Das Projekt "ERMAS II: Europaeische Flussufer: Die Rolle der natuerlichen Vielfalt fuer die Funktion von Flussufersystemen" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Institut d'Amenagement des Terres et des Eaux (IATE) DGR - PEDOL durchgeführt. The aim of this project is to evaluate the role of biodiversity (i.e. autogenic processes) in determining the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to changes in environmental conditions (i.e. temperature and hydrology). The programme combines three primary research tasks: 1. To understand the role of biodiversity in maintaining the structure, function and stability of ecosystems, 2. to analyse ecosystem processes with reference to the organic matter cycle (C and N), 3.to determine and compare interactions and links between ecosystem processes and physical processes in contrasting situations, defined at two scales: climatic region and patch. ERMAS II network includes a latitudinal gradient from 64 Grad N (Sweden) to 43 Grad N (South of France). The swiss teams add sites with an alpine climate. Locally, a gradient of sites is chosen to characterize a representive range of hydro-geomorphological settings (frequency of floods).
Das Projekt "ERMAS II: Europaeische Flussufersysteme: die Rolle der natuerlichen Vielfalt fuer die Funktion von Flussufersystemen" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universite de Neuchatel, Institut de Botanique, Lab. d'Ecologie Vegetale et de Phytosociologie durchgeführt. '- To evaluate the functional role of biodiversity (i.e. autogenic processes) in determining the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to differences in environmental conditions (particularly temperature and hydrology). - To asses the variation in biodiversity in the riparian corridor in relation to (a) macroscale, (b) meso-scale, and (c) micro-scale environmental controls, as defined above. - To define spatial relationships between plant species distributions and biomass, and environmental factors: precipitation and temperature; sediment type, and landuse (disturbance regime); flood timing, flood frequency and duration. - To establish spatial relationships between plant and animal (invertebrate) diversity, at the patch scale. - To establish the influence of single species and mixed species litter on the decomposition process. - To assess the influence of litter derived from locally-common exotic species on the decomposition process (to investigate the significance for ecosystem functioning of replacing native species with exotics). - To assess the extent to which allogenic constraints (i.e. environmental conditions) control carbon and nitrogen cycling and availability, and therefore plant productivity and species richness in river margins. - To investigate the influence of autogenic factors, such as comptition between species, on river margin productivity via its influence on nitrogen uptake and cycling. - To establish the relationships between litter type and diversity, and invertebrate diversity. - To evaluate the functional role of invertebrate community diversity in litter decomposition within river margin ecosystems. Leading Questions: How does the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems to environmental change vary along climatic, disturbance and successional gradients? How is the sensitivity of river margin ecosystems influenced by species richness and composition?