Comprehension of belowground competition between plant species is a central part in understanding the complex interactions in intercropped agricultural systems, between crops and weeds as well as in natural ecosystems. So far, no simple and rapid method for species discrimination of roots in the soil exists. We will be developing a method for root discrimination of various species based on Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)-Attenuated Total Reflexion (ATR) Spectroscopy and expanding its application to the field. The absorbance patterns of FTIR-ATR spectra represent the chemical sample composition like an individual fingerprint. By means of multivariate methods, spectra will be grouped according to spectral and chemical similarity in order to achieve species discrimination. We will investigate pea and oat roots as well as maize and barnyard grass roots using various cultivars/proveniences grown in the greenhouse. Pea and oat are recommendable species for intercropping to achieve superior grain and protein yields in an environmentally sustainable manner. To evaluate the effects of intercropping on root distribution in the field, root segments will be measured directly at the soil profile wall using a mobile FTIR spectrometer. By extracting the main root compounds (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates) and recording their FTIR-ATR spectra as references, we will elucidate the chemical basis of species-specific differences.
Entwicklung von Geraeten und Verfahren fuer quantitative Geschiebe- und Schwebstoffmessungen zur Ermittlung der Geschiebefrachten sowie des Schwebstoffgehalts und der Schwebstofffrachten, insbesondere zur Anwendung bei groesseren Fliessgeschwindigkeiten. Untersuchung der vertikalen Schwebstoffverteilung einschliesslich Kornanalyse im Hinblick auf die Transportkapazitaet eines Gewaessers.
Changes in agroecosystem management (e.g. landscape diversity, management intensity) affect the natural control of pests. The effects of agricultural change on this ecosystem service, however, are not universal and the mechanisms affecting it remain to be understood. As biological control is effectively the product of networks of interactions between pests and their natural enemies, food web analysis provides a versatile tool to address this gap of knowledge. The proposed project will utilize a molecular food web approach and examine, for the first time, how changes in plant fertilisation and landscape complexity affect quantitative aphid-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid food webs on a species-specific level to unravel how changes in food web interactions affect parasitoid aphid control. Based on the fieldderived data, cage experiments will be conducted to assess how parasitoid diversity and identity affect parasitoid interactions and pest control, complementing the field results. The work proposed here will take research on parasitoid aphid control one step further, as it will provide a clearer understanding of how plant fertilization affects whole aphid-parasitoid food webs in both simple and complex landscapes, allowing for further improvements in natural pest control.
Our long term activities aim at a functional understanding of alpine plant life. Overall our research shifted gradually from studying resource acquisition (e.g. photosynthesis) toward resource investment and questions of developement. As with treeline, sink activity seems to be the major determinant of growth. A common misconception associated with alpine plant life finds its expression in the use of the terms 'stress' and 'limitation'. See the critique in: Körner C (1998) Alpine plants: stressed or adapted? In: Press MC, Scholes JD, Barker MG (eds.) Physiological Plant Ecology. Blackwell Science , 297-311. Ongoing experimental work: The influence of photoperiod on growth and development in high elevation taxa (Ph.D. by Franziska Keller in cooperation with the Dept. of Geography, University of Fribourg). We test, whether and which species are responsive to earlier snow melt. It appears there exists a suite of different sensitivities, suggesting biodiversity shifts. We also tested the influence of nutrient addition on high elevation pioneer plants and run a longer term project on the interactive effect on sheep tramplng, nitrogen deposition and warming as part of the Swiss National Project NFP 48. A Europe-wide assessment of ground temperatures in alpine grassland is part of ALPNET (see associated organisations). The assessment provides a basis for comparing biodiversity in alpine biota from 69 to 37 degree of northern latitude. (Nagy et al. (2003) Ecological Studies, Vol. 167. 577 p. Springer, Berlin). A synthesis of research in functional ecology of alpine plants over the past 100 years was published in 1999.
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
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is an important cereal grain which serves as major animal fodder crop as well as basis for malt beverages or staple food. Currently barley is ranked fourth in terms of quantity of cereal crops produced worldwide. In times of a constantly growing world population in conjunction with an unforeseeable climate change and groundwater depletion, the accumulation of knowledge concerning cereal growth and rate of yield gain is important. The Nordic Genetic Resource Center holds a major collection of barley mutants produced by irradiation or chemical treatment. One phenotypic group of barley varieties are dwarf mutants (erectoides, brachytic, semidwarf, uzu). They are characterized by a compact spike and high rate of yield while the straw is short and stiff, enhancing the lodging resistance of the plant. Obviously they are of applied interest, but they are also of scientific interest as virtually nothing is known about the genes behind the development of plant dwarfism. The aim of this project is to identify and isolate the genes carrying the mutations by using state of the art techniques for gene cloning at the Carlsberg Laboratory. The identified genes will be connected with the mutant phenotype to reveal the gene function in general. One or two genes will be overexpressed and the resulting recombinant proteins will be biochemically and structurally characterized. The insights how the mutation effects the protein will display the protein function in particular. Identified genes and their mutant alleles will be tested in the barley breeding program of the Carlsberg brewery.
