PriOrity Effect Mechanisms (POEM): mechanisms of priority effects and their persistence over time in dry acidic grasslands

Project: Research

Project participants

Description

History matters in ecology
Biodiversity loss as a key component of global change requires us to increase the predictive power of ecological knowledge for restoring biodiversity in natural systems. Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments have clearly demonstrated that plant diversity is an important driver of ecosystem functioning in temperate grasslands, but a controversial discussion now asks the question how relevant such “artificial” communities (in experiments that do not allow natural assembly) are in “real world” ecosystems. Recent work has shown that assembly history, in particular so-called priority effects caused by different order of arrival of plant functional groups not only affects community structure, but also influences ecosystem functions such as belowground and aboveground productivity. Despite their importance for understanding community assembly, priority effects have received much less attention than phylogenetic or trait approaches, probably due to methodological challenges. Yet we know that history matters, making improved knowledge on priority effects, in particular their mechanisms, essential to improve our overall understanding of plant community assembly and the improve predictive power for natural biodiversity.
Our project aims to fill this gap in knowledge by (1) linking research on the mechanisms behind the creation and persistence of priority effects (niche preemption and modification) with more common theories of plant species coexistence (and (2) investigating how weather conditions during plant establishment modulate the creation and trajectory of priority effects in dry acidic grasslands. Our main hypothesis is that the effect of early-arriving species on the plant-soil-microbiome environment will differ depending on the functional group that arrives first at a site, thus affecting the species arriving later, leading to communities differing in structure and functioning, and this will in turn be modulated by weather conditions during plant establishment. A field experiment with different plant functional group order of arrival (legumes, grasses, forbs sown first) will be initiated over consecutive years and paired with a greenhouse experiment testing the relative role of plant-soil feedback in explaining responses to the plant order of arrival. State of the art methods in root research will allow us to study root niche partitioning at the species (next generation sequencing-based method) as well as the community level (minirhizotrons). The effect of experimental treatments on the bacterial and fungal diversity of the soil and plant-associated microbiomes will also be studied using a molecular barcoding approach.


The added value of this project lies in the linking and integration of different ecological knowledge to better understand the creation, persistence, and trajectory of priority effects. Doing so, we aim at gaining a much-improved understanding of how plant species coexist in communities over time.
AcronymPOEM
StatusFinished
Period01.04.2031.03.24

Research outputs

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Projects

  1. Wissenschaftliche Begleitung der Umsetzung der Ökodesign-Richtlinie und Energieverbrauchskennzeichnungsrichtlinie -Arbeitsprogramm ab 2012
  2. Tagungsreihe "Der Einfluss des Idealismus. Das Vermächtnis des nachkantianischen deutschen Denkens in Ästhetik, Literatur und Literaturtheorie"
  3. Pflichten Privater im Informationsfreiheitsrecht unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Richtlinie 2003/4/EG und ihre Umsetzung in Deutschland
  4. Kontroverse Praktiken – Praktiken einer Kontroverse. Schließung von Aushandlungsräumen in der öffentlichen Debatte zur Agro-Gentechnik in Polen
  5. Die Entwicklung einer naturwissenschaftlichen Perspektive auf die Welt - Der Einfluss naturwissenschaftlicher Lernumgebungen im Elementarbereich
  6. „Ermittlung und Sicherstellung der Umweltverträglichkeit von Klimawandel-Anpassungsmaßnahmen“ – Querschnittsaufgabe im Verbundvorhaben KLIMZUG-NORD
  7. Aktivierte Pflanzenkohle aus Elbauen - neue Wertschöpfungen durch die Entwicklung einer neuen Stoffstromstrategie für das Auengrünland der Elbe
  8. Entwicklung eines Modells zur quantitativen Beschreibung logistischer Ursache-Wirkungs-Beziehungen für unterschiedliche Montageorganisationsformen
  9. Entwicklung und Integration vernetzter Lehr- und Lernsysteme für die ingenieurtechnische Ausbildung in der Steuerungs- und Automatisierungstechnik
  10. Educating those most at risk and hardest to reach: Actionable Sustainability Education Across the Pacific with SolarSPELL offline digital libraries
  11. Nachhaltigkeitsprüfung in der Exportkreditabsicherung - politische Voraussetzungen unternehmensbezogene Auswirkungen der "Common Approaches" der OECD
  12. Das M/Other Projekt: Kreativität zwischen künstlerischer Schöpfung und biologischer Reproduktion in der zeitgenössischen Kunst (Freigeist Fellowship)
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Activities

