California represents an agroecosystem pollinated solely by a single species, the European honey bee, a species that is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to manage due to substantial, unpredictable mortality. Therefore, sustainable and high output production require a more integrated approach that diversifies sources of pollination. For this purpose, detailed data of our understanding how diversity can stabilize pollination are required. The project will identify alternative wild pollinator species and collect high quality data contributing to our understanding of how diversity (pollen and insects) can bolster honey bee pollination during stable and unstable climatic conditions. The research will be carried out on almond orchards in Northern California known to be either pollinator species rich (up to 30 species) or depauperate (honey bees only). The replicated extremes in pollinator diversity represent a unique opportunity to study the effects of diversity on pollination in real agroecosystems combined with laboratory and glasshouse experiments. The overall goal is to provide basic research that is essential for our general understanding of how insect diversity can affect high-quality pollination under land use and climate change.
Das Projekt "Evaluating current European agri-environment schemes to quantify and improve nature conservation efforts in agricultural landscapes (EASY)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft durchgeführt. Research question: Agri-environment schemes play an increasingly important role in European CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) to support biodiversity and environment in agricultural landscapes. They have been implemented since 1992 and now cost a yearly 1.7 billion Euro. Still, there is no conclusive evidence that these schemes actually do contribute to the conservation of particularly biodiversity. The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the (cost-) effectiveness of European agri-environment schemes in protecting biodiversity and to determine the primary processes that determine their effectiveness. This project furthermore aims to determine how CAP may be introduced in candidate EU-members without unacceptable loss of biodiversity. It will provide simple guidelines how researchers, governmental authorities may efficiently evaluate agri-environmental measures. Aim: Agri-environment schemes have been used to protect biodiversity and environment in agricultural areas since 1992. Their effectiveness has never been reliably evaluated. This project aims to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of agri-environment schemes with respect to biodiversity conservation in five European countries. It will determine the proper scales that have to be addressed for conservation efforts for a range of species groups. It will determine the most important environmental factors that influence the effectiveness of the schemes. Based on this, recommendations will be made how the effectiveness of schemes may be improved and simple guidelines will be produced how ecological effects of agri-environment schemes can be evaluated efficiently by governmental authorities or other institutions. The ecological effects of the introduction of CAP in a candidate EU-member will be investigated to reduce negative side effects of anticipated land-use changes Scientific methods: We will examine the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes by surveying pairs of fields: a field with an agri-environment scheme and a nearby field that is conventionally managed. In five countries, in each country in three areas, and in each area on seven pairs of fields the species richness of birds, plants and three insect groups (pollinators, herbivores, predators) will be determined. Effects of schemes on pollination efficiency and pest control will be examined using indicator communities. Correlative studies will examine the effects of landscape structure, land-use intensity and species pool on the effectiveness of agri-environmental measures. The spatial scale that is relevant to nature conservation efforts will be investigated via the spatial distribution of species groups. The results will be used to formulate recommendations how to improve the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes and to construct a set of simple guidelines how schemes can be evaluated efficiently yet reliably.
Das Projekt "Trophic assessment of ecosystem services provided by carabid beetles in agricultural land" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Interdisziplinäre Gebirgsforschung IGF durchgeführt. Trophic interactions between species in agroecosystems provide key regulation ecosystem services, such as pest control and pollination, and therefore also determine the dynamics, robustness and resilience of service provision. Two ecosystem services, important in many agroecosystems, are predation on weed seeds and slugs by carabid beetles. However, two basic gaps in our knowledge limit our ability to utilise carabids in agricultural situations. First, the different trophic-functional groups in carabids are not yet well defined that would enable us to describe the specific associations between particular prey species. Second, the factors underlying potential switches between seed feeding and slug predation are poorly understood. Both gaps considerably limit our ability to predict for when and where weed seed and slug predation services will occur and to therefore profit from these services. In this project we address these issues within two research modules, combining field observational data, a field experiment and cutting-edge molecular approaches. The first module will unravel whether there are patterns of prey consumption consistent with robust trophic-functional groupings of carabids and prey, across a range of environmental and agricultural conditions in Austria in the three major crops, namely potato, wheat, and oilseed rape. The second module will test whether carabids switch between weed seed and slug predation and, if so, expose which factors drive the change by manipulating weed seed and slug prey availability. In doing this, we will establish whether seed and slug predation ecosystem services provided by carabids are robust, resilient and predictable, and evaluate how these two important services compete in agroecosystems. These are fundamental questions in trophic invertebrate ecology in agroecosystems. Moreover, the outcomes of this project will generate knowledge on how to achieve international goals of reducing applications of pesticides without compromising key provisioning ecosystem services such as crop yield.
