Projects

    Ongoing projects
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Ongoing projects

If you wish to apply for a new project in BEF-China, please download the application form.

- TreeDì

- Productivity

- Nutrient cycling

- Multitrophic interaction

TreeDì

P1G：Spatio-temporal dynamics of canopy space filling
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Goddert von Oheimb
              TU Dresden
              Goddert_v_Oheimb@tu-dresden.de
              Prof. Dr. Werner Härdtle
              German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              werner.haerdtle@uni.leuphana.de
              PhD student:
              Maria Dolores Perles Garcia

              Objectives:
              * To analyse crown, branch and leaf traits in relation to tree-tree interactions (TSPs and local neighbourhood);
              * To analyse trait variability related to canopy filling and light interception;
              * To quantify how canopy space use complementarity translates into enhanced tree growth.
    • P1C: Belowground productivity and complementarity
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Dr. Wensheng Bu
              Jiangxi Agricultural University
              bws2007@163.com
              Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
              PhD student:
              Hanjiao Gu

              Objectives:
              * To analyse species richness effects on fine-root production;
              * To analyse effects of species composition on fine-root turnover and distribution;
              * To find the connection between below- and aboveground processes.

              Subproject:
              1. The impact of different species diversity levels on nutrient reabsorption in different organs (branches, leaves and fine-root);
              2. The effects of tree species diversity on productivity and turnover of different fine-root functional groups.
    • P2G: Causes and effects of leaf trait variation
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Dr. Sylvia Haider
              Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
              sylvia.haider@botanik.uni-halle.de
              Prof. Dr. Stan Harpole
              German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              stan.harpole@idiv.de
              PhD student:
              Andréa Davrinche

              Objectives:
              * To quantify to which degree leaf traits are adjusted to different light conditions along the interaction plane of two tree species;
              * To analyze trait variation as a response to species and functional diversity of the local neighborhood of the TSP andthe dependence of traits and trait variation on soil nutrient availability;
              * To relate trait variation and performance of the TSP;
              * To quantify different components of trait variation to complementarity effects of ecosystem functions.

              Subproject:
              1. Complementarity through leaf traits variation: What are the implications of trees diversity for productivity at a tree pair level and a local neighbourhood level?
              2. How biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relations change with or without the presence of local soil biota.
    • P2C: Roots and mycorrhizal traits
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Zeqing Ma
              Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              mazq@igsnrr.ac.cn
              Dr. Bo Yang
              Jingdezhen University
              yangbomvp@aliyun.com
              PhD student:
              Gaigai Ding

              Objectives:
              * To characterize tree species by their root morphological and anatomical root traits;
              * To assess the response of root and mycorrhizal traits to resource patches, different tree neighborhoods, and site-scale resource gradients;
              * To test whether complementary traits translate into enhanced tree productivity.
    • P3G: Spatio-temporal complementarity
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Christian Wirth
              Institute of Biology, Leipzig University (UL)
              cwirth@uni-leipzig.de
              Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bauhus
              Institute of Biology, Leipzig University (UL) & German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              juergen.bauhus@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de
              PhD student:
              Florian Schnabel

              Objectives:
              * Assess how neighborhood diversity affects water use efficiency (~stomatal closure) and growth during drought years for tree species with contrasting stomatal control (water savers vs. spenders);
              * Test how competitive asymmetry is controlled by diversity at the level of TSPs and their neighborhood based on biometric measurements.

              Subproject:
              1. how neighborhood diversity affects water use efficiency (~stomatal closure) and growth during drought years for tree species with contrasting stomatal control (water savers vs. spenders);
              2. The effects of contrasting climatic conditions on diversity-stability relationships.
    • P3C: Seasonal complementarity of wood growth
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zhiyao Tang
              College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
              zytang@urban.pku.edu.cn
              PhD student:
              Tongyan Liu

              Objectives:
              * Analyze whether diverse forests express complementarity in seasonal growth and whether this translates into higher productivity;
              * Analyze whether diversity advances the start of the growing season;
              * Relate seasonal growth complementarity to functional diversity of available proxy traits.

