Südchina, insbes. die Provinz Guandong, ist eines der am dichtesten besiedelten Gebiete der Erde. Positive Konsequenz dieser Ballung ist eine äußerst dynamische Wirtschaftsentwicklung, aber gerade diese von subtropischem Monsunklima geprägte Region ist auch immer wieder Ausgangspunkt für sich schnell und zunehmend global ausbreitende epidemische Krankheiten wie zuletzt SARS. Mit der globalen Erwärmung einhergehende Klimaveränderungen könnten sich für diese Region insbesondere durch Veränderungen der Häufigkeit und Intensität tropischer Wirbelstürme, aber auch Änderungen der Niederschlagsmenge- und Intensität bemerkbar machen. Im Gegensatz zu den schon recht umfangreichen Datensätzen aus der Südchinesischen See (SCS) gibt es bisher jedoch nur sehr wenige terrestrische Paläoklimaarchive aus der Region, die Klimaveränderungen während des Holozäns, des Spätglazials oder Glazials hochauflösend dokumentieren. Wir haben deshalb einen an der nördlichen Küste der SCS gelegenen Maarsee ausgewählt, um über die Analyse von Proxydaten aus Seesedimenten solche Paläo-Klimavariationen zu untersuchen. Aus dem Sediment des Huguang-Maarsees wurden mittels Usinger-Präzisionsstechtechnik von einem Floss aus insgesamt 7 Sedimentsequenzen gewonnen, von denen die tiefste bis 57 m unter den Seeboden reicht. Die zeitliche Einstufung der Profile wurde mit Hilfe von 17 Radiokohlenstoff-Datierungen vorgenommen und ergab ein extrapoliertes Maximalalter von ca. 78.000 Jahren. Ein breites Spektrum aus sedimentologischen, geochemischen, paläo- und gesteinsmagnetischen sowie palynologischen Methoden kam sodann zum Einsatz, um die Paläo-Umweltbedingungen, die natürlich immer das entsprechende Klima widerspiegeln, während dieses Zeitraumes zu rekonstruieren. Überraschenderweise ergab sich ein von vielen bekannten Klimaprofilen der Nordhemisphäre (insbes. des Atlantikraumes, aber auch mariner Kerne aus dem Indik und Südostasien) abweichendes Muster. Im Gegensatz zu dem bekannten Grundmuster eines vergleichsweise stabilen Klimas während des Holozäns und stärkerer Schwankungen während des letzten Glazials weisen die Daten aus dem Huguang-Maarsee für das letzte Glazial im Zeitraum zwischen 15.000 und 40.000 Jahren auf relativ stabile Umweltbedingungen hin. Die älteren Bereiche zwischen 40.000 und ca. 78.000 Jahren haben durch Eintrag von umgelagertem Torf eine eher lokale Komponente und sind somit für den regionalen und globalen Vergleich ungeeignet. Das Holozän hingegen zeichnet sich durch hohe Schwankungsamplituden vieler Proxydaten (Karbonatgehalt, magnetische Suszeptibilität, organischer Kohlenstoff, Trockendichte, gesteinsmagnetische Parameter, Redox-Verhältnisse) aus, die auf ein recht variables Klima hinweisen. Besonders interessant ist die Übergangsphase vom Glazial zum Holozän, die bei etwa 15.000 Jahren vor heute in etwa zeitgleich mit dem beobachteten stärksten Meeresspiegelanstieg der Südchinesischen See einsetzt und eine abrupte Intensitätszunahme des Sommermonsuns anzeigt
South Tirol is an important region for apple production in Europe. The mild climate allows a high productivity but during the last decades, winter damage on apple trees was observed in 3 to 4 year intervals at numerous sites in South Tirol. This winter damage in apple orchards is economically relevant as e.g. in season 2004/2005 costs of more than 6 Mio Euros were caused. There are several indications that the observed dieback of crown parts or even trees was related to frost drought. The situation is comparable to that of trees at the timberline, where winter damage was analysed in previous projects. Based on our experience with trees growing at the alpine timberline, we hypothesize that winter damage in South Tirol apple orchards is strongly influenced by the duration of water uptake blockages, the extent of transpirational water losses, the trees water storage capacity as well as the climatic conditions in autumn. We expect damage in living tissues as well as xylem embolism to cause prolonged drought stress in spring. In the proposed project, these aspects will be analysed and avoidance strategies will be developed. In field measurements at five apple orchards in South Tirol, climatic conditions and effects on tree water relations (water potential, hydraulic conductivity, water storage, transpiration) as well as winter injury will be quantified, and in experimental approaches important parameters will be analysed in detail. These data will be compared with hydraulic characteristics (vulnerability to embolism, drought resistance of living tissues, water storage capacity) of studied varieties. In consequence, numerous varieties will be screened for resistance to frost drought, whereby hydraulic as well as related anatomical parameters will be analysed to develop a valuable screening protocol for variety selection. Cultivation techniques to avoid winter damage will also be tested in thi u.s.w.