Eine spätere Reife von Sonnenblumen nach Mitte September erhöht die Gefahr von Ernteverlusten durch Krankheitsbefall (vor allem Botrytis) und Vogelfraß. Da Sonnenblumen im Jugendstadium ausreichend frosthart sind, bietet eine frühere Aussaat die Möglichkeit, Sonnenblumen früher als bisher üblich zu ernten. Unter hiesigen Bedingungen ist allerdings die Jugendentwicklung von Sonnenblumen bei niedrigen Temperaturen nicht befriedigend. Ziel dieses Projektes ist deshalb, festzustellen, ob die genetische Basis vorhanden ist, um die Jugendentwicklung der Sonnenblume bei kühlen Temperaturen zu verbessern. Langfristig wird angestrebt, Sonnenblumen zu züchten, die zur selben Zeit wie Sommergetreide ausgesät werden können. Stand der Arbeiten: Erste Ergebnisse machen deutlich, dass ausreichend Variation in der Sonnenblume vorhanden ist, um eine Selektion auf eine schnellere Jugendentwicklung durchführen zu können. Die Selektion wird allerdings durch signifikante Genotyp-Umwelt-Interaktionen erschwert, die in derselben Größenordnung liegen wie die Varianz der Genotypen.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is grown worldwide and is one of the most important crops for human nutrition. Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) is a diploid relative of bread wheat and both have the A genome in common. The timing of flowering is of major importance for plants to optimally adjust their life cycle to diverse environments. QTL mapping studies indicated that flowering time in cereals is a complex trait, which is controlled by three different pathways: vernalization, photoperiod and earliness per se. In wheat, high-resolution genome-wide association mapping is now possible, because of the availability of a high density molecular marker chip. The main goal of the proposed project is to investigate the regulation of flowering time in wheat using a genome-wide association mapping approach based on a novel high-density SNP array. In particular, the project aims to (1) investigate the phenotypic variation of flowering time of bread wheat and Einkorn wheat in response to environmental cues in multilocation field trials, (2) study the effects of Ppd alleles on flowering time in a candidate 3 gene approach, (3) determine the genetic architecture of flowering time in a high-density genome-wide association mapping, and (4) investigate the plasticity of the genetic architecture of flowering time in wheat by a comparison between bread wheat and Einkorn wheat.
Evidence is compelling for a positive correlation between urbanisation and increment of allergic sensitisation and diseases. The reason for this association is not clear to date. Some data point to a pro-allergic effect of anthropogenic factors on susceptible individuals. Data analysing the impact of environmental - natural and anthropogenic - factors on the allergenicity of allergen carriers such as pollen grains are scarce, and if applicable only taken from in vitro experimental designs. This study will analyse one of the most common allergy inducers in northern Europe - the birch pollen. Under natural exposure conditions, birch pollen will be analysed with respect to their allergenicity. Within an interdisciplinary research team this study will evaluate the effect of natural (e.g. soil, climate, genetic background) and anthropogenic (e.g. traffic pollutants) factors on birch pollen in a holistic approach including analysis of allergen bioavailability, release of pollen associated lipid mediators from birch pollen grains, in vitro immunostimulatory activity and in vivo allergenic potential. These data collected in the time course of three years will significantly add to our understanding how urbanisation and climate change influence the allergenicity of birch pollen and will help us in the future to set up primary prevention studies.
Hochtemperaturbrennstoffzellen mit keramischem Festelektrolyt (SOFC: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) sind aufgrund ihres hohen Wirkungsgrades und ihrer Umweltvertraeglichkeit eine zukunftsweisende Alternative gegenueber konventioneller Energieerzeugung. Die Leistungsfaehigkeit und Lebensdauer der Einzelzellen sind dabei entscheidende Kriterien fuer die wirtschaftliche Nutzung von Brennstoffzellen. Bisherige Untersuchungen haben ergeben, dass es bei Langzeitbetrieb zu irreversiblen Veraenderungen in der Mikrostruktur der Anode kommt, die zu einer Senkung der Leistungsfaehigkeit fuehren. Je nach Belastung der Einzelzellen treten unterschiedliche Degradationsmechanismen auf. Ziel dieses Projektes ist die Entwicklung einer Anode, die aus mehreren Funktionsschichten besteht, um so die noetige Leistungsfaehigkeit und Langzeitstabilitaet zu liefern. Es soll ein Gradient in der Korngroesse, dem Nickelanteil und somit der Porositaet und der elektrischen Leitfaehigkeit erreicht werden, da die einzelnen Bereiche der Anodenstruktur unterschiedlichen Anforderungen genuegen muessen. So sind an der Grenzschicht Elektrolyt/Anode kleine Koerner erwuenscht, um eine moeglichst grosse Reaktionsflaeche zu erhalten. Wohingegen an der Grenzflaeche Anode/Interkonnektor ein hoher Anteil an grossen Nickelkoernern erforderlich ist, um einen guten elektrischen Kontakt und hohe Porositaet zu gewaehrleisten. Die optimale Zusammensetzung und Mikrostruktur der einzelnen Funktionsschichten soll durch systematische Belastungstests (elektrisch, chemisch, thermomechanisch) an verschiedenen homogenen Modellstrukturen, das sind Cermetproben aus Nickel- und YSZ-Teilchen mit definierter, homogener Zusammensetzung und Mikrostruktur, und durch die elektrochemische Charakterisierung von Einzelzellen mit entsprechenden homogenen Anodenstrukturen ermittelt werden. Vor und nach Durchfuehrung der Belastungstests ist eine umfassende Analyse der Zusammensetzung und Mikrostruktur der Modell- und Anodenstrukturen mittels Elektronenmikroskopie (REM, TEM, EDX, WDX) vorgesehen. Anhand der gewonnenen Ergebnisse soll ein Modell fuer die verschiedenen Verlust- und Degradationsmechanismen in der Anode entwickelt werden.
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