              Subproject:
              1. Influence of local biodiversity on the seasonality of tree growth;
              2. Effects of diversity on the seasonality of plant growth and lignification formation;
              3. Effects of diversity on the seasonality of plant growth and lignification formation.
    • P4G: Associational effects of herbivory across spatial scales
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Andreas Schuldt
              Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg Institute of Biology
              andreas.schuldt@forst.uni-goettingen.de
              PhD student:
              Perttu Anttonen

              Objectives:
              * Herbivory & community structure of herbivore feeding guilds across space & time;
              * Top-down vs. bottom-up control;
              * Consequences for tree growth & productivity.
    • P4C: Associational effects mediated by parasitoids
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Chaodong Zhu
              Institute of zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              zhucd@ioz.ac.cn
              PhD student:
              Yi Li

              Objectives:
              * Moth larvae-predator-parasitoid networks;
              * Molecular identification pipelines;
              * Phylogenetic framework for trophic communities.
    • P5G: Drivers of leaf fungal pathogen load
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Helge Bruelheide
              Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
              helge.bruelheide@botanik.uni-halle.de
              PhD student:
              Mariem Saadani

              Objectives:
              * To estimate the leaf area infected by fungal pathogens;
              * To identify all fungal species found on the TSP trees, using morphological and molecular approaches;
              * To monitor pathogen load and fungal species richness under different crown interaction points of TSPs and to relate these patterns to microclimate;
              * To study the effect of pathogen load on tree productivity.
    • P5C: Effects of leaf pathogens on leaf litter decomposition
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Lingli Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              lingli.liu@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Xiaoyong Cui
              University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
              cuixy@ucas.ac.cn
              PhD student:
              Lulu Guo

              Objectives:
              * To study the temporal course of fungal species composition, in parallel with the leaf chemical composition;
              * To study leaf decomposition rates and to relate them to species leaf litter composition, pathogen load and local neighbourhood diversity.
    • P6G: Biodiversity effects on tree root exudate metabolomes
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr.Nicole van Dam
              German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              Nicole.vandam@idiv.de
              Dr. Steffen Neumann
              Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry
              Steffen.Neumann@ipb-halle.de
              Prof. Dr. Dierk Scheel
              Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry
              Dierk.Scheel@ipb-halle.de
              Dr. Alexander Weinhold
              German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              alexander.weinhold@idiv.de
              PhD student:
              Min Liu

              Objectives:
              * Characterise tree species-specific root exudation metabolomes in plots with different levels of (functional) diversity;
              * Analyse if tree species interactions drive changes in root exudation patterns and profiles;
              * Assess the degree of complementarity in root exudate metabolomes in local neighbourhoods.
    • P6C: Complementarity in nitrogen uptake by roots
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xingliang Xu
              Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              xuxingl@hotmail.com
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
              Beijing Forestry University
              zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
              PhD student:
              Sirong Zhang, Min Liu

              Objectives:
              * Characterise N-acquisition strategies, incl. soil microbes;
              * Explore how trees and soil microbes acquire available N via chemical, temporal and spatial niche differentiation;
              * Examine if tree species benefit from shared mycorrhizal networks;
              * Analyse degree of complementarity N- uptake in local neighbourhoods over different soil depths and seasons.

              Subproject:
              1. How does tree species diversity and neighbour effects affect plant-soil feedback processes;
              2. Complementarity in root nitrogen uptake between neighbourhood trees.
    • P7G: Rhizosphere microbiome and meta-transcriptome of TSPs
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Dr. Tesfaye Wubet
              Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg; Helmholtz center for Environmental research (UFZ)
              tesfaye.wubet@ufz.de
              PhD student:
              Bala Singavarapu

              Objectives:
              * Assess how the rhizosphere microbiome composition of mono- and hetero-specific TSPs change within and across diversity levels;
              * Study the patterns of rhizosphere metagenome/ metatranscriptome profiles of TSPs across diversity levels;
              * Identify the drivers and assess the relationships of the microbial co-occurrence network patterns and the functional gene profiles of mono- and hetero-specific TSPs across diversity levels.
    • P7C: Mycorrhizal and endophytic fungal communities of TSPs
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Liangdong Guo
              Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              guold@im.ac.cn
              PhD student:
              Huiyun Gan

