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The forests of the Exploratories differ in respect to regeneration method employed, tree species mixture, developmental phase, age structure, layering and patchiness. The managed forests of the Exploratories cover the entire spectrum from planted, even-aged, single-layered, monoculture stands of conifers (spruce or pine) via naturally regenerated, even-aged, single or double layered monoculture stands of broadleaves (beech or oak) of various developmental phases to even-aged man-made mixed forests and uneven-aged beech forests. Additionally, pure and mixed forests dominated by European beech which have been unmanaged since some decades are studied.


Within the framework of the exploratories, this project serves to provide quantitative data for all experimental plots on 1) attributes of forest structure, 2) changes in attributes of forest structure due to forest management and natural processes, 3) stand development and productivity, 4) type and magnitude of forest management interventions, 5) deadwood amount and composition, and 6) abundance of tree microhabitats. This information may serve as explanatory variables for all teams working on functional biodiversity at the level of specific species, functional groups or multidiversity.

Additionally, we will further develop existing approaches of quantifying forest management intensity in order to analyse the relationship between forest structure and land-use intensity.


Our work is strongly based on inventories. That is, we locate, count and measure the objects of interest, be it living trees, deadwood items or habitats. Repeated inventories serve to quantify temporal changes, like tree growth or deadwood accumulation. Additionally, we rely on terrestrial laser scanning.


In the previous phase (4th phase, 2014 – 2017) we:

  • Completed and processed the initial large trees inventory (2nd and 3rd phase)
  • Linked terrestrial and airborne data
  • Conducted the repeated large trees inventory (70453 trees)
  • Inventoried small trees (dbh < 7 cm, 97177 trees)
  • Measured browsing damage (14990 trees)
  • Provided data on forest characteristics, stand structure and LUI
  • Quantified forest growth, tree harvests and other causes of tree mortality

In this phase (5th phase, 2017 – 2020) we will:

  • Survey deadwood items
  • Survey tree microhabitats
  • Monitor browsing damage
  • Analyse temporal changes in stand structure and land-use intensity

