Jena Experiment

Duration: Funding:	2002 – 2022 (current phase since 2016) Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), FOR 456, FOR 1451
Contact: Link:	Wolfgang.Weisser[at]tum.de www.the-jena-experiment.de

Summary

The Jena Grassland Biodiversity Experiment (in short: The Jena Experiment) was set up in 2002 to study the effects of plant biodiversity on ecosystem processes. The experiment aims at understanding if, and why and how biodiversity affects variables at the ecosystem level.
The experiment is based on experiences from previous biodiversity experiments such as BIODEPTH or the CEDAR CREEK experiment started by David Tilman at the University of Minnesota, USA.
Plant diversity is manipulated on a 10ha field site nearby the Saale river within the city boundaries of Jena in Thuringia, Germany. From a species pool of 60 species plant communities of 1-60 plant species and 1-4 plant functional groups were sown on a former arable site. The experiment consists of a number of sub-experiments, the main experiment (species range 1-60 species in large plots), the dominance experiment (species range from 1-9 species, only dominant species) and the trait-based experiment (started in 2011). For details of the sub-experiments see the website and the paper by Christiane Roscher et al. (2004).
The Jena Experiment has a particular focus on element cycling and species interactions. Since 2002 the experiment yielded time-series data on a wide range of ecosystem processes, ranging from productivity, C-storage, and N- and P-cycling, herbivory, pollination and decomposition. Applied aspects include bioenergy production, varying management intensity, and the role of plant diversity for climate change adaptation. For all plant species a large number of demographic, morphological and physiological variables has been assembled. A particular strength of the research group is the complementarity of the approaches used by the different research groups. So far, several thousand variables have been measured in each of the diversity plots. Recent synthesis articles are by Scherber et al. (2010) on multi-trophic interactions and by Proulx et al. (2010) on the role of biodiversity for stability.
The Jena Experiment is a platform for functional biodiversity research. At present, participating core research groups are from Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and France. Please contact W. Weisser if you are interested in conducting research in the Jena Experiment.
The Weisser group was responsible for the database and is still involved in investigating the role of plant diversity for arthropod diversity and interactions between plants, their insect herbivores, insect pollinators and the natural enemies of herbivores and pollinators. In our most recent project, we also focus on the role of the plant microbiome for plant-insect interactions, in a cooperation with Stefanie Schulz and Michael Schloter of the Helmholtz Center Munic.

Weisser, W. W., C. Roscher, S. Meyer, A. Ebeling, G. Luo, E. Allan, H. Beßler, R. Barnard, N. Buchmann, F. Buscot, C. Engels, C. Fischer, M. Fischer, A. Gessler, G. Gleixner, S. Halle, A. Hildebrandt, H. Hillebrand, H. d. Kroon, M. Lange, S. Leimer, X. L. Roux, A. Milcu, L. Mommer, P. Niklaus, Y. Oelmann, R. Proulx, J. Roy, C. Scherber, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, S. Scheu, T. Tscharntke, M. Wachendorf, C. Wagg, A. Weigelt, W. Wilcke, C. Wirth, E.-D. Schulze, B. Schmid and N. Eisenhauer. 2017. Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in a 15-year grassland experiment: patterns, mechanisms, and open questions. Basic and Applied Ecology 23:1-73. PDF

Further, on Forschung webpage:

in German (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQSe6a2LBYM)
or English (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3SvG2nBCTM)

People

Project Coordination
Speaker: Prof. Nico Eisenhauer
Coordinator: Dr. Anne Ebeling
Gardeners: Steffen Eismann, Steffen Ferber, Ute Köber, Katja Kunze (on maternity leave), Heike Scheffler, Silke Hengelhaupt

Project Database and Synthesis
Dr. Sebastian Meyer (Synthesis Postdoc)
Dr. Luo Guangjuan (Database manager)
Sven Thiel (Database programme)

Herbivory and multi-trophic interactions
Lionel Hertzog (Ph.D.-Student)

Design of the Jena Experiment:

Roscher, C., J. Schumacher, J. Baade, W. Wilcke, G. Gleixner, Wolfgang W. Weisser, B. Schmid and E.-D. Schulze. 2004. The role of biodiversity for element cycling and trophic interactions: an experimental approach in a grassland community, Basic & Applied Ecology, 5:107-121.

Further publications:

Scherber, C., N. Eisenhauer, W. W. Weisser, B. Schmid, W. Voigt, M. Fischer, E. D. Schulze, C. Roscher, A. Weigelt, E. Allan, H. Beßler, M. Bonkowski, N. Buchmann, F. Buscot, F., L. W. Clement, A. Ebeling, C. Engels, S. Halle, I. Kertscher, A. M. Klein, R. Koller, S. König, E. Kowalski, V. Kummer, A. Kuu, M. Lange, D. Lauterbach, C. Middelhoff, V. D. Migunova, A. Milcu, R. Müller, S. Partsch, J. S. Petermann, C. Renker, T. Rottstock, A. Sabais, S. Scheu, J. Schumacher, V. M. Temperton, and T. Tscharntke. 2010. Strong and non-linear effects of biodiversity on biotic interactions in a biodiversity experiment. Nature, 468:553-556.