In the framework of the international ANtarctic DRILLing program (ANDRILL) the 1138 m deep core borehole SMS was drilled in the Southern McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea). The investigations of Antarctic Neogene ice sheet variations, of long-term climate evolutions and of the tectonic history of McMurdo Sound represent the main project aims. One part of the German participation in the ANDRILL project is the extensive geophysical logging of the SMS borehole. It delivers a main basis for answering a lot of questions in the scope of the whole project consisting of about 100 scientists. Interpreting the downhole logging data permits among other things to establish a complete lithological log, to characterize the drilled sediments petrophysically, to determine sedimentary structures and to get evidence about palaeoclimatic conditions during up to 19 Mio years. Seismic experiments in the borehole allow linking detailed geological information with shipborne seismic sections. This way, local results can be transformed into spatial information thus providing an important contribution to the understanding of the tectonic structure of the Ross Sea.
Tephra layers in isce cores from Antarctica help to constrain corrleations between distant deep ice cores and represent important time markers in the case they can be related to an eruption of known age. These time markers can be combined with existing chemo-stratigraphic parameters such as stratigraphy based on ä18O and äD/H. To that end, we plan to determine major and trace element compositions, grain size and morphologxy of tephra layers from the deep ice cores EPICA-Dronning Maud Land and Dome Fuji (Dronning Maud Land). This data will be used for correlations to other ice cores from Marie Byrd Land (West Antarctica), Vostok and Dome C (Wilkes Land). Such data will also allow the identification of potential source areas for the tephra, e.g.volcanic regions in Antarctica (Ross Sea Rift, Marie Bird Land, South Shetland Islands) as well as New Zealand, Patagonia and the volcanic ozean islands in the southern oceans.
The Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna is the most conspicuous macro-benthic species in the intertidal and splash zone of the maritime Antarctic. Larval recruitment in this non-homing limpet takes place in the subtidal, and part of the population then migrates to the intertidal in the beginning of spring. The migratory limpets belong to an ecomorph with a higher and heavier shell (left picture, limpets at the intertidal zone), whereas shells of permanently subtidal limpets are lighter and flatter (right picture, taken at the subtidal). The two ecomorphs can be found in every location along the peninsulas of the South Shetlands. We are interested in the functional biodiversity of the two Nacella ecomorphs at Jubany station/Dallmann laboratory on King George Island, and investigate the behavioural and ecophysiological differences in-situ, and following exposure to air/emersion and to hypoxia. A special interest is on the expression and function of hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) in the limpet model. This transcription factor is a universal master regulator of hypoxic metabolism and centrally involved in the metabolic regulation of cells and tissues under oxygen shortage. In the frames of the project we have obtained a first molluscan HIF-1-alpha sequence which, if compared to C. elegans and crustacean genes indicates rather high sequence variability to exist between invertebrates, in contrast to low variability among vertebrate genes.
