Winfried Voigt | Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (original) (raw)

Papers by Winfried Voigt

Ecosphere, Oct 1, 2013

The adaptation of plant species to their biotic and abiotic environment is manifested in their tr... more The adaptation of plant species to their biotic and abiotic environment is manifested in their traits. Suites of correlated functional traits may reflect fundamental tradeoffs and general plant strategies and hence represent trait spectra along which plant species can vary according to their respective strategies. However, the functional interpretation of these trait spectra requires the inspection of their relation to plant performance. We employed principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) to quantify fundamental whole-plant trait spectra based on 23 traits for 305 North American woody species that span boreal to subtropical climates. We related the major axes of PCoA to five measures of plant performance (i.e., growth rate, and tolerance to drought, shade, water-logging and fire) for all species and separately for gymnosperms and angiosperms. Across all species a unified gymnosperm-angiosperm trait spectrum (wood density, seed mass, rooting habit) is identified, which is correlated with drought tolerance. Apart from this, leaf type and specific leaf area (SLA) strongly separate gymnosperms from angiosperms. For gymnosperms, one trait spectrum emerges (seed mass, rooting habit), which is positively correlated with drought tolerance and inversely with shade tolerance, reflecting a tradeoff between these two strategies due to opposing trait characteristics. Angiosperms are functionally more diverse. The trait spectra related to drought tolerance and shade tolerance are decoupled and three distinct strategies emerge: high drought tolerance (low SLA, dense wood, heavy seeds, taproot), high shade tolerance (high SLA, shallow roots, high toxicity, opposite arranged leaves), and fast growth/stress intolerance (large maximum heights, soft wood, light seeds, high seed spread rate). In summary, our approach reveals that complex suits of traits and potential tradeoffs underlie fundamental performance strategies in forests. Studies relying on small sets of plant traits may not be able to reveal such underlying strategies.

Ecology, Mar 29, 2019

Patterns of feeding interactions between species are thought to influence the stability of commun... more Patterns of feeding interactions between species are thought to influence the stability of communities and the flux of nutrients and energy through ecosystems. However, surprisingly few well-resolved food webs allow us to evaluate factors that influence the architecture of species interactions. We constructed a meta food web consisting of 714 invertebrate species collected over 9 years of suction and pitfall sampling campaigns in the Jena Experiment, a long-term grassland biodiversity experiment located in Jena, Germany. We summarize information on the 51,496 potential trophic links, which were established using information on diet specificity and species traits that typically constrain feeding interactions (trophic group, body size, and vertical stratification). The list of species identities, traits, and link-derivation rules will be useful not only for tests of plant diversity effects on food web structure within the Jena Experiment, but also for considering consistent construction of food webs from empirical data, and for comparisons of network structure across ecosystems. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of this Data Paper.

Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, Dec 23, 2015

Spatially land-cover models are necessary for sustainable land-cover planning. The expansion of h... more Spatially land-cover models are necessary for sustainable land-cover planning. The expansion of humanbuilt land involves the destruction of forests, meadows and farmlands as well as conversion of these areas to urban and industrial areas which will result in significant effects on ecosystems. Monitoring the process of these changes and planning for sustainable use of land can be successfully achieved by using the remote sensing multi-temporal data, spatial criteria and predictor models. In this study, landcover change analysis and modeling was performed for our study area in central Germany. An integrated Cellular Automata-Markov Chain land change model was carried out to simulate the future landscape change during the period of 2020-2050. The predictive power of the model was successfully evaluated using Kappa indices. As a consequence, land change model predicts very well a continuing downward trend in grassland, farmland and forest areas, as well as a growing tendency in built-up areas. Hence, if the current trends of change continue regardless of the actions of sustainable development, drastic natural area decline will ensue. The results of this study can help local authorities to better understanding the current situation and possible future conditions as well as adopt appropriate strategies for management of land-cover. In this case, they can create a balance between urban development and environmental protection. Keywords Land-cover change Á Markov chain Á Cellular automata Á Multi criteria evaluation

Chinese Birds, Sep 28, 2013

Arabian Journal of Geosciences, Mar 1, 2017

Nature Communications, Mar 15, 2019

Changes in the diversity of plant communities may undermine the economically and environmentally ... more Changes in the diversity of plant communities may undermine the economically and environmentally important consumer species they support. The structure of trophic interactions determines the sensitivity of food webs to perturbations, but rigorous assessments of plant diversity effects on network topology are lacking. Here, we use highly resolved networks from a grassland biodiversity experiment to test how plant diversity affects the prevalence of different food web motifs, the smaller recurrent sub-networks that form the building blocks of complex networks. We find that the representation of tri-trophic chain, apparent competition and exploitative competition motifs increases with plant species richness, while the representation of omnivory motifs decreases. Moreover, plant species richness is associated with altered patterns of local interactions among arthropod consumers in which plants are not directly involved. These findings reveal novel structuring forces that plant diversity exerts on food webs with potential implications for the persistence and functioning of multitrophic communities.