Proulx, R., C. Wirth, W. Voigt, A. Weigelt, C. Roscher, S. Attinger, J. Baade, R. L. Barnard, N. Buchmann,F. Buscot, N. Eisenhauer, M. Fischer, G. Gleixner, S. Halle, A. Hildebrandt, E. Kowalski, A. Kuu, M. Lange, A. Milcu, P. A. Niklaus, Y. Oelmann, S. Rosenkranz, A. Sabais, C. Scherber, M. Scherer-Lorenzen, S. Scheu, E.-D. Schulze, J. Schumacher, G. Schwichtenberg, J. F. Soussana, V. M. Temperton, W. W. Weisser, W. W. Wilcke, B. Schmid. 2010. Diversity Promotes Temporal Stability across Levels of Ecosystem Organization in Experimental Grasslands. PLoS ONE 5:e13382.

Eisenhauer, N., A. Milcu, E. Allan, N. Nitschke, C. Scherber, V. Temperton, A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, and S. Scheu. 2011. Impact of above- and below-ground invertebrates on temporal and spatial stability of grassland of different diversity. Journal of Ecology 99.

Eisenhauer, N., A. Milcu, A. C. W. Sabais, H. Bessler, J. Brenner, C. Engels, B. Klarner, M. Maraun, S. Partsch, C. Roscher, F. Schonert, V. M. Temperton, K. Thomisch, A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, and S. Scheu. 2011. Plant Diversity Surpasses Plant Functional Groups and Plant Productivity as Driver of Soil Biota in the Long Term. PLoS ONE 6:e16055.

Scherber, C., J. Heimann, G. Kohler, N. Mitschunas, and W. W. Weisser. 2010. Functional identity versus species richness: herbivory resistance in plant communities. Oecologia 163:707-717.

Petermann, J. S., C. B. Mueller, C. Roscher, A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, and B. Schmid. 2010. Plant Species Loss Affects Life-History Traits of Aphids and Their Parasitoids. PLoS ONE 5:e12053.

Petermann, J. S., C. B. Muller, A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, and B. Schmid. 2010. Effect of plant species loss on aphid-parasitoid communities. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:709-720.

Eisenhauer, N., H. Beßler, C. Engels, G. Gleixner, M. Habekost, A. Milcu, S. Partsch, A. C. W. Sabais, C. Scherber, S. Steinbeiss, A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, and S. Scheu. 2010. Plant diversity effects on soil microorganisms support the singular hypothesis. Ecology 91:485-496.

Bessler, H., V. M. Temperton, C. Roscher, N. Buchmann, B. Schmid, E. D. Schulze, W. W. Weisser, and C. Engels. 2009. Aboveground overyielding in grassland mixtures is associated with reduced biomass partitioning to belowground organs. Ecology 90:1520-1530.

Marquard, E., A. Weigelt, V. M. Temperton, C. Roscher, J. Schumacher, N. Buchmann, M. Fischer, W. W. Weisser, and B. Schmid. 2009. Plant species richness and functional composition drive overyielding in a six-year grassland experiment. Ecology 90:3290-3302.

Ebeling, A., A. M. Klein, J. Schumacher, W. W. Weisser, and T. Tscharntke. 2008. How does plant richness affect pollinator richness and temporal stability of flower visits? Oikos 117:1808-1815.

Milcu, A., S. Partsch, C. Scherber, W. W. Weisser, and S. Scheu. 2008. Earthworms and legumes control litter decomposition in a plant diversity gradient. Ecology 89:1872-1882.

Roscher, C., J. Schumacher, W. W. Weisser, and E. D. Schulze. 2008. Genetic identity affects performance of species in grasslands of different plant diversity: An experiment with Lolium perenne cultivars. Annals of Botany 102:113-125.

Specht, J., C. Scherber, S. B. Unsicker, G. Koehler, and W. W. Weisser. 2008. Diversity and beyond: plant functional identity determines herbivore performance. Journal of Animal Ecology 77:1047-1055.

Oelmann, Y., Y. Kreutziger, V. M. Temperton, N. Buchmann, C. Roscher, J. Schumacher, E. D. Schulze, W. W. Weisser, and W. Wilcke. 2007. Nitrogen and phosphorus budgets in experimental grasslands of variable diversity. Journal of Environmental Quality 36:396-407.

Oelmann, Y., W. Wilcke, V. M. Temperton, N. Buchmann, C. Roscher, J. Schumacher, E. D. Schulze, and W. W. Weisser. 2007. Soil and plant nitrogen pools as related to plant diversity in an experimental grassland. Soil Science Society of America Journal 71:720-729.

Scherber, C., A. Milcu, S. Partsch, S. Scheu, and W. W. Weisser. 2006. The effects of plant diversity and insect herbivory on performance of individual plant species in experimental grassland. Journal of Ecology 94:922-931.

Scherber, C., P. N. Mwangi, V. M. Temperton, C. Roscher, J. Schumacher, B. Schmid, and W. W. Weisser. 2006. Effects of plant diversity on invertebrate herbivory in experimental grassland. Oecologia 147:489-500.