              Objectives:
              * Analyze how root associated fungal community composition of mono- and hetero-specific TSPs change within and across diversity levels and environmental conditions;
              * Assess the link between root associated microbial communities with root traits, nitrogen acquisition and exudation profiles.
    • P8G: Functional diversity of soil microbial and nematode communities
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Dr. Simone Cesarz
              Leipzig University, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              simone.cesarz@idiv.de
              Prof. Dr. Nico Eisenhauer
              Leipzig University, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              nico.eisenhauer@idiv.de
              PhD student:
              Rémy Beugnon

              Objectives:
              * To analyse if dissimilarity of TSPs increases functional diversity of soil microorganisms and soil nematodes;
              * To analyse if more complex environments (diversity of the local neighbourhood) steepen this slope due to a higher diversity of organic inputs and microhabitats, whic is expected to increase the functional diversity of soil microorganisms and soil nematodes;
              * To analyse if increased functional diversity of soil organisms results in increased biomass of microorganisms and nematodes (consumer biomass).

              Subproject:
              1. The impact of TSPs on functional diversity of soil microorganisms and soil nematodes;
              2. Effect of tree diversity on soil microbial community metabolism with potential implications for C dynamics;
              3. Effects of litter chemical quality on soil communities (composition and functions) and consequences for litter decomposition;
              4. The spatial extent of tree species interactions for additive and non-additive effects on basal respiration.
    • P8C: Microbial function potential and its linkage with ecosystem functioning
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Yanfen Wang
              University of Chinese Academic of Sciences
              yfwang@ucas.ac.cn
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kai Xue
              University of Chinese Academic of Sciences
              xuekai@ucas.ac.cn
              PhD student:
              Jianqing Du

              Objectives:
              * To identify the functional diversity of soil microorganisms involved in nitrogen cycling processes;
              * To link microbial functional diversity with corresponding ecosystem functioning by measuring soil extracellular enzyme activities and ecosystem process rates;
              * To determine the response of microbial functional gene diversity and corresponding ecosystem functioning to the functional dissimilarity of the local tree neighbourhood.
    • P9G: Integrated modeling of tree individuals and animal population dynamics
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brose
              Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Institute of Biodiversity / German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
              ulrich.brose@idiv.de
              PhD student:
              Georg Albert

              Objectives:
              * To model the dynamics of herbivore, pathogen and rhizosphere populations on landscapes (grids) composed of tree individuals as habitat compartments (grid cells);
              * To establish spatially-explicit models of tree individuals, their tree-tree interactions, and neighborhood effects;
              * To predict tree growth in novel models synthesizing population- and individual-level processes for animals and trees, respectively, which will address interaction processes such as enemy dilution and facilitation.
    • P9C: Modeling forest community dynamics and neighbor TSP competition
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Weiguo Sang
              Minzu University of China
              swg@muc.edu.cn
              Prof. Dr. Shaopeng Wang
              College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
              shaopeng.wang@pku.edu.cn
              PhD student:
              Chenyu Huang

              Objectives:
              * To model the change between TSP partners and the whole patch change through time;
              * To simulate tree interactions for forest development;
              * To use the models to understand the dynamic interactions of trees in mature forests.

    • Productivity

    Role of intra- and inter-specific species traits values in the genetic diversity effect on tree growth and forest productivity in the 4x1 genetic experiment
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
    Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Franca J Bongers
    • Species and genotypic specific tree growth under a gradient of species diversity and time series
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
    Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Franca J Bongers
    PhD student: Ting Tang
    • The role of community trait identity and trait diversity on forest productivity, considering different species extinction scenarios
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
    Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Franca J Bongers
    • The richness effect on tree and shrub survival in the BEF-China experiment
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
    Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Shan Li
    • Assessing the dynamic of vegetation function and productivity with laser and hyperspectral analyses of CSPs and main experiments
             
  • Principal Investigators:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schmid
              University of Zurich
              bernhard.schmid@ieu.uzh.ch
              Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Michael E. Schaepman
              University of Zurich
              michael.schaepman@geo.uzh.ch
    • Understanding plant adaptation to different diversity level by regulating functional balances
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
              Postdoc: Dr. Lan Zhang
    • Inference on growth-trait relationships is influenced by temporal species trait changes
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
              Postdoc: Dr. Franca J. Bongers
    • Effects of tree richness and shrub richness on shrub productivity
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Master student: Anpeng Cheng
    • The interation of tree diversity and shrub diversity effect on shrub survival rate
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Jingwen Li
              Beijing Forestry University
              lijingwen@bjfu.edu.cn
              Master student: Yujie Xue

