Manfred Finckh
A5077858340- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- African Botany and Ecology Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Forest ecology and management
- Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
- Plant Diversity and Evolution
- Forest Management and Policy
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Plant and animal studies
- Mediterranean and Iberian flora and fauna
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Plant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Plant Ecology and Soil Science
- Ecology and biodiversity studies
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Landslides and related hazards
- Agriculture and Rural Development Research
- Radiomics and Machine Learning in Medical Imaging
- Fire effects on ecosystems
Universität Hamburg
2016-2025
Stellenbosch University
2018
Universidad de La Frontera
1999
University of Bayreuth
1995
Abstract Question: How many vegetation plot observations (relevés) are available in electronic databases, how they geographically distributed, what their properties and might be discovered located for research application? Location: Global. Methods: We compiled the Global Index of Vegetation‐Plot Databases (GIVD; http://www.givd.info ), an Internet resource aimed at registering metadata on existing databases. For inclusion, databases need to (i) contain temporally spatially explicit species...
Abstract Aims Vegetation‐plot records provide information on the presence and cover or abundance of plants co‐occurring in same community. data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies biodiversity centers and, thus, rarely accessible at continental global scales. Here we present sPlot database, which collates vegetation plots worldwide to allow for exploration patterns taxonomic, functional phylogenetic diversity plant community level. Results version 2.1 contains from...
Abstract Motivation Assessing biodiversity status and trends in plant communities is critical for understanding, quantifying predicting the effects of global change on ecosystems. Vegetation plots record occurrence or abundance all species co‐occurring within delimited local areas. This allows absences to be inferred, information seldom provided by existing datasets. Although many vegetation have been recorded, most are not available research community. A recent initiative, called ‘sPlot’,...
The study was carried out in the Cusseque area of Municipality Chitembo south-central Angola. Our objectives were to assess floristic diversity, species composition, and stand structure Miombo woodlands during regeneration after shifting cultivation. A total 40 plots 1000 m 2 surveyed analyzed, corresponding mature forests/woodlands three fallow types different age. analyses based on plot inventories all trees with DBH ≥ 5 cm. 51 woody species, 38 genera, 19 families recorded. dominant...
Abstract Aim Alpine ecosystems differ in area, macroenvironment and biogeographical history across the Earth, but relationship between these factors plant species richness is still unexplored. Here, we assess global patterns of alpine their association with environmental, geographical historical at regional community scales. Location Global. Time period Data collected 1923 2019. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods We used a dataset representative vegetation, consisting 8,928 plots...
Significance We develop a biogeographic approach to analyzing the presence of alternative stable states in tropical biomes. Whilst forest–savanna bistability has been widely hypothesized and modeled, empirical evidence remained scarce controversial, here, applying our method Africa, we provide large-scale that there are tree species composition vegetation. Furthermore, results have produced more accurate maps forest savanna distributions which take into account differences composition,...
Abstract Aims Understanding fine‐grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of richness values Palaearctic open habitats vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens complete vegetation (i.e., sum former three groups). Location biogeographic realm. Methods We used 126,524 plots eight standard grain sizes from database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 1,000 m...
Abstract Aim Tropical old‐growth grasslands are increasingly acknowledged as biodiverse ecosystems, but they understudied in many aspects. Geoxyle species a key component of these their belowground storage organs and bud banks functionally diverse contribute to the grasslands’ resilience. However, drivers geoxyles’ evolution (belowground) diversity little understood. Thus, we combined analyses on aspects diversity, functionality, ancestry, ecology geoxyles provide first comprehensive...
Abstract Questions: How can predictions of potential species distribution derived from presence‐only data and different modelling algorithms be compared evaluated? Where does suitable habitat for Juniperus oxycedrus exist within the study area which bioclimatic variables prove to most important in prediction J. distribution? Location: Central High Atlas, Morocco. Methods: Ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA), maximum entropy approach (MAXENT) generalized linear models (GLM) were applied...
Summary Positive biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships (BEFRs) have been widely documented, but it is unclear if BEFRs should be expected in disturbance‐driven systems. Disturbance may limit competition and niche differentiation, which are frequently posited to underlie BEFRs. We provide the first exploration of relationship between tree species diversity biomass, one measure ecosystem function, across southern African woodlands savannas, an ecological system rife with disturbance...
Abstract Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing recent advances expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process estimate ‘intactness scores’: remaining proportion an ‘intact’ reference species group particular use, scale from 0 (no individuals) 1 (same abundance as reference) and, rare cases, 2 (populations that...
Abstract Questions What are the functional trade‐offs of vascular plant species in global alpine ecosystems? How is variation related to vegetation zones, climatic groups and biogeographic realms? relative contribution macroclimate evolutionary history shaping communities? Location Global. Methods We compiled a data set with 5,532 geo‐referenced plots, 1,933 six traits. used principal component analysis quantify among trait probability density assess dissimilarity different realms. multiple...
Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis with reference to strontium landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving 87Sr/86Sr particularly Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for largest parts continent. Here, we measure ratios 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries combine this data published model a bioavailable isoscape sub-Saharan Africa using random forest...
In many parts of Africa, spatially-explicit information on plant α-diversity, i.e., the number species in a given area, is missing as baseline for spatial planning. We present an approach how to combine vegetation-plot databases and remotely-sensed land surface phenology (LSP) metrics predict α-diversity regional scale. gathered data measured density, from 999 vegetation plots sized 20 m × 50 covering all major units Okavango basin countries Angola, Namibia Botswana. As predictor variables,...
Abstract Aim In tropical Africa, savannas cover huge areas, have high plant species richness and are considered as a major natural resource for most countries. There is, however, little information available on their floristics biogeography at the continental scale, despite importance of such our understanding drivers diversity various scales effective conservation management. Here, we collated analysed floristic data from across continent in order to propose biogeographical regionalization...