Doc
Menge J. H., Magdon P., Wöllauer S., Ehbrecht M. (2023): Impacts of forest management on stand and landscape-level microclimate heterogeneity of European beech forests. Landscape Ecology 38, 903–917. doi: 10.1007/s10980-023-01596-z
More information:  doi.org
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Seidel D., Ammer C. (2023): Towards a causal understanding of the relationship between structural complexity, productivity, and adaptability of forests based on principles of thermodynamics. Forest Ecology and Management 544, 121238. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121238
More information:  doi.org
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Zeller L., Baumann C., Gonin P., Heidrich L., Keye C., Konrad F., Larrieu L., Meyer P., Sennhenn-Reulen H., Müller J., Schall P., Ammer C. (2022): Index of biodiversity potential (IBP) versus direct species monitoring in temperate forests. Ecological Indicators 136: 108692. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108692
More information:  doi.org
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Willim K., Ammer K., Seidel D., Annighöfer P., Schmucker J., Schall P., Ehbrecht M. (2022): Short-term dynamics of structural complexity in differently managed and unmanaged European beech forests. Trees, Forests and People 8, 100231. doi: 10.1016/j.tfp.2022.100231
More information:  doi.org
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Bae S., Heidrich L., Levick S. R., Gossner M. M., Seibold S., Weisser W. W., Magdon P., Serebryanyk A., Bässler C., Schäfer D., Schulze E.-D., Doerfler I., Müller J., Jung K., Heurich M., Fischer M., Roth N., Schall P., Boch S., Wöllauer S., Renner S. C., Müller J. (2021): Dispersal ability, trophic position and body size mediate species turnover processes: Insights from a multi‐taxa and multi‐scale approach. Diversity and Distributions 27 (3), 439-453. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13204
More information:  doi.org
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Seidel D., Stiers M., Ehbrecht M., Werning M., Annighöfer P. (2021): On the structural complexity of central European agroforestry systems: a quantitative assessment using terrestrial laser scanning in single-scan mode. Agroforestry systems 95, 669–685. doi: 10.1007/s10457-021-00620-y
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Modelling the effects of forest management on landscape-level microclimate heterogeneity in European beech forests based on airborne laser scanning data (ALS)
Menge J. H. (2021): Modelling the effects of forest management on landscape-level microclimate heterogeneity in European beech forests based on airborne laser scanning data (ALS). Master thesis, University Göttingen
Doc
Die Heterogenität der Bestände ist der Schlüssel für die biologische Vielfalt in bewirtschafteten Buchenwäldern, stellt aber den Wert unbewirtschafteter Wälder nicht in Frage: Antwort auf Bruun und Heilmann-Clausen (2021)
Schall P., Heinrichs S., Ammer C., Ayasse M., Boch S., Buscot F., Fischer M., Goldmann K., Overmann J., Schulze E.-D., Sikorski J., Weisser W. W., Wubet T., Gossner M. M. (2021): Among stand heterogeneity is key for biodiversity in managed beech forests but does not question the value of unmanaged forests: Response to Bruun and Heilmann-Clausen (2021). Journal of Applied Ecology 58 (9), 1817-1826. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13959
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Einfluss der Baumartenmischung auf die Komplexität der Bestandesstruktur
Juchheim J., Ehbrecht M., Schall P., Ammer C., Seidel D. (2020): Effect of tree species mixing on stand structural complexity. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research 93 (1), 75–83. doi: 10.1093/forestry/cpz046
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Kann die Multitaxa-Biodiversität in europäischen Buchenwaldlandschaften durch die Kombination verschiedener Managementsysteme erhöht werden?
Schall P., Heinrichs S., Ammer C., Ayasse M., Boch S., Buscot F., Fischer M., Goldmann K., Overmann J., Schulze E.-D., Sikorski J., Weisser W. W., Wubet T., Gossner M. M. (2020): Can multi‐taxa diversity in European beech forest landscapes be increased by combining different management systems? Journal of Applied Ecology 57 (7), 1363-1375. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13635
More information:  doi.org
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Bestimmung der structurellen Bestandeskomplexität aus luftgestützen Laserscanningdaten- was sagt sie uns über den Wald?
Seidel D., Annighöfer P., Ehbrecht M., Magdon P., Wöllauer S., Ammer C. (2020): Deriving stand structural complexity from airborne laser scanning data - What does it tell us about a forest? Remote Sensing 12, 1854. doi: 10.3390/rs12111854
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Dynamics of three-dimensional forest structure and canopy openness in European beech forests
Dynamik von dreidimensionaler Waldstruktur und Kronenbeschirmung in europäischen Buchenwäldern
Schmucker J. (2020): Dynamics of three-dimensional forest structure and canopy openness in European beech forests. Master thesis, University Göttingen
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Annahmen und Ergebnisse zur Biodiversität im Wirtschafts- wald – Neues aus der Biodiversitätsforschung
Heinrichs S., Schall P., Ammer C., Fischer M., Gossner M. (2020): Annahmen und Ergebnisse zur Biodiversität im Wirtschaftswald – Neues aus der Biodiversitätsforschung. WSL-Berichte 100: 15-29.
More information:  www.wsl.ch
Doc
Genaue Baumartenkartierung aus hochauflösenden UAV-basierten RGB-Bildern, ermöglicht durch neuronale Netzwerke
Schiefer F., Kattenborn T., Frick A., Frey J., Schall P., Koch B., Schmidtlein S. (2020): Mapping forest tree species in high resolution UAV-based RGB-imagery by means of convolutional neural networks. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 170, 205-215. doi: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2020.10.015
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Eignung des IBP (L’Indice de Biodiversité Potentielle) zur Abschätzung der Biodiversität in Wäldern – Eine empirische Studie anhand einer Erhebung in bewirtschafteten Wäldern in der Schwäbischen Alb
Eignung des IBP (L’Indice de Biodiversité Potentielle) zur Abschätzung der Biodiversität in Wäldern - Eine empirische Studie anhand einer Erhebung in bewirtschafteten Wäldern in der Schwäbischen Alb
Konrad F. (2020): Eignung des IBP (L’Indice de Biodiversité Potentielle) zur Abschätzung der Biodiversität in Wäldern - Eine empirische Studie anhand einer Erhebung in bewirtschafteten Wäldern in der Schwäbischen Alb. Bachelorarbeit, Universität Göttingen
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Eignung des IBP (L’Indice de Biodiversité Potentielle) zur Abschätzung der Biodiversität in Wäldern. Eine Fallstudie auf Flächen der Biodiversitäts-Exploratorien in der Region Schorfheide-Chorin
