Im Jahr 1971 wurden die ersten Naturwaldzellen in Nordrhein-Westfalen ausgewiesen: Sie sollen "Urwälder" von morgen werden. Etwa 80 Prozent der vom Aussterben bedrohten Tier- und Pflanzenarten im Wald sind auf Tot- und Altholz angewiesen. In der sich selbst überlassenen Naturwaldzelle wo alles absterbende und abgestorbene Holz im Wald verbleibt, boomt ihre Populationsdichte. In Naturwaldzellen sind alle Handlungen verboten, die zu einer Zerstörung, Beschädigung oder Veränderung des geschützten Gebietes oder seiner Bestandteile oder zu einer nachhaltigen Störung führen können.
Das Projekt "Charakterisierung der mit Natriumpyrophosphat löslichen organischen Bodensusbstanz mittels FT-IR" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e.V., Institut für Bodenlandschaftsforschung durchgeführt. Zusammensetzung und Menge der organischen Bodensubstanz (OBS) werden durch die Landnutzungsform beeinflußt. Die OBS läßt sich nach ihrer Abbaubarkeit und nach ihrer Löslichkeit in verschiedene Pools einteilen. So kann die wasserlösliche organische Bodensubstanz (DOM) als Maßzahl für die abbaubare OBS herangezogen werden. Mit Natriumpyrophosphat-Lösung als Extraktionsmittel läßt sich ein weit größerer Anteil der OBS erfassen, da der stabilisierende Bindungsfaktor zwischen OBS und Bodenmineralen entfernt wird. Extrahiert man zuerst mit Wasser und anschließend mit Natriumpyrophosphat-Lösung, erhält man im letzten Schritt den schwer abbaubaren OBS-Anteil. Über die funktionelle Zusammensetzung der organischen Substanz dieser Pools und deren Abhängigkeit von Landnutzungsformen ist relativ wenig bekannt. Ziel der geplanten Untersuchung ist es, den Pool der löslichen abbaubaren und schwer abbaubaren OBS zu quantifizieren und deren funktionelle Zusammensetzung mittels FT-IR Spektroskopie zu erfassen. Die so gewonnenen Daten sollen der Validierung von Soil Organic Matter Turnover modellen (z.B. Roth 23.6) dienen und die im Modell berechneten Pools um einen qualitativen Term ergänzen. In Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Arbeitsgruppen sollen im DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm 1090: ;Böden als Quelle und Senke für CO2 die Pools der löslichen abbaubaren und schwer schwer löslichen, schwer abbaubaren organischen Bodensubstanz (OBS) quantifiziert, die funktionelle Zusammensetzung dieser Pools mittels FT-IR Spektroskopie erfasst und Abbaubarkeit der erhaltenen Extrakte überprüft werden, um Mechanismen, die zur Stabilisierung der OBS führen, aufzuklären.
Das Projekt "Clean Sky Technology Eco Design (Clean Sky ECO)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH durchgeführt. The Eco-Design ITD (ED-ITD) gathers and structures from one side activities concerned specifically with development of new material and process technologies and demonstration on airframe and rotorcraft related parts stressing the ecolonomic aspects of such new technologies; from the other side, activities related to the All Electrical Aircraft concept related to small aircraft. ED-ITD is directly focused on the last ACARE goal: 'To make substantial progress in reducing the environmental impact of the manufacture, maintenance and disposal of aircraft and related products'. Reduction of environmental impacts during out of operation phases of the aircraft lifecycle can be estimated to around 20 % reduction of the total amount of the CO2 emitted by all the processes (direct emissions and indirect emissions i.e. produced when producing the energy) and 15 % of the total amount of the energy used by all the processes. In addition, expected benefit brought by the All Electric Aircraft concept to be highlighted through the conceptual aircraft defined in the vehicle ITDs is estimated to around 2% fuel consumption reduction due to mass benefits and better energy management. The status of the global fleet in the year 2000 constitutes the baseline against which achievements will be assessed. Progress toward these goals will result not only from ED internal activities but also from the collaboration with the relevant cross-cutting activities in GRA , GRC, SFWA (business jet platform) and SGO (electrical systems).