Oikos, Nov 20, 2012

ABSTRACT After decades of intensive research, the relative importance of top–down and bottom–up c... more ABSTRACT After decades of intensive research, the relative importance of top–down and bottom–up control for structuring ecological communities is still a particularly disputed issue among ecologists. In our study, we determine the relative role of bottom–up and top–down forces in structuring the composition of 13 arthropod functional groups (FG) comprising different trophic consumer levels. Based on species-specific plant biomass and arthropod abundance data from 50 plots of a grassland biodiversity experiment, we quantified the proportions of bottom–up and top–down forces on consumer FG composition while taking into account direct and indirect effects of plant diversity, functional diversity, community biomass, soil properties and spatial arrangement of these plots. Variance partitioning using partial redundancy analysis explained 21–44% of total variation in arthropod functional group composition. Plant-mediated bottom–up forces accounted for the major part of the explainable variation within the composition of all FGs. Predator-mediated top–down forces, however, were much weaker, yet influenced the majority of consumer FGs. Plant functional group composition, notably legume composition, had the most important impact on virtually all consumer FGs. Compared to plant species richness and plant functional group richness, plant community biomass explained a much higher proportion of variation in consumer community composition.

Nature Ecology and Evolution, Jan 16, 2023

Ecological Informatics, Mar 1, 2016

Journal of Animal Ecology, Jan 31, 2012

Summary1. We studied the theoretical prediction that a loss of plant species richness has a stron... more Summary1. We studied the theoretical prediction that a loss of plant species richness has a strong impact on community interactions among all trophic levels and tested whether decreased plant species diversity results in a less complex structure and reduced interactions in ecological networks.2. Using plant species‐specific biomass and arthropod abundance data from experimental grassland plots (Jena Experiment), we constructed multitrophic functional group interaction webs to compare communities based on 4 and 16 plant species. 427 insect and spider species were classified into 13 functional groups. These functional groups represent the nodes of ecological networks. Direct and indirect interactions among them were assessed using partial Mantel tests. Interaction web complexity was quantified using three measures of network structure: connectance, interaction diversity and interaction strength.3. Compared with high plant diversity plots, interaction webs based on low plant diversity plots showed reduced complexity in terms of total connectance, interaction diversity and mean interaction strength. Plant diversity effects obviously cascade up the food web and modify interactions across all trophic levels. The strongest effects occurred in interactions between adjacent trophic levels (i.e. predominantly trophic interactions), while significant interactions among plant and carnivore functional groups, as well as horizontal interactions (i.e. interactions between functional groups of the same trophic level), showed rather inconsistent responses and were generally rarer.4. Reduced interaction diversity has the potential to decrease and destabilize ecosystem processes. Therefore, we conclude that the loss of basal producer species leads to more simple structured, less and more loosely connected species assemblages, which in turn are very likely to decrease ecosystem functioning, community robustness and tolerance to disturbance. Our results suggest that the functioning of the entire ecological community is critically linked to the diversity of its component plants species.

Scientific Reports, Feb 7, 2023

Ecosphere, Oct 1, 2022

Increasing plant species richness has been shown to positively affect the diversity of a range of... more Increasing plant species richness has been shown to positively affect the diversity of a range of other organisms, both above‐ and belowground. Although ants have a multitude of interactions with other organisms through their role as predators and mutualists, ants are a taxon that has rarely been investigated in studies of biodiversity effects. Ants are known to respond to changes in microclimatic conditions such as temperature and humidity, and these microclimatic conditions are known to be affected by vegetation characteristics such as standing biomass, which in turn can be affected by plant diversity. We investigated the effects of plant species richness (1–60), the number of plant functional groups (FGs; 1–4), and the presence of particular FGs on the occurrence and activity of ants, in the context of a grassland biodiversity experiment. Ant abundance, estimated as the mean number of workers in pitfall traps, and the number of colonies within plots, but not ant species richness, were negatively affected by plant species richness, and also by the identity of plant FGs, particularly legumes (negative effects) and grasses (positive effects). Statistical approaches showed that these effects were largely mediated by biotic (aboveground plant biomass: negative effect) and abiotic variables (soil temperature: positive effect). Notably, ant activity, measured as the mean number of workers foraging on baits and with a disproportionate dominance of a single species (Lasius niger), showed a more complex pattern, where plant species richness and number of FGs interacted to explain differential attractiveness to different resources (represented by sugar and tuna baits), likely representing current nutritional requirements for ants. Similarly, increasing soil temperature increased the level of ant activity, indicating that abiotic factors might impose thermal constraints on ectotherms inhabiting temperate grasslands. Our results indicate that a higher number of plant species and higher plant biomass had a negative effect on ants in experimental grasslands. Understanding the responses of an ecologically important group such as ants will allow us to infer the effects that biodiversity loss could have on animal‐mediated ecosystem processes.