    • Nutrient cycling

    Probing soil organic carbon composition and dynamics in the rhizosphere and bulk soil of Gutianshan
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Feng
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    xfeng@ibcas.ac.cn
    Assist. Prof. Dr. Yufu Jia
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    yufu123jia@163.com
    • Formation and dynamics of mineral-associated organic carbon in subtropical forests
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Feng
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    xfeng@ibcas.ac.cn
    PhD student: Zongguang Liu
    • Effects of plant diversity on greenhouse gas fluxes and associated microbial mechanisms in soils of a subtropical forest
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Xiaoqi Zhou
    School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University
    xqzhou@des.ecnu.edu.cn
    • Analyses of species richness of the woody plants as affected by nitrogen mineralization via rhizosphere dynamics
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
              Beijing Forestry University
              zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laiye Qu
              Research Center of Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              lyqu@rcees.ac.cn
              Master student: Siyu Gun
    • Effects of species richness on priming effects and its underlying mechanisms
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Xuhui Zhou
              East China Normal University
              xhzhou@des.ecnu.edu.cn
              Postdoc: Yanghui He

    • Multitrophic interaction

    How does the diversity of bees, wasps and parasitoids relate to the tree species richness?
  • Principal Investigators:
    Chaodong Zhu
    Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    zhucd@ioz.ac.cn
    PhD student: Pengfei Guo
    • The effects of tree diversity on tree-caterpillar-parasitoid interaction; The effects of tree diversity on predator-prey interaction.
             
  • Principal Investigators:
              Chaodong Zhu
              Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              zhucd@ioz.ac.cn
              Master student: Jingting Chen
    • The interaction between soil mite and tree diversity; The responses of soil mite diversity to different tree species.
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Jun Chen
    Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    chenj@ioz.ac.cn
    Prof. Dr. Chaodong Zhu
    Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    zhucd@ioz.ac.cn
    Master student: Yannan Chen
    • Effects of tree and shrub species diversity on leaf litter decomposition and microbial decomposers communities inhabiting in litter
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
    Beijing Forestry University
    zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Hong Lin
    • Indirect effects of tree richness and species identity drive plant growth in subtropical forest
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
    Beijing Forestry University
    zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
    Postdoc: Dr. Hong Lin
    • How does the association of tree species richness with litter fungal community change with time
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
    Beijing Forestry University
    zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
    Master student: Xinlei Zhang
    • The effects of host plant diversity on the assembly of leaf bacterial communities
  • Principal Investigators:
    Prof. Dr. Lin Jiang
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    lin.jiang@biology.gatech.edu
    PhD student: Xian Yang
    • Do trees with extrafloral nectaries interact with tree diversity in mediating insect communities, leaf damage, defense traits and tree growth?
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Naili Zhang
    Beijing Forestry University
    zhangnaili@bjfu.edu.cn
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michael Staab
    University of Freiburg
    michael.staab@nature.uni-freiburg.de
    Master student: Stefanie Pietsch
    • tree death patterns and dispersal of pathogens in forest stand with different tree diversity
             
  • Principal Investigators:
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yu Liang
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              coolrain@ibcas.ac.cn
              Master student: Shaoran Li
    • Dispersal of pathogens in forest stand with different tree diversity
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yu Liang
    Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    coolrain@ibcas.ac.cn
    Master student: Shaoran Li
    • The effects of tree species diversity on soil organic carbon accumulation and its microbial mechanisms in subtropical forests
  • Principal Investigators:
    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yin Li Sanming University
    lijiang413508@126.com
    • The effect of plant species diversity and genetic diversity on multi-trophic levels and their feedbacks on community productivity
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Xiaojuan Liu
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              liuxiaojuan06@ibcas.ac.cn
              Prof. Dr. Keping Ma
              Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              kpma@ibcas.ac.cn
              PhD student: Ting Tang
    • Microbial migration: from phyllosphere to soil
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Prof. Dr. Yongguan Zhu
              Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences
              ygzhu@iue.ac.cn
              Postdoc: Jian Li
    • Response of fine root, mycorrhizal fungi and their interaction to species coexistence in subtropical forest
  •           Principal Investigator:
              Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bo Yang
              Jingdezhen University
              yangbomvp@aliyun.com
              Postdoc: Fangmin Hu