Das Projekt "Sub project: Core Projekt 9 - Monitoring of aboveground arthropod diversity with main emphasis on xylobionts" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Würzburg, Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften, Biozentrum durchgeführt. Arthropods are highly diverse and essentially involved in numerous biological processes. Tree crowns provide habitats for a large part of this diversity, but are still a vastly uncharted territory. The major aim of this project is to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the influence of forest management on the diversity and functional roles of canopy arthropods. For this we 1) perform a thorough recording of the diversity of canopy arthropods. Based on data of several years we analyse the structure, dynamics and guild composition of tree specific arthropod communities in forests under different management regimes. 2) We experimentally accumulate dead wood - a rare key resource in managed forests - in individual trees and on the ground and analyse the effects on the populations of xylobionts and their interaction with other guilds (e.g. predator-prey relationships), 3) we investigate (also experimentally and in cooperation with other projects) the importance of xylobiontic arthropods for coarse woody debris decomposition. The repeated monitoring of canopy arthropod diversity by means of insecticidal knock down allows an estimation of stability and resilience of species-rich communities. Our project provides important data for other projects, allowing relating canopy diversity with that of other habitats and communities with the aim to achieve a more comprehensive modelling of forest ecosystem processes. Our previous work has shown that increasing land-use intensity in grasslands leads to changes in pollinator composition (more dipterans, fewer bees) and also affects plants where land use winners (e.g. fly-pollinated Heracleum sphondylium and Ranunculus acris) and losers can be distinguished. We currently investigate whether this translates into lower pollination of selected losers (e.g. bee-pollinated Lotus or Campanula), and higher pollination of winners. Such processes will accelerate the success and decline of plant populations in intensively used grasslands. Long-term monitoring of these processes is applied for here.
Das Projekt "Biodiversitätsbasierte Ökosystemdienstleistungen in Weingärten: Analyse der Verbindungen zwischen Pflanzen, Bestäubern, Bodentieren und Bodenerosion quer durch Europa" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Institut für Integrative Naturschutzforschung durchgeführt. Vielfältige Organismengemeinschaften und die Interaktionen zwischen ihnen leisten essentielle Ökosystemdienstleistungen in Weinbaulandschaften. Der traditionelle Weinbau war in einem multifunktionalen Landwirtschaftssystem mit extensiver Grünlandbewirtschaftung, Obstproduktion und vielfältigen (Rand-)Strukturen mit hoher Habitat- und funktioneller Biodiversität eingebettet. In den letzten Jahrzehnten führten Landnutzungsänderungen, Intensivierung und Mechanisierung der Weinproduktion zu einer Segregation von Produktionsflächen und naturschutzfachlich wertvollen Flächen. Die Angst der WinzerInnen vor Wasser- und (Nährstoff)konkurrenz zwischen den Weinreben und Unkräutern resultierte in einer Nulltoleranz-Einstellung gegenüber Unkräutern . Die mit dieser Einstellung verknüpfte Bewirtschaftungspraxis ist gekennzeichnet durch häufigen Umbruch oder intensiven Herbizideinsatz; damit werden heute Ökosystemschäden wie hohe Erosionsraten, Degradierung der Bodenstruktur und -fruchtbarkeit, Verunreinigung des Grundwassers und generell hohe Inputs in der Landwirtschaft in Verbindung gebracht. In europäischen Weinbaulandschaften sind Wildbienen wichtige Bestäuber für viele Wildpflanzen und charakteristische Obstbaumarten wie z.B. Kirschen, Marillen oder Mandeln. Obwohl der Wein überwiegend durch Selbst- bzw. Windbestäubung befruchtet wird, könnte der Ertrag oder die Qualität des Weins durch Insektenbestäubung gesteigert werden. Diverse funktionelle Pflanzengruppen verbessern die Bodenstruktur und die Bildung von stabilen Bodenaggregaten, die zur Erhöhung der Wasserinfiltration und zur Verringerung von Bodenerosion beitragen. Dieser Effekt ist insofern von hoher Relevanz, da Experten prognostiziert haben, dass Extremregenereignisse durch den Klimawandel häufiger zu erwarten sind, die wiederum häufigere bzw. stärkere Bodenerosionsereignisse hervorrufen könnten. Struktur- und artenreiche Weinbaulandschaften können Inputs in der Landwirtschaft verringern und sie haben gleichzeitig einen hohen ästhetischen Wert, der als kulturelle Ökosystemdienstleistung menschliches Wohlbefinden und Erholungsnutzung fördert. Unser Projekt hat die Analyse der Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Managementregimes (intensive Bewirtschaftung mit häufigem Umbruch vs. Weingärten mit (Natur)Begrünungen) auf die Pflanzen- und Wildbienendiversität und den damit assoziierten Ökosystemdienstleistungen auf Untersuchungsflächen-, Weingarten- und Landschaftsniveau zum Ziel. Innerhalb einer charakteristischen Weinbauregion werden zwei unterschiedliche, repräsentative ökologische Einheiten basierend auf ihrer Strukturvielfalt definiert. In jeder dieser Einheiten werden zwei verschiedene Bewirtschaftungsintensitäten untersucht. Zusätzlich werden Fotographien für die Erhebung der Landschaftsästhetik und für eine Fotoausstellung (Disseminationsstrategie) gesammelt. Text gekürzt
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