New publication
about modelling invader impact in dune ecosystems
A new study about modelling the impact of the invasive, nitrogen (N)-fixing shrub Acacia longifolia on N cycling in a nutrient-poor dune ecosystem was published by André Große-Stoltenberg and Dr. Jan Thiele of the research group Ecological Planning within the projects DeInVader (funded by EUFAR) and QUEEN (DFG) in the journal “Scientific Reports”. The team presents a new approach how to merge the spatial distribution of a tracer for the N-fixation of Acacia, the stable nitrogen isotope δ15N, with airborne laserscanning data that inform on the heterogeneity of the ecosystem to map the spatial impact of Acacia.
The method was developed in Mediterranean coastal dunes in SW Portugal. It highlights the importance to combine “isoscapes”, derived from “isotopes” and “landscape”, with 3D remote sensing data to tackle (invasion) ecology research questions.
Christine Hellmann, André Große-Stoltenberg, Jan Thiele, Jens Oldeland, Christiane Werner (2017): Heterogeneous environments shape invader impacts: integrating environmental, structural and functional effects by isoscapes and remote sensing. In Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04480-4
