Biodiversity Exploratories

Registration for the #BE20Conference is now open. We’re celebrating 20 years of the Biodiversity Exploratories with our first international conference. ✨ We appreciate when the news circulates in the community. www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ See you there. 🙂 @dfg.de @sgn.one

We are happy to share our latest paper on response diversity with M. Pitzer as first author: 🌱📈🌿📉 Response diversity increases functional but decreases compositional stability of grassland communities doi.org/10.1111/nph.... @newphyt.bsky.social @unimarburg.bsky.social @bexplo.bsky.social

P.S.- I'll be presenting some of my new work with @bexplo.bsky.social on how livestock shapes grassland diversity, so come say hi!

🌼New BE study: How do land use and changes in #plant communities affect floral morphology?🌺It shows that #land-use intensity directly influences flower display size, while variation in floral traits is driven mainly by changes in the surrounding plant community. 🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🌐

🌳🌲 Meet #ForMIX - this BE paper presents a new index to quantify #forest management intensity by combining #tree species composition, tree removal, #deadwood availability and stand maturity. ForMIX is usable, comparable, easy to apply & biologically meaningful. 🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🌐

📊 New BE-study: #Plant functional diversity in #grasslands is scale-dependent. 🌱 Functional richness increases while divergence decreases from plots to farms. Hump-shaped grazing effects on richness at plot and farm scale. Key implications for conservation. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🌐

Our colleague Viktoriia Radchuk has attended #BE20conference in Berlin last week and presented the #estar package to quantify stability across levels of organisation. Great conference, inspiring keynotes and ample time for interactions!👍 @bexplo.bsky.social

🌿 #BE20Conference: Excursion🚍-BE20Final day Our field excursion from Berlin to the Exploratory Schorfheide-Chorin offered valuable insights into biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and long-term ecological research. 🌱🌳 A great opportunity to connect science with real-world ecosystems. 🌍✨ #bexplo

Amazing experience last week at the BE20 conference in Berlin! I also presented my own work on silicon and calcium biomineralization trade-off in plants. Grateful for the discussions and connections with researchers from around the world.

News. Great plenary talks and sessions & posters on #BE20conference in #Berlin @bexplo.bsky.social

Attended the @bexplo.bsky.social conference last week. Presented my work on Variation in plant functional traits, part of @formula-research.bsky.social as a poster, at the conference. @joanabergmann.bsky.social @elsaelsam.bsky.social @janaduchoslavova.bsky.social @nahidrasa.bsky.social

📣 #BE20conference – Day 4 Final day of BE20 featured keynotes: Elizabeth Borer, Tim Newbold @tnewbold31.bsky.social&Kirsten Thornicke, parallel talks&closing remarks by Markus Fischer. Tomorrow’s excursion to Exploratory Schorfheide-Chorin concludes BE20! Thanks to everyone for an inspiring BE20!

📣 #BE20conference Poster Session The poster session provided participants the opportunity to explore current research projects, exchange ideas & engage in insightful discussions with the authors. A big thanks to all contributors for their inspiring posters & valuable scientific exchange.

📣 #BE20conference Exhibitors Our exhibitors @feda.bio, WiNoDa Knowledge Lab, @nordicoikos.bsky.social @oikosjournal.bsky.social, NFDI4 Biodiversity were sharing valuable insights with attendees. The exhibition area provided a great opportunity for networking & knowledge exchange. #BE20conference

📣#BE20conference: Day 3 We had inspiring keynote presentations from Helmut Hillebrand and Andrew Gonzalez, insightful talks, and engaging workshops throughout the day. The BE20 Dinner at Restaurant Nolle was the perfect way to end the day. Great discussions, valuable networking. #BE20conference

📣#BE20conference: Day 2 Today's program featured inspiring keynote talks by Richard Bardgett, @ducciorocchini.bsky.social and Rachael Winfree as well as workshops. Another day full of insightful discussions and new perspectives on biodiversity and ecological research. ✨ #bexplo #Biodiversity

The #BE20conference officially kicked off with a great welcome session led by Markus Fischer. A fantastic start to what promises to be an inspiring event filled with great keynotes, discussions, exciting workshops and networking. Looking forward to the days ahead! ✨ #bexplo #biodiversity

We’re excited to welcome all participants to Berlin on Monday. 📍 Registration opens at 1:00 PM. You can download the BE20 Book of Abstracts&the excursion guide on our website✨ 📸 Use #BE20conference and tag us. We wish everyone safe travels & look forward to inspiring discussions & exciting insights.

📢 New BE-study on #decomposition in #forests 🌳 Carrion decomposes up to 90× faster than leaf litter & #deadwood. Arthropods drive decomposition; canopy openness alters effects across substrates. ForMI showed no impact. Read more here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @sebseibold.bsky.social

🌿 BE20 Keynote Speaker Line-up 🌍🎤 We are thrilled to welcome an outstanding group of international scientists and researchers to the BE20 Conference as our keynote speakers. ✨ #BE20conference

📢 BE 20 Conference Update The current program has been revised, and the sessions — including their respective chairs — are now available. ✨ Registration is still open — we look forward to welcoming many participants and exciting contributions. More infos: www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/

🔈New BE study: #plant traits shape plant tissue nutrients, while #land-use intensity and #soil properties drive rhizosphere nutrient distribution and #microbes. 🦠 Above- and belowground processes are largely decoupled in #grasslands.🌱 🔗 bsssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🌐

Even though the abstract submission deadline has passed, registration for conference attendance is OPEN! 🎉 We’re currently assembling an exciting program with nearly 80 talks on #biodiversity and #ecosystems and inspiring international keynote speakers 🗣️ Looking forward to exchange ideas with you!