Baumann C. (2020): Eignung des IBP (L’Indice de Biodiversité Potentielle) zur Abschätzung der Biodiversität in Wäldern. Eine Fallstudie auf Flächen der Biodiversitäts-Exploratorien in der Region Schorfheide-Chorin. Bachelorarbeit, Universität Göttingen
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Kukunda C. B., Beckschäfer P., Magdon P., Schall P., Wirth C., Kleinn C. (2019): Scale-guided mapping of forest stand structural heterogeneity from airborne LiDAR. Ecological indicators 102, 410-425. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.02.056
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Graf W., Kleinn C., Schall P., Nauss T., Detsch T., Magdon P. (2019): Analyzing the relationship between historic canopy dynamics and current plant species diversity in the herb layer of temperate forests using long-term Landsat time series. Remote Sensing of Environment 232, 111305. doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2019.111305
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Ehbrecht M., Schall P., Ammer C., Fischer M., Seidel D. (2019): Effects of structural heterogeneity on the diurnal temperature range in temperate forest ecosystems. Forest Ecology and Management 432, 860-867. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.008
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Wildausschluss beeinflusst Strauchvegetation stärker als Krautvegetation in 147 Waldflächen dreier deutscher Regionen
Schäfer D., Prati D., Schall P., Ammer C., Fischer M. (2019): Exclusion of large herbivores affects understorey shrub vegetation more than herb vegetation across 147 forest sites in three German regions. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0218741. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218741
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Mischungen unterschiedlicher Reinbestände auf Landschaftsebene sind effektiver für die Biodiversität von Gefäßpflanzen, Moosen und Flechten als Mischbestände
Heinrichs S., Ammer C., Mund M., Boch S., Budde S., Fischer M., Müller J., Schöning I., Schulze E.-D., Schmidt W., Weckesser M., Schall P. (2019): Landscape-Scale Mixtures of Tree Species are More Effective than Stand-Scale Mixtures for Biodiversity of Vascular Plants, Bryophytes and Lichens. Forests 10 (1), 73. doi: 10.3390/f10010073
More information:  doi.org
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Dorji Y., Annighöfer P., Ammer C. Seidel D. (2019): Response of Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Trees to Competition—New Insights from Using Fractal Analysis. Remote Sensing 11 (22), 2656. doi: 10.3390/rs11222656
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Die Auswirkungen bestandesweiser und einzelbaumweiser Waldbewirtschaftung auf die regionale Artenvielfalt mehrerer Taxa in europäischen Buchenwäldern
Schall P., Gossner M. M., Heinrichs S., Fischer M., Boch S., Prati D., Jung K., Baumgartner V., Blaser S., Böhm S., Buscot F., Daniel R., Goldmann K., Kaiser K., Kahl T., Lange M., Müller J., Overmann J., Renner S., Schulze E.-D., Sikorski J., Tschapka M., Türke M., Weisser W. W., Wemheuer B., Wubet T., Ammer C. (2018): The impact of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on regional biodiversity of multiple taxa in European beech forests. Journal of Applied Ecology 55 (1), 267–278. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12950
More information:  doi.org
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Beziehungen zwischen Waldbewirtschaftung, Bestandsstruktur und Produktivität in verschiedenen mitteleuropäischen Wäldern
Schall P., Schulze E.-D., Fischer M., Ayasse M., Ammer C. (2018): Relations between forest management, stand structure and productivity across different types of Central European forests. Basic and Applied Ecology 32, 39-52. doi: 10.1016/j.baae.2018.02.007
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Eine holistischer Ansatz zur Bestimmung der strukturellen Komplexität von Bäumen
Seidel D. (2018): A holistic approach to determine tree structural complexity based on laser scanning data and fractal analysis. Ecology and Evolution 8 (1), 128–134. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3661. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3661
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Fraktale analyse von Stammfußkarten
Seidel D., Annighöfer P., Ehbrecht M., Ammer C., Schall P. (2018): Applying fractal analysis to stem distribution maps. Ecological Indicators 93, 243-246. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.05.016
More information:  doi.org
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Qualitative und quantitative Analyse der Totholzvorräte des Biodiversitäts-Exploratoriums Schwäbische Alb
Szemes D. G. C. A. (2018): Qualitative und quantitative Analyse der Totholzvorräte des Biodiversitäts-Exploratoriums Schwäbische Alb. Bachelor thesis, University Göttingen
Doc
Ehbrecht M., Schall P., Ammer C., Seidel D. (2017): Quantifying stand structural complexity and its relationship with forest management, tree species diversity and microclimate. Agricultural & Forest Meteorology 242, 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.04.012
More information:  doi.org
Doc
Annighöfer P., Metz J., Schall P., Schulze E.-D., Ammer C. (2017): Buche in Mischbeständen bei Trockenheit weniger gestresst. Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift/Der Wald 72 (17), 13-15
More information:  www.forstpraxis.de
Doc
Waldbewirtschaftung und Biodiversität: Vielfalt ist gefrag
Ammer C., Schall P., Goßner M. M., Heinrichs S., Boch S., Prati D., Jung K., Baumgartner V., Blaser S., Böhm S., Buscot F., Daniel R., Goldmann K., Kaiser K., Kahl T., Lange M., Müller J., Overmann J., Renner S. C., Schulze E.-D., Sikorski J., Tschapka M., Türke M., Weisser W. W., Wemheuer B., Wubet T., Fischer M. (2017): Waldbewirtschaftung und Biodiversität: Vielfalt ist gefragt! Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift/Der Wald 17, 20-25
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Ehbrecht M. A. (2017): Quantifying three-dimensional stand structure and its relationship with forest management and microclimate in temperate forest ecosystems. Dissertation, University Göttingen
More information:  ediss.uni-goettingen.de
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Effektive Anzahl an Schichten: ein neues Maß zur Beschreibung der vertikalen Bestandesstruktur mithilfe terrestrischen Laserscannings
Ehbrecht M., Schall P., Juchheim J., Ammer C., Seidel D. (2016): Effective number of layers: A new measure for quantifying three-dimensional stand structure based on sampling with terrestrial LiDAR. Forest Ecology and Management 380, 212–223. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.09.003
More information:  doi.org