Deforestation in neotropical montane rain forests does not only lead to loss of biodiversity, but also to destruction of the socioeconomic basis for livelihood. The project aims at building-up silvicultural and ecological knowledge needed for sustainable management of different forest resources (natural and managed forests, abandoned land) in South Ecuador. The activities consider three complementary research sections: i) management of forest reproductive material of native species; ii) reforestation of different types of abandoned pastures with native species; iii) management of natural forests and potential seed sources. The investigations encompass activities on different scales ranging from seeds, individual trees, forest stands, to ecosystems. In the new phase we will deepen our integrative research in undisturbed und disturbed forest ecosystems with different degrees of degradation. New investigations will focus on clarifying the potential of direct seeding as alternative to planting for restoration of degraded ecosystems and on propagation of woody NTFP crops as supplemental utilisation option. The still existing gaps in the knowledge of the silvicultural bases for sustainable forest ecosystem management will be closed and all results will be consolidated towards regional concepts that contribute to the maintenance of the natural forest resources and its biodiversity, reduced deforestation, sustainable development of the forestry sector, and ensurance of the socio-economic needs of the people.
Identification the risks and benefits associated with the use of untreated wastewater in urban and peri-urban fodder and vegetable cropping systems in India and Pakistan, with a particular focus on livelihoods, livestock and food safety. The project activities are in Hyderabad (India) and Faisalabad (Pakistan). Main task is the creation of a project GIS database and field mapping.
The Mediterranean Partner Countries of the European Union are confronted with a rapidly increasing energy demand caused by a growing population especially in cities and increasing living standards. The region has a great potential for the use of renewable energies, notably solar energy due to its high level of solar radiation. However, only a small variety of solar thermal technologies is used in the region. The state of technology and the political support mechanisms vary strongly across the region and in relation to the EU countries, where new solar thermal applications for water and space heating as well as cooling are developed. SOLATERM is an EU-funded project that brings together research institutions, energy agencies, authorities and enterprises from EU and the Southern Mediterranean partners. The project consortium with partners from eight Southern Mediterranean and five EU countries has the aim of promoting the application of a new generation of solar thermal systems in the Mediterranean partner countries. SOLATERM combines the technological know-how of EU research institutions with the specific experiences and knowledge of the Southern Mediterranean partners. The EU partners provide important experiences in developing a successful political framework to boost the use of renewable energy.
The biomass and diversity of terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems is almost entirely made up of bryophytes and lichens. As highly specialized symbiotic systems of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria lichens are especially sensitive to rapid climatic changes. Lichen fungi depend critically on the availability and ecological performance of suitable algal strains and genotypes in their environment. Up to now, the genetic diversity and geographical differentiation of Antarctic green algal lichen photobionts has not been studied in detail and little is known about the photobiont selectivity of green algal lichens. Based on DNA-sequences, we study the genetic diversity and structure of Antarctic populations of trebouxioid lichen photobionts and mycobionts and compare them with populations from other continents. As a model system, the photobiont diversity in different haplotypes of the macrolichen Cetraria aculeata is examined and compared to the genetic diversity of Cetraria-mycobionts and the total organismal stand diversity. We are especially interested in the question, how strongly Antarctic populations of C. aculeata select for certain photobiont strains and whether Antarctic photobiont populations are genetically isolated from those of other continents. First results indicate reduced levels of genetic diversity in Antarctic mycobiont and photobiont populations. The photobiont of Cetraria aculeata belongs to the Trebouxia jamesii group. With the exception of a few rare haplotypes, there seem to be no specifically Antarctic haplotypes. Most notably, Antarctic photobiont haplotypes are closely related to or even identical with arctic haplotypes, while temperate populations of Cetraria aculeata associate with genetically different photobionts. Although C. aculeata is usually sterile and propagates by thallus fragments that contain both symbionts, the mycobiont displays a different phylogeographic pattern with northern and southern hemispheric haplotypes. This indicates habitat-specific association of mycobionts with photobionts.
Ziel ist es, Kenntnisse über die Wirbeltierfauna und deren Wandel im Holozän insbesondere in der Mecklenburger Bucht zu erlangen. Ein Schwerpunkt dabei betrifft die Auswirkungen der Littorina-Transgression, in deren Verlauf - etwas zwischen 6700 und 6400 calBC - dieses Gebiet unter marinen Einfluss geriet. Die vor allen auf heute submarinen steinzeitlichen Siedlungsplätzen gefundenen Tierknochen bewerten nach Artenzusammensetzung und Artenhäufigkeit den klimatischen Wandel mit seinen Auswirkungen auf Vegetation und Landschaft.
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