  1. Rational Design of Green, (Bio) Degradable β Adrenergic Receptor Blocker Derivatives through Non - Targeted Synthesis: Atenolol as an Example
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  3. Studienpraktikum „Nachhaltiger Konsum und Globale Gerechtigkeit – Perspektiven der Nachhaltigkeit durch universitäre Nord-Süd-Kooperation“ 2011
  4. The influence of polycentricity on collaborative environmental management – the case of EU Water Framework Directive implementation in Germany
  5. Critical Cosmopolitanism and Media. A theoretical perspective for an understanding of transnational media communication and media culture - 2013
  6. Identification of photo-transformation products of ciprofloxacin and evaluation of their genotoxicity using in silco methods and in vitro assay
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  8. Gemeinsamer Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Psychologie (DGMP) und der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Soziologie (DGMS)
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  10. Assessment of the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of the anticancer drug Imatinib Mesylate after UV and simulated sunlight irradiation treatments
  11. Sozioökonomische Bildung als Herausforderung in der wissenschaftlichen Lehrerbildung - Einblicke in ästhetisch-performative Lehr-Forschungs-Werkstätten

Publications

  1. The importance of understanding the multiple dimensions of power in stakeholder participation for effective biodiversity conservation
  2. Corrigendum to: Pathways to Implementation: Evidence on How Participation in Environmental Governance Impacts on Environmental Outcomes
  3. How do distinct facets of tree diversity and community assembly respond to environmental variables in the subtropical Atlantic Forest?
  4. Economic evaluation of water supply systems operated with solar-driven electro-chlorination in rural regions in Nepal, Egypt and Tanzania
  5. Microstructural development of as-cast AM50 during Constrained Friction Processing: grain refinement and influence of process parameters
  6. Temporal variability in native plant composition clouds impact of increasing non-native richness along elevational gradients in Tenerife
  7. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a guided internet- and mobile-based depression intervention for individuals with chronic back pain
  8. ROYAL-COMMISSION-ON-ANCIENT-AND-HISTORICAL-MONUMENTS-IN-WALES, GLAMORGAN INVENTORY, VOL 3 PT 1A, THE EARLY CASTLES, FROM THE NORMAN-CONQUEST TO 1217
  9. Investigation of the photochemistry of urea herbicides (chlorotoluron and isoproturon) and quantum yields using polychromatic irradiation
  10. The role of space in the emergence and endurance of organizing: How independent workers and material assemblages constitute organizations
  11. The role of space in the emergence and endurance of organizing: How independent workers and material assemblages constitute organizations
  12. The well-being and work-related stress of senior school leaders in Wales and Northern Ireland during COVID-19 "educational leadership crisis"
  13. Development and prospects of degradable magnesium alloys for structural and functional applications in the fields of environment and energy
  14. Die Krise in der Krise. Sozial-ökologische Perspektiven auf Zuschreibungen, Bestätigungen und Verluste des ‚Reproduktiven’ in Zeiten von ‚Corona’
  15. Investing into third generation nuclear power plants - Review of recent trends and analysis of future investments using Monte Carlo Simulation
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  17. Nachhaltige Raumentwicklung für die große Transformation – Herausforderungen, Barrieren und Perspektiven für Raumwissenschaften und Raumplanung
  18. Mit Hilfe der Mathematik eine gute Entscheidung treffen — Förderung der Fähigkeit des kritischen Denkens als Bestandteil von „21st-Century-Skills“
  19. Kapitalanlagebetrug bei Geschlossenen Alternativen Investmentfonds (AIF) - Ansatzpunkte für eine juristische und betriebswirtschaftliche Bewertung
  20. Psychische Belastung und Krankheit als Bedingungen, Folgen und Antizipationseffekte von Arbeitslosigkeit bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen
  21. National stereotypes as literary device. Traditions and uses of stereotypes of Germans in British and the English in German children's literature
  22. „Aber viel wichtiger, ich hoffe, nicht." Funktion und Relevanz beruflicher Nutzung von digitalen Plattformen durch fortgeschrittene Musikstudierende