Building rain shelters for the new BEClimWood experiment in Hainich. Pretty exhausted but super happy with the work we did! The ground covered in wild garlic and wood anemone, birds chirping everywhere. Can't wait sampling for DeMoLD, investigating deadwood degradation dynamics! @bexplo.bsky.social

🚨 New BE paper on #forest #microclimates!🌲 Across 11 years and 149 plots in Germany, variability was driven mainly by precipitation and outside temperatures -not by low- to medium-intensity timber harvest. #Climate extremes may pose the greatest #biodiversity risk.🌐 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

📣 A new chapter for the Exploratories! We’ve moved from Senckenberg Nature Research @sgn.one to TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social. With Phase 8, Nico Blüthgen takes over scientific leadership—many thanks to Markus Fischer for building and shaping the Exploratories. Updated contacts on our website.

🚨 Last chance! 🚨 Submit your abstract for our #BE20conference — deadline is TOMORROW! ⏳ Even if you don’t submit an abstract, you can still register after the deadline. Don’t miss it — we can’t wait to see you in Berlin!🌐

Open postdoc position on genetic diversity in our groups at the Institute for Evolution and Ecology @unituebingen.bsky.social ! 🧬🌱🦋More info in the link ⬇️ @bexplo.bsky.social @bossdorf.bsky.social #biodiversity #genetics #evolution #conservation uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Out now in Methods in Ecology and Evolution: Accounting for spatial interactions in the upscaling of ecosystem services. Led by Lari Boesing. A how to guide to upscaling ES, particularly those driven by the movement of matter and mobile organisms besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

FINDING THE BIG PICTURE FOR GENETIC DIVERSITY! We are offering a 2-year POSTDOC JOB to work on genetic diversity synthesis & metrics across species, as part of a larger @bexplo.bsky.social project on multi-species genetic diversity. @gfoesoc.bsky.social @eseb.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social

First week of fieldwork this year successfully completed! We've been extremely lucky with this nice spring weather while taking the first samples from the new BEClimWood experiment in Hainich at the @bexplo.bsky.social Big thanks again to this great team! First 🌷 were also popping up everywhere

Good news! ✨ The deadline has been extended – you can still submit your abstract and secure the early-bird rate. Look forward to inspiring keynote speakers and join us for an excursion to the Exploratorium Schorfheide-Chorin! 🌱🌿 Share the news with your scientific community. #BE20conference #🌐

📣 Registration for the BE20 Conference is still open—the deadline has been extended to March 2, 2026! Join us and secure your spot! 🗓️ Registration: www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ or scan the QR Code 📄 Please circulate this within your network 🌍🤝🌐 @dfg.de @sgn.one #BE20conference

We are currently looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in community ecology to work in the Arthropods Core Project of the Biodiversity Exploratories @bexplo.bsky.social Reposting is much appreciated for widest reach! Thanks. More information here: www.lss.ls.tum.de/fileadmin/w0...

We are searching for a PhD student! Are you curious and excited to unravel how #root #exudation varies between species, how this relates to the root economics space and if and how it explains ecosystem functioning and species distribution in #grasslands?

📣 Only 3 days left to submit abstracts for the #BE20Conference. Deadline & early-bird registration: 31 January 2026. Biodiversity researchers from around the world are invited to contribute.🌐 More info: www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ #Biodiversity #Ecology #ScienceCommunity #Berlin2026

Only 2 weeks left to submit abstracts #BE20Conference! Deadline & early-bird registration: 31 Jan 2026 Biodiversity researchers from around the world are welcome. Berlin, 8–12 June 2026 More info: www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ #Biodiversity #Ecology #ScienceCommunity #Berlin2026

Transects for the 2026 Soil Sampling Campaign were set up at the Exploratorium Schwäbische Alb—laying the groundwork to better understand links between soil, land use, and biodiversity. 🌿✨ 📷 J. Hailer #bexplo #research #science #ecology #biodiversity #conservation #ecosystems

New study on arthropod declines @natecoevo.nature.com 🪲 In two time series @jena-experiment.bsky.social & @bexplo.bsky.social we show how community (dis)assembly underpins local biomass declines. It mostly boils down to species loss, with identity losing relevance. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Meet our next confirmed keynotes speaker for the #BE20conference: Duccio Rocchini @ducciorocchini.bsky.social A biologist advancing open-source methods in remote sensing & spatial ecology to better model and monitor global biodiversity. 🌍📡 Stay tuned for more BE20 (Berlin, June8–12,2026) updates!

BE20: Meet our next confirmed keynote speaker: Prof. Dr. Richard Bardgett @lancasteruni.bsky.social, UK. 🌱 He investigates how belowground biodiversity regulates ecosystem processes and responds to global environmental change.🌍 Stay tuned for more #BE20conference (Berlin, 8–12 June 2026!) updates!

The next confirmed keynote speaker for the BE20 Conference is Prof. Dr. Rachael Winfree from the USA ! 🌿🐝 She researches wild bees and their vital role in healthy ecosystems, offering key insights for pollinator conservation. 💡 FMI: www.biodiversity-exploratories.de/de/be20/ #BE20conference

Exploring the future of the Hainich-Dün landscape: Together we discussed how nature, people, and regional traditions can thrive. Thanks to all participants for the inspiring dialogue! 💚 @isoe-institut.bsky.social @sgn.one @unikassel.bsky.social @unipotsdam.bsky.social @leuphana.bsky.social