Nature

Line 165: Increase and decrease of what? Added now "of species' mean cover" Lines 176-179: All th... more Line 165: Increase and decrease of what? Added now "of species' mean cover" Lines 176-179: All this seems tangential and unnecessary. Deleted. Lines 209-2011: Dtto. Tangential and unnecessary. Deleted. Line 224: Log ratio decreased (which seems to be the current message, and which would mean a second derivative of the trend), or SR decreased as indicated by the negative log ratio? Actually, we refer to a decrease in log ratio between species richness observed at the end and the beginning of an observation interval. Extended Data Fig. 2a shows that loge(SRY2/SRY1) was positive for time spans ≤ 2 years (that is, SR increased), while it was negative for time spans > 10 years (that is, SR decreased). Per decade, loge(SRY2/SRY1) decreased by 0.153. We now added: "indicating that more species were lost with time" (new line number 225). Line 235: "only a marginal and" is unnecessary. If it was insignificant, it wasn't even marginal. Deleted. Lines 236-237: I don't see how no change in median indicates no change in dominance structure. You can have identical median in both time periods, but a pronounced change in the dominance, for example if increase in the dominant (high cover?) species is offset by decrease in species with low cover. In any case, what exactly do you mean by "dominance structure"? We agree and have deleted this sentence, as we explain the discrepancy between mean and median change in cover in the following paragraph.

Vegetation-plot resurvey data are a main source of information on terrestrial biodiversity change... more Vegetation-plot resurvey data are a main source of information on terrestrial biodiversity change, with records reaching back more than one century. Although more and more data from re-sampled plots have been published, there is not yet a comprehensive open-access dataset available for analysis. Here, we compiled and harmonised vegetation-plot resurvey data from Germany covering almost 100 years. We show the distribution of the plot data in space, time and across habitat types of the European Nature Information System (EUNIS). In addition, we include metadata on geographic location, plot size and vegetation structure. The data allow calculating temporal biodiversity change at the community scale and reach back further into the past than most comparable data yet available. They also enable tracking changes in the incidence and distribution of individual species across Germany. In summary, the data come at a level of detail that holds promise for broadening our understanding of the me...

$Research paper thumbnail of Appendix F. Figures providing the distribution of the fraction of variance, standardized to 1, independently accounted for by the four composite variables (PCA axes) for all functional groups of different trophic levels$

Figures providing the distribution of the fraction of variance, standardized to 1, independently ... more Figures providing the distribution of the fraction of variance, standardized to 1, independently accounted for by the four composite variables (PCA axes) for all functional groups of different trophic levels.

Advances in Ecological Research, 2015

The study of ecological services is fast becoming a cornerstone of mainstream ecology, largely be... more The study of ecological services is fast becoming a cornerstone of mainstream ecology, largely because they provide a useful means of linking functioning to societal benefits in complex systems by connecting different organizational levels. In order to identify the main challenges facing current and future ecosystem service research, we analysed the effects of the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005) on different disciplines. Within a set of topics framed around concepts embedded within the MEA, each co-author identified 5 key research challenges and, where feasible, suggested possible solutions. Concepts included those related to specific service types (i.e., provisioning, supporting, regulating, cultural, aesthetic services) as well as more synthetic issues spanning the natural and social sciences, which often linked a wide range of disciplines, as was the case for the application of network theory. By merging similar responses, and removing some of the narrower suggestions from our sample pool, we distilled the key challenges into a smaller subset. We review some of the historical context to the MEA and identify some of the broader scientific and philosophical issues that still permeate discourse in this field. Finally, we consider where the greatest advances are most likely to be made in the next decade and beyond.

This graph comes from a manuscript published in Nature (htt... more This graph comes from a manuscript published in Nature (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature09492) and shows how plant species richness affects organisms living in the soil and in the vegetation layer. It was originally published as part of the Supplementary Material and is reproduced here to show it to a wider audience.</p

Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 2015