Stephen's thesis contributed to understanding the importance of plant functional diversity for ecosystem services of managed grassland. To assess the role of plant functional diversity for productivity and soil organic carbon stocks of managed grasslands I developed the LPJmL-CSR model and conducted simulations at different scales.
Experiments at the local scale for different climatic conditions showed the role of management and how resource limitations shape grassland communities. Global scale simulations under climate change highlighted the importance of functional diversity to maintain productivity and soil organic carbon stocks even under moderate climate change.
The thesis emphasizes the need to preserve biodiversity in managed grasslands to ensure long-term food security and resilient land use under changing climate conditions.
Publications:
- Wirth, S.B., Taubert, F., Tietjen, B., Müller, C., Rolinski, S., 2021. Do details matter? Disentangling the processes related to plant species interactions in two grassland models of different complexity. Ecological Modelling 460, 109737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109737
- Wirth, S.B., Poyda, A., Taube, F., Tietjen, B., Müller, C., Thonicke, K., Linstädter, A., Behn, K., Schaphoff, S., von Bloh, W., Rolinski, S., 2024. Connecting competitor, stress-tolerator and ruderal (CSR) theory and Lund Potsdam Jena managed Land 5 (LPJmL 5) to assess the role of environmental conditions, management and functional diversity for grassland ecosystem functions. Biogeosciences 21, 381–410. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-381-2024
- Wirth, S.B., Braun, J., Heinke, J., Ostberg, S., Rolinski, S., Schaphoff, S., Stenzel, F., von Bloh, W., Taube, F., Müller, C., 2024. Biological nitrogen fixation of natural and agricultural vegetation simulated with LPJmL 5.7.9. Geoscientific Model Development 17, 7889–7914. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7889-2024
- Wirth, S.B., Müller, C., Taube, F., Heinke, J., Tietjen, B., Rolinski, S. in prep. Global grassland productivity and carbon storage benefit from functional diversity already under moderate climate change.