The so-called core projects of the BE emerged from the site selection project and the establishment of the exploratories (2006-2008). Since 2008, they have been providing the infrastructure and collecting important basic information on land use, diversity and ecosystem processes (long-term monitoring) for all projects. In addition, they coordinate project-wide activities such as various large-scale experiments.

Project in other funding periods

Picture: The photo shows a beech forest in winter where a hole-cutting operation has been carried out. In an open area in front of standing trees, one can see tree stumps and sawn tree trunks lying on top of each other.
Forest structure (Core project)
#Forest & Deadwood  #2020 – 2023  #Landscape structure […]
Picture: The photo shows a piece of forest with sawed-off trees after a hole cutting has been carried out.
Forest structure (Core project)
#Forest & Deadwood  #2014 – 2017  #Productivity […]
Picture: The photo shows a piece of forest with sawed-off trees after a hole cutting has been carried out.
Forest diversity (Core project)
#Forest & Deadwood  #2011 – 2014  #Management […]
Picture: The photo shows a beech forest in winter where a hole-cutting operation has been carried out. In an open area in front of standing trees, one can see tree stumps and sawn tree trunks lying on top of each other.
Forest structure (Core project)
#Forest & Deadwood  #FOX  #2023 – 2026  #Landscape structure […]

Scientific assistants

Prof. Dr. Christian Ammer
Project manager
Prof. Dr. Christian Ammer
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Dr. Peter Schall
Employee
Dr. Peter Schall
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Dr. Martin Ehbrecht
Employee
Dr. Martin Ehbrecht
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Karl-Heinz Heine
Employee
Karl-Heinz Heine
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Andreas Parth
Employee
Andreas Parth
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Michael Unger
Employee
Michael Unger
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
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