Das Projekt "B 2.3: Transport of agrochemicals in a watershed in Northern Thailand - Phase 3" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre, Fachgebiet Biogeophysik durchgeführt. Land use changes of the last decades in the mountainous regions of Northern Thailand have been accompanied by an increased input of agrochemicals, which might be transferred to rivers by surface and/or subsurface flow. Where the river water is used for household consumption, irrigation and other purposes, agrochemical losses pose a serious risk to the environment and food safety. In the first and the second phase, subproject B2 collected data on and gained knowledge of the vertical and lateral transport processes that govern the environmental fate of selected agrochemicals at the plot and the hillslope scale (Ciglasch et al., 2005; Kahl et al., 2006). In the third phase, B2.3 will turn from the hillslope to the watershed scale. For simulation of water flow and pesticide transport the SWAT model (Neitsch et al., 2002b) will be adapted and used. The study area will be the Mae Sa watershed (138 km2), which includes the Mae Sa Noi subcatchment where B2 carried out detailed investigations during the last two phases. The specific focus of the subproject will be the parameterization and calibration of the SWAT model and its integration into the model network of the SFB. The SFB database has been established and can be used for model parameterization. In addition, high-quality geo-data are available from the Geoinformatic and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) in Chiang Mai. For model calibration, discharge measurements are available for the Mae Sa Noi subcatchment (12 km2) and for the neighboring Mae Nai subcatchment (18 km2). To collect data on the Mae Sa watershed discharge, at the very beginning of the third phase gauging stations will be established in a midstream position and at the outlet of the watershed. Pesticide fluxes will be measured at each gauging station as well as in the Mae Sa Noi subcatchment, where B2.2 has operated two flumes equipped with automatic discharge-proportional water samplers since 2004. Rainfall distribution and intensity will be monitored with a net of automatic rain gauges. Hydrograph separation will be performed using soil and river temperatures (Kobayashi et al., 1999). Within the watershed temperature loggers will be installed at different soil depths to measure the temperature of the different discharge components. Already at the beginning of the second year of the third phase we will start to couple the SWAT model with land use and farm household models of the SFB and to use the model to assess the effect of land use and land management changes on the loss of pesticides to surface waters.
Das Projekt "Element cycles in mountain regions under various land use" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bayreuth, Fachgruppe Geowissenschaften, Bayreuther Zentrum für Ökologie und Umweltforschung (BayCEER), Lehrstuhl für Agrarökosystemforschung durchgeführt. Research question: What is the role of agricultural land use in changes of nutrient cycles and losses dependingon surface slope and climate? Approach: Annual balance of main nutrients for 3-4 main agricultural farms based on fertilizer input, partitioning of nutrients in above and below ground plant parts, output with harvest, losses with DOM and erosion (in collaboration with other TP). The balances will be done depending on agricultural practices in Eger and Haean Catchment and will be compared with adjacent grassland and forest. Obtained element cycles will be upscaled from farm area to the level of both catchments basins depending on specific land use, surface slope and climate. Research question: Can we reconstruct previous erosion and nutrient losses and separate them under forest and under agricultural use? Approach: Undisturbed sediment cores (7 for Eger and 7 for Haean) will be taken from the lakes and soils of landscapes subordinated to agricultural fields. Three radiocarbon data of wood particles at increasing depth for each sediment core will be used as references. The age of the bottom sediment layer should be less than 1000 years. The total content of C, N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Si will be analyzed in individual laminae or sediment layers. Conclusions will be drawn based on the thickness of the laminae, their elements content and the ratio between nutrients and Si. The conclusions will be proven by 13C (vegetation change) and 15N (N input by fertilizers) of individual laminae. Research question: What are the best management practices for sloping uplands? Approach: Measured element cycles and losses under various agriculture practice will be analysed and practices with the least nutrient losses and erosion will be selected. The best management practices for landscapes with different slopes will be elaborated.
Das Projekt "B 2: Lateral water flow and transport of agrochemicals - Phase 1" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre durchgeführt. The project aims at developing a model of the dynamics of agrochemicals (fertilisers, pesticides) and selected heavy metals on a regional scale as a function of cropping intensity in the highland areas of Northern Thailand. The model shall predict the effects of cropping intensity on mobility and leaching of agrochemicals in the agriculturally used system itself but also on the chemical status of neighbouring ecosystems including downstream areas. The methods for measuring and estimating the fluxes of agrochemicals in soils will be adapted to the conditions of the soils and sites in Northern Thailand. Fluxes of agrochemicals will be measured in fruit tree orchards on the experimental sites established together with projects B1, C1 and D1. Also, processes governing the dynamics of agrochemicals will be studied. The objectives for the first phase are as follows: - To identify suitable study sites - To establish the methods for measuring the fluxes of agrochemicals in the study sites - To adopt the analytical procedures for pesticides - To identify and parametrise the processes governing the mobility of agrochemicals - To identify the major chemical transformation processes for agrochemicals in the soils of the project area - To establish models of the fate of agrochemicals an the plot scale. Dynamics of agrochemicals include processes of mobilisation/immobilisation, degradation and transport. Both, experiments and field inventories are needed to elucidate the complex interaction of the various processes. Field measurements of the fluxes of nutrient elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu), pesticides and some heavy metals will be conducted at different regional scales (plot, agricultural system, small catchment, region). Laboratory and field experiments consider chemical, physicochemical and biological processes. Biological processes and degradation of pesticides will not be considered in the first phase of the project, however, they should be included later on. The project as a whole is broken down into three essential parts, which consecutively follow each other. The subproject is methods- and processes-orientated. Methods, which were developed in Hohenheim to quantify the fluxes of chemicals in soils have to be adapted to meet the requirements of the specific conditions in the study area. Recently, these methods are already under development in tropical environments (Vietnam, Costa Rica). After adaptation the methods will be used to yield flux data on the plot scale. These data are needed to help deciding which of the hypothesised processes are of major importance for modelling the dynamics of agrochemicals. The final outcome of this project phase are models of the fate of agrochemicals as a function of management intensity on the plot scale.
Das Projekt "Impact of transgenic crops on fertility of soils with different management history" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau Deutschland e.V. durchgeführt. What impact does transgenic maize have on soil fertility? Among the factors that determine soil fertility is the diversity of the bacteria living in it. This is in turn affected by the form of agriculture practiced on the land. What role do transgenic plants play in this interaction? Background Soil fertility is the product of the interactions between the parental geological material from which the soil originated, the climate and colonization by soil organisms. Soil organisms and their diversity play a major role in soil fertility, and these factors can be affected by the way the soil is managed. The type of farming, i.e. how fertilizers and pesticides are used, has a major impact on the fertility of the soil. It is known that the complex interaction of bacterial diversity and other soil properties regulates the efficacy of plant resistance. But little is known about how transgenic plants affect soil fertility. Objectives The project will investigate selected soil processes as indicators for how transgenic maize may possibly alter soil fertility. The intention is in particular to establish whether the soil is better able to cope with such effects if it contains a great diversity of soil bacteria. Methods Transgenic maize will be planted in climate chambers containing soils managed in different ways. The soil needed for these trials originates from open field trials that have been used for decades to compare various forms of organic and conventional farming. These soils differ, for example, in the way they have been treated with pesticides and fertilizers and thus also with respect to their diversity of bacteria. The trial with transgenic maize will measure various parameters: the number of soil bacteria and the diversity of their species, the quantity of a small number of selected nutrients and the decomposition of harvest residues. It will be possible to conclude from this work how transgenic plants affect soil fertility. Significance The project will create an important basis for developing risk assessments that incorporate the effects of transgenic plants on soil fertility.
Das Projekt "Forest management and habitat structure - influences on the network of song birds, vectors and blood parasites" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Forstzoologisches Institut, Professur für Wildtierökologie und Wildtiermanagement durchgeführt. Forest structure is altered by humans for long times (Bramanti et al. 2009). The long lasting modification of forests pursuant to human demands modified the living conditions for birds as well as for many other animals. This included changes in resource availability (e.g., food, foraging, nesting sites) and changes of interspecific interactions, e.g., parasitism and predation (Knoke et al. 2009; Ellis et al. 2012). Also species compositions and the survivability of populations and even species are affected. The loss of foraging sites and suitable places for reproduction, the limitation of mobility due to fragmented habitats and the disturbances by humans itself may lead to more stressed individuals and less optimal living conditions. In certain cases species are not able to deal with the modified requirements and their populations will shrink and even vanish. Depending on the intensity of management and the remaining forest structure, biodiversity is more or less endangered. Especially in systems of two or more strongly connected taxa changing conditions that affect at least one part may subsequently affect the other, too. One system of interspecific communities that recently attracted the attention of biologists includes birds, blood parasites (haemosporidians) and their transmitting vectors. For instance, avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) represents the reason for extreme declines in the avifauna of Hawaii since the introduction of respective vectors (e.g. Culicidae) during the 20th century (van Riper et al. 1986, Woodworth et al. 2005). With the current knowledge of this topic we are not able to predict if such incidences could also occur in Germany. All in all, different management strategies and intensity of forest management may influence the network of birds, vectors and blood parasites and change biodiversity. To elucidate this ecological complex, and to understand the interactions of the triad of songbirds as vertebrate hosts, dipteran vectors and haemosporidians within changing local conditions, I intend to collect data on the three taxa in differently managed forest areas, the given forest structure and the climatic conditions. I will try to explain the role of abiotic factors on infection dynamics, in detail the role of forest management intensity. Data acquisition takes place at three spatially divided locations: inside the Biodiversity Exploratory Schwäbische Alb, at the Mooswald in Freiburg, and inside the Schwarzwald.
Das Projekt "Teilprojekt 2: Akustik" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Stiftung Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung e.V. in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (AWI) durchgeführt. Diel vertical migration and geographical distribution of our target organism krill (Euphausia superba, E. crystallorophias) but also other species e.g. myctophids, copepods (Calanus propinquus, Rhincalanus gigas), and other zooplankter (salps, pteropods, chaetognaths, amphipods) are detected by means of a four-split beam acoustic array (38, 72, 120, 200 kHz). Our major questions are: Do organisms migrate daily in relation to the light field, feeding conditions and/or to the predator field? Do populations of different species and/or different developmental stages of one species segregate in certain environmental conditions or different times of the year? How does the ocean current system influence the geographical distribution of zooplankton or krill populations? Is the geographical distribution of species subject to change and if so, what are the possible causes?
Das Projekt "Impacts of well and Human Intrusion on Khulan (Wild Ass) and other threatened species in the Gobi Desert" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Freiburg, Forstzoologisches Institut, Professur für Wildtierökologie und Wildtiermanagement durchgeführt. The importance of the Gobi environment to the conservation of Khulan and other threatened wildlife and to the future of the pastoral livestock production is undeniable. At the present time, Mongolia is anticipating development of a commercialized agricultural sector that could easily cause greater intrusion of human activities in the Gobi environment than current pasto-ral livestock production. Development of other sectors of the Mongolian economy, especially mining and road construction, could also impact environmental security in general and habitat needs of the khulan and associated wildlife in the Gobi environment in particular. Work is required to clarify to what extent (if any) the wild ass is affected or competes with domestic livestock and other human intrusions, and to what degree. On the basis of these findings, ma-nagement steps for both khulan protection and rural livelihood/water